I was sent the text below about the silents shown at the recent Telluride Film Festival:

Two wonderful silent programs were featured this year at the Telluride Film Festival. The annual “Pordenne Presents” show was the gorgeous restoration from the George Eastman House of King Vidor’s THE BIG PARADE with a wonderful score played by Gabriel Thibaudeau. This powerful war epic is often taken for granted as a classic but rarely actually screens today. It confirms its reputation as a masterpiece and proves to have a contemporary resonance.

Creating equal buzz was PEOPLE ON SUNDAY the early collaboration of Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer from a script by Billy Wilder, Kurt and Robert Siodmak. Stunning cinematography by Eugen Schufftan and Fred Zinneman contribute to making this unique non-traditional narrative worth seeking out if the print from the Netherlands Film Museum makes its way to your area. Sadly, you probably won’t have a chance to experience the 6 person Mont Alto Orchestra’s lively score.

Leoanrd Maltin presented a two-hour collection of restored Vitaphone shorts with informative and humorous introductions. Legendary composer Michel Legrand and French director/film buff Bertrand Tavernier were among the audience members who couldn’t get enough.

In the Festival’s newest venue, The Backlot, dedicated to movies about movies, the new documentary THE DAWN OF SOUND was featured as was the found segment of THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906) with discussion about the restoration process from Paolo Cherchi Usai.

The lobby of The Backlot and the Brigadoon hospitality tent featured the extensive display “A Life Discovered: Unseen Material from the von Stroheim Collection” courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

For the complete program, go to www.TellurideFilmFestival.org.

==============

Those living in Northern California are in for a treat on October 26 & 27 when the 2nd Annual Silent Film Festival in Redding will be produced by David Shepard with live music by Frederick Hodges.

More info at: http://www.shastaartscouncil.org/silent.html