Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films (2011)

Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films Poster

Among the pieces featured in Fragments are the final reel of John Ford's The Village Blacksmith (1922) and a glimpse at Emil Jannings in The Way of All Flesh (1927), the only OscarĀ®-winning performance in a lost film. Fragments also features clips from such lost films as Cleopatra (1917), starring Theda Bara; The Miracle Man (1919), with Lon Chaney; He Comes Up Smiling (1918), starring Douglas Fairbanks; an early lost sound film, Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), filmed in early Technicolor, and the only color footage of silent star Clara Bow, Red Hair (1928). The program is rounded out with interviews of film preservationists involved in identifying and restoring these films. Also featured is a new interview with Diana Serra Cary, best known as "Baby Peggy", one of the major American child stars of the silent era, who discusses one of the featured fragments, Darling of New York (1923).

Film Background
"Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films" is an exceptional documentary that originated in 2011. Presented by the National Film Preservation Foundation, it is an anthology that records nearly four hours of unusual and found video footage from quiet films and talkies that were considered lost for years. The film resonates with North American cinema's abundant history, offering movie lovers one-of-a-kind seeing experience that resounds across time.

The Collection
The documentary includes pieces of 50 films covering the time duration from 1911 to 1931, showcasing a broad range of content and categories. These consist of newsreels, comedies, westerns and drama films, reel scans, and fragments from popular names in quiet movies like Theda Bara, Clara Bow, and Louise Brooks. For instance, among the most interesting films in the collection is a scene from Theda Bara's 1917 Cleopatra that gives a look of her strange and enigmatic character. The film likewise witnesses an uncommon glance of Helen Holmes in a serial of The Hazards of Helen, revealing her amazing stunt work.

Conservation Efforts
The discovery, collection, and discussion included a carefully massive research and restoration undertaking. These movie pieces were discovered in archives and personal collections worldwide, frequently in conditions that made the procedure of making them viewable incredibly precarious. The National Film Preservation Foundation has played an important function in restoring and digitizing the videos.

Historic Importance
The pieces showcased in the film deal far more than cinematic entertainment. They aesthetically state a period of human history, culture, society, and more notably, the developed viewpoint of filmmaking art. The movies function as historical documents that creatively communicate self-perception and ideology of the time. The movie also uncovers the culture of consumption and the societal constructs of centuries past by displaying lost popularity, boycotted stories, and the development of ideation.

The Viewing Experience
The fragmented nature of the consisted of footage makes the viewing experience distinct and extraordinary. It provokes interest and eagerness in audiences as they seize the opportunity to understand partial stories, missing discussions, unfinished stories, and broken chains of occasions. Each film clip presents a tantalizing look of a bygone period - these bits of films work as time pills, providing viewers with an immersive experience of the past.

The Film Experience
"Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films" leaves an extensive mark on its audiences, owing to its thorough technique in including different genre movies and varied stories, albeit in pieces. The movie uses a restoration of apparently lost memories and insinuates the value of conservation. It incites feelings of fond memories, curiosity, and cultural enlightenment.

Conclusion
In its totality, the film is an emotional journey for its viewers, transporting them to an age they had little knowledge of but can experience through the pieces presented. By wonderfully piecing together these making it through pieces of lost films, the documentary supplies an indispensable treasure to movie buffs, film historians, and everybody who values the advancement of the cinematic world. It likewise serves as a testament to the efforts and dedication of movie preservationists who keep our movie theater history alive.

Top Cast

  • Baby Peggy (small)
    Baby Peggy
    Herself
  • Heather Linville
    Herself - Film Preservationist: Academy Film Archive
  • Mike Mashon
    Himself
  • Michael Pogorzelski
    Himself
  • King Baggot (small)
    King Baggot
    Himself (archive footage)
  • Theda Bara (small)
    Theda Bara
    Herself (archive footage)
  • Clara Bow (small)
    Clara Bow
    Herself (archive footage)
  • Louise Brooks (small)
    Louise Brooks
    Herself (archive footage)
  • Lon Chaney (small)
    Lon Chaney
    Himself (archive footage)
  • Betty Compson (small)
    Betty Compson
    Herself (archive footage)
  • Oliver Hardy (small)
    Oliver Hardy
    Himself (archive footage)