(January 13, 2024)
Cheryl Hess has been doing the film festival circuit with her hilarious short documentary about a vegan recipe at a Meatball Contest.
And we have that recipe for you below.
Category Archives: Films: Comedy
NEW YEARS CHEER- A Nostalgic Look at Past New Years Through Images, Movies and Music
Welcome 2023!
We have brought back some of our favorite images, videos and music from our last version of this celebration and added new finds and fun. You will find music, food, drinks, photos and more. From Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald to Chuck Berry, Etta James, The Ramones, L’l Nas, Nina Simone, and watch The Grateful Dead’s New Year’s Eve 4+ hour concert to close Winterland following a collection of Dead NYE concert posters. There are superheroes, favorite cartoon characters, movie stars from the silent era onwards, comedians including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Laurel & Hardy and the Three Stooges plus how to countdown to midnight with Star Wars.
They Were Calling It the Twentieth Century
An excerpt from Dana Stevens’ “CAMERA MAN”
(Greatly updated December 3, 2022)
In this genre-defying work of cultural history, the chief film critic of Slate places comedy legend and acclaimed filmmaker Buster Keaton’s unique creative genius in the context of his time.
Buster Keaton will be celebrated at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive during the month of December, 2022. Starting Sunday, December 4 with SHERLOCK JR. and two shorts and continuing through Wednesday, December 21, five features and 15 shorts will be screened with musical accompaniment. Author Dana Stevens will introduce several programs. Continue reading
4 PAWS UP for CatVideoFest 2022 – Catnip for Cat Fans
By Marilyn Freund
There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and cats on the internet. People love cat videos, and if you have any doubt about the universal truth of that, let me throw a few numbers at you, based on my admittedly cursory research.
Continue reading
More Loudly Anticipating the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Part Two- What I Will Be Seeing
By Meredith Brody
May 4, 2022
I learned my lesson early with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival: GO TO EVERYTHING.
The first year I attended, I cherry-picked only the movies I hadn’t seen before. The ones I went to were such a revelation – both in the presentation and the group experience – that my heart hurt as I walked away. What a MAROON I was. Even a movie I thought I knew well would be a fresh experience, featuring as it did not only live music, but one of the world’s great audiences. There’s a kind of euphoria that sets in when you commit to seeing everything on offer.
Continue reading
CITY LIGHTS at the Paramount: The Little Tramp Meets the Orchestra
February 18, 2022
By Nancy Friedman
Its running time is just 87 minutes. It has only three main characters. Its filming locations were confined mostly to downtown Los Angeles and studio soundstages.
But in its way Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 film City Lights qualifies as an epic—and so does the story behind the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s one-night-only presentation of this silent masterpiece, accompanied by the Oakland Symphony under the direction of Timothy Brock, at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Saturday, February 19.
THE UNKNOWN CHAPLIN, a Turkish CITY LIGHTS Remake(!) and more surprises
Possibly the best documentary about Chaplin is The Unknown Chaplin. In three parts you can watch here it captures the cinematic genius as he was never meant to be seen. Using countless reels of rushes, outtakes, and abandoned films Chaplin had wanted destroyed, film archivists Kevin Brownlow and David Gill have meticulously crafted an essential and fascinating documentary homage to the Little Tramp who will no doubt keep us laughing until the last flickering frame.
We suggest that you watch The Unknown Chaplin after you see City Lights.
Watch CITY LIGHTS Shine: A Gallery of Art
Curated by Gary Meyer
Charles Chaplin might be the most recognizable person in the world. His iconic Little Tramp image can be found everywhere. I am guessing that more books have been written about him than any movie star.
One of the many beauties of his work is that they communicate with people who speak any language.
And on Saturday, February 19, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents Chaplin’s 1931 masterpiece, CITY LIGHTS accompanied by the Oakland Symphony under the direction of Timothy Brock, at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. This is a must see experience for all ages.
SHOW BIZ and JUST PLAIN WEIRD VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS
We did a random “Vintage Hollywood Valentines” Google search and came up with a treasure trove of images. And if you click on any given image it enlarges with several new images to the right.
Can you name the stars?
But we have gone further. If it is true that the way to a lover’s heart is through the stomach, check out some vintage food cards. Why stop there. We cover growing up, comics and animation and the really bizarre “Vinegar Valentines.”
Plus several renditions of the classic song, “My Funny Valentine” by Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak. Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and more.
Let’s All Go To The Movies! Again!
By Gary Meyer
For over a year few of us could go to a theater and enjoy movies the way they were meant to be seen. Audiences are slowly feeling comfortable returning as theaters have made a host of improvements to protect us and to my knowledge no new cases of Covid have been tracked to a cinema.
If you love them movies I hope that you will enjoy this entire article.
Silent Footsteps – SFSFF Amazing Tales Online- Free
By John Bengston
There was hidden interplay between movies filmed in Hollywood and in San Francisco. Buster Keaton filmed scenes adjacent to several San Francisco landmarks, but in each case before they were actually built!
Hosted by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, I will be presenting “Silent Footsteps — From San Francisco to Hollywood” on Sunday, June 6 at 12:00 noon PDT, as part of its ongoing “Amazing Tales Online” series. The webinar is free (register HERE), but SFSFF welcomes new members and support.