Lesser-Known Pioneers of Cinema
All films silent with musical accompaniment by Ben Model
Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 1:30 p.m.
Theater 3 (The Celeste Bartos Theater), mezzanine, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
While D. W. Griffith is the director most associated with the birth of film as art, the history of this early period would be incomplete without mention of several other pivotal figures. This program includes a sampling of competing passion plays and films by Griffith’s rival at Vitagraph (J. Stuart Blackton) and his predecessor at Biograph (Wallace McCutcheon, Jr.).
La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ. 1902. France. Directed by Ferdinand Zecca, Lucien Nonguet. 30 min.
La Vie du Christ. 1906. France. Directed by Alice Guy Blaché. 28 min.
The Automobile Thieves (incomplete). 1906. USA. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. 10 min.
Francesca di Rimini. 1908. USA. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. 10 min.
At the Crossroads of Life. 1908. USA. Directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. With D. W. Griffith. 10 min.
Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker. 1908. USA. Directed by Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. Screenplay by D. W. Griffith. Cinematography by G. W. “Billy” Bitzer. 15 min.
In the Film exhibition An Auteurist History of Film
Ticketing policies for film screenings
Sign up for now to receive MoMA's biweekly Film E-News
