I returned on Tuesday from ten days in Italy, a little sick, a little tired, but happy to have spent time in both small-town Sacile and cosmopolitan Venice. The film festival I attended, eight days of silent films, was just about as obscure but a lot less boring than it might sound. It was great to see people from school, as well as other familiar faces from Harvard days, and new acquaintances as well. The films were, for the most part, terrific. Lots of great early Danish stuff, the requisite D. W. Griffith films I hadn’t seen but knew I should, as well as some very early trick films and nicely preserved Disney Silly Symphonies from the beginning of the sound era.
I caught a cold on Tuesday of the festival, and a few of us took Thursday off from movie-going to head to Venice and breathe some fresh air, as I think spending twelve hours a day in a theater breathing everyone else’s air can’t be good for the immune system. We visited Cimitero, the cemetery island, and Murano, island of glass-blowers, which were both great, and were places I probably wouldn’t have had time to get to during my Venice visit at the end of the week.
The highlight of the festival for me, and for others, I think, was the screening of King Vidor’s The Big Parade, with wonderful restoration work done by the Eastman House and the fine folks at Technicolor. Neil Brand’s accompaniment on piano was stunning, and the combination of image and sound made for the most moving silent film experience I’ve ever had. The final night’s screening of Lubitsch’s The Oyster Princess was also terrific; the lively, energetic accompaniment by the 14-piece Flat Earth Society (the Belgian brass group, not the contrarian thinkers or Thomas Dolby) more than made up for the fact that the film had to be screened on video thanks to a print shipping mixup. They were the perfect match for the over-the-top craziness of the film, and their work once again brought home how great it is to hear brass accompaniment for a silent film every once in awhile.
After the festival ended, I headed to Venice for a day and a half of sightseeing. The day I got into Italy, the buses were on strike so I had to find other transportation from the airport to the train station; this time, the trains were shut down, so I had to take a bus from Pordenone to Venice, which was a long, hot, crowded experience. I got in at mid-day, and took a vaporetto to my hotel, which was a little rich for my taste, but had a great location right on the Grand Canal. For the next day and a half, I walked. Sometimes I rode the vaporetti along the canals, but for the most part I just walked, aimlessly, without a map, down every narrow alley I saw, pausing on the hundreds of bridges to take in the view. What a city, and what a way you’re forced to experience it, either seeing every detail as you stroll by, or gliding past ancient buildings and ornate churches like a long tracking shot. I saved the gondola ride, the museums, and the romantic restaurants for the next trip with Aimee, whenever that may be.
