Ben Model’s blog
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In the mid-’teens of last century, the short subject grew legs and walked on dry land, becoming the feature length attraction. Shorts continued to be a standard part of the movie program, either in live-action or animated form. While the practice is long gone, it has a practical application today,…
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Turning The Lights Off and On In a Silent Film
The Raymond Griffith comedy You’d Be Surprised (1926) is not as well-known as his other starring features. That’s not saying much, given that most classic film fans don’t know Raymond Griffith and that most of his films are lost.This one deserves a better reputation, but I get why it’s not…
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The Other Mirror Routine
Over the last few years, I’ve gotten myself educated in Marion Davies’ silent films. The two usual suspects, Show People and The Patsy are great and well-loved, mainly because they’re on DVD. I’ve released three of Davies’ 1922 silents, and have become an even bigger fan. So, what else lies…
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Ernie Kovacs’ Experimental Video – on Prime Time TV
We’ve all heard audio feedback, that high-pitched loud noise heard over a sound system. Even if you don’t know it’s called feedback, you know that annoying sound, and that sound people avoid it. The same electronic phenomenon exists with video, and Ernie Kovacs used it — on purpose. I first…
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Shedding Some Light on Classic 35mm Film Projection
Sometimes I see motion picture film exhibition referred to as “reel-to-reel”. I get why the term is used, as it conjures up the correct booth image better than “non-digital” does. I got to experience “classic” film projection at Capitolfest this past weekend that went one step further than just running…
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My Attempts At The Best of Ernie Kovacs
I’ve assembled a few different Ernie Kovacs compilation programs for events this year celebrating his centennial. It hasn’t been easy, because there’s such a wealth of material to cull from. You want to show fans everything, of course, and that’s impossible. I’ve been able to draw on my experience programming…
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Charles Hofmann – MoMA Film Accompanist, Briefly
When I began accompanying silent films in college, there was very little in the way of resources. I was, however, loaned a copy of a small monograph on the subject written by Charles Hofmann, who had been one of the Museum of Modern Art’s film pianists. Hofmann seems to be…
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Finding More of Baby Peggy
A Baby Peggy Rediscovery — or: When “Circus Clowns” Doesn’t Mean “Circus Clowns” I was pretty much set with additional material for the DVD of the Library of Congress’ restoration of The Family Secret. After playing for MoMA’s restoration of the short Miles of Smiles, I’d inquired about and gotten…
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From The Horse’s Mouth
The second time I play for a film is my first big chance to make improvements over what I did the first time. If my first bash at the picture was a show where I’d not been able to preview it, I can make more specific or bolder choices for…
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Silent Movie Time Machine
“Tidsmaskin” is one of the Norwegian words I’ve managed to retain. Pronounced TEEDS-mah-sheen, it means “time machine”. I’ve found over the years that I have an affinity for being in the places where silent film happened. Props, pieces of costuming, less so. Inhabiting the spaces where silent films were shown…