Cinematical

One of the neat things about this particular festival is that Roger Ebert tends to select from a wide array of films in setting the schedule, touching on everything from silent films to classics to newer indie films that didn't get as much attention as they should have. Friday's adventures at Ebertfest kicked off with a real treat: a screening of 1923 silent film Sadie Thompson, starring Gloria Swanson. The film, adapted by director Raoul Walsh from the W. Somerset Maugham story, was restored by the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. The last bit of it, I think must have been permanently lost or destroyed, because the last couple minutes were stills rather than moving picture. The film was accompanied by a live orchestra -- if you've never had the chance to watch a silent film accompanied by orchestra, and they do that at a fest near you, check it out. The audience was so responsive to the film; it was nice to see this 2007 audience really getting into a film made in 1923, and laughing loudly throughout.Next up was Come Early Morning, starring Ashley Judd and directed by Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy). I've missed this film at a couple of other fests, so was glad to finally get the chance to catch it. Judd turns in a really fine performance in this film; watching her in it made me wish she'd do a lot more indie films like this and a lot less commercial thrillers. Adams was on hand to intro the film; she is tiny, and she really does have that little-girl voice she had in Chasing Amy. There was a Q&A panel after, but I ditched it in favor of getting food in my stomach before the next film.

Third up to bat today was a real classic: 1960's La Dolce Vita, helmed by master auteur Federico Fellini. I learned something new in the intro -- that the film was one of the first foreign films to really cross over to the US, and that in 1960 it was the fifth ranking film here. Imagine a foreign film today enjoying that kind of clout. It's been ages since I saw this film, and I've never seen it on the big screen, so it was quite an experience. The other interesting bit I learned that I did not know was that Fellini originated the term "paparrazi" with this film; the main character, Marcello, is a journalist, and his friend who chases celebs around harassing them and taking photos is named Paparrazo. The relevance of the film to our celeb-idolizing pop culture today -- nearly 50 years after Fellini made this film -- is both astounding and kind of sad.

The last film of my evening started at 11:30PM (boy, do they need an espresso stand in that theater), and was a documentary about Freddy Mercury titled Freddie Mercury: the Untold Story. Now, I am a huge fan of Queen and Freddy Mercury, so this was one of the films I was most looking forward to seeing. The film focused most heavily on the childhood of the famous rock star, who was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar (another thing I learned for the first time -- film fests are so educational!). The film features interviews with Mercury's friends and lovers that give some interesting insight into him, but I would have liked to have seen more focus on his adult life and his work as an artist and a little less of the flashback reenactments of his youth in Zanzibar and at boarding school in India, which took up too much of the film.

No major Ebert news to report today; he was there earlier today for Come Early Morning, but was not at La Dolce Vita, and I don't believe he made the Freddy Mercury screening either, although his wife Chaz did the intro and led the pre-screening panel discussion about the film. Ebert has appeared to be in great spirits when I've seen him; I'm hoping to get a chance to talk with him tomorrow, so stay tuned for that, and for a photoblog and reviews of some of the films I've seen here.