Film series: Restorations & Rediscoveries
This fall, Cornell Cinema continues its long tradition of showcasing recent film restoration projects and rediscovered masterpieces.
For much of cinema history, movies were made on 16mm and 35mm film stocks, which are susceptible to damage from heat, moisture, light, general use, and neglect and exist in a finite number of copies. This material reality leaves many films at risk of being lost and makes film restoration an important part of collections care.
Film archives and preservation institutions around the world identify and preserve at-risk films, working with filmmakers, surviving film materials, and the latest digital technologies to restore the vibrancy, clarity, and depth of an original film print.
Our spring series features four recently restored films from celebrated directors Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cauleen Smith, Béla Tarr, and Jean Luc Godard. Highlighting a range of preservation projects, our Cornell Cinema series serves as a reminder of the complex, technological history of cinema and the degree to which preservation can be an important, political act.
Featuring:
Death of a Bureaucrat (La muerte de un burócrata)
directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (1966 Cuba)
Shown in a recent 4K restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos
Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 7pm
The Wicker Man
directed by Robin Hardy (1973 UK)
4K restoration from the original 35mm negative by Studiocanal at Silver Salt UK, produced in honor of the film's 50th anniversary. Courtesy of Rialto Pictures.
Friday, October 6, 2023 at 9pm
Friday, October 13, 2023, at 9pm
Drylongso
directed by Cauleen Smith (1998 USA)
Shown in a 4K restoration undertaken by the Criterion Collection, Janus Films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, supervised by director Cauleen Smith
Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 7pm
Contempt
directed by Jean Luc Godard (1963 France)
Shown in a 4K restoration by Studiocanal at Hiventy with support from the CNC, from the original 35mm negative, interpositive, and reference print by Raoul Coutard. Courtesy of Rialto Pictures.
Saturday, October 14, 2023, at 5:30pm
Sunday, October 22, 2023, at 7pm
Werckmeister Harmonies
directed by Béla Tarr (2000 Hungary)
Shown in a 4K restoration from Janus Films
Friday, November 10, 2023 at 7pm
