Modernity and Tradition
Film in Interwar Central Europe

The series includes original 35 mm prints from the collections of the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv; the Deutsche Kinemathek; the Hungarian National Film Archive; Kino International; the Library of Congress Motion Picture Division; the Murnau Stiftung; the National Center for Jewish Film; the National Film Archive, Prague; and the National Film Archive, Warsaw.

Avant-Garde Shorts — June 24 at 2:00 p.m.

Lecture

Between Surrealism and Constructivism: Avant-garde and Film in Central Europe in the 1920s and 1930s Marcin Giżycki, senior lecturer, Rhode Island School of Design

Film Program Follows

Vormittagsspuk (Ghosts before Breakfast) by Hans Richter
(1927/1928, 16 mm, silent, 6 minutes, Germany)

Buty (Boots) by Jerzy Gabrielsky
(1934, 35 mm, Polish with subtitles, 12 minutes, Poland)

Dziś mamy bal (There Is a Ball Tonight) by Jerzy Zarzycki and Tadeusz Kowalski
(1934, 35 mm, silent with music track and subtitles, 7 minutes, Poland)

Przygoda człowieka poczciwego (The Adventure of a Good Citizen) by Stefan and Franciszka Themerson
(1937, 35 mm, Polish with subtitles, 8 minutes, Poland)

Na Pražském hradě (At the Prague Castle) by Alexandr Hackenschmied
(1931, 35 mm, silent with music track, 11 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

Silnice zpívá (The Highway Sings) by Elmar Klos
(1937, 35 mm, Czech with subtitles, 4 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

Homeland, Homeland: My Country — June 30–July 7

June 30 at 12:30 p.m.
A magyar falu (The Hungarian Village) by László Kandó
(1935, 35 mm, Hungarian with English intertitles, 15 minutes, Hungary)
and
Hortobágy by Georg Höllering
(1936, 35 mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 82 minutes, Hungary)

July 1 at 4:00 p.m.
Zem spieva (The Singing Earth) by Karel Plicka
(1933, 35 mm, silent with music track, Czech and English intertitles, 133 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

July 7 at 1:00 p.m.
Das blaue Licht (The Blue Light) by Leni Riefenstahl
(1932, Digital Beta from 35 mm, silent, German intertitles with translation, 79 minutes, Germany)

July 7 at 2:30 p.m.
Tavaszi zápor (Spring Shower) by Pál Fejős
(1932, 35 mm, French and Hungarian with subtitles, 66 minutes, Hungary)

July 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Kujawiak (Kuyaviak) (from Polish Dance Series) by Eugeniusz Cękalski
(1935, 35 mm, English, 7 minutes, Poland)
and
Marijka nevěrnice (Faithless Marijka) by Vladislav Vančura
(1934, 35 mm, Ruthenian, Slovak, Yiddish, and Czech with subtitles, 76 minutes, Czechoslovakia)
and
Píseň o Podkarpatské Rusi (The Song of Ruthenia) by Jiří Weiss
(1937, 35 mm, Czech with translation, 11 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

The Most Important Art

July 15 at 4:00 p.m.
Im Schatten der Maschine (In the Shadow of the Machine) by Albrecht Viktor Blum
(1928, 35 mm, silent, German intertitles with translation, 20 minutes, Germany)
and
Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück (Mother Krausen's Journey to Happiness) by Piel Jutzi
(1929, 35 mm, silent, German intertitles with translation, 104 minutes, Germany)
and
Mir kumen on (Children Must Laugh) by Aleksander Ford
(1935, 16 mm, English narration and Yiddish spoken with subtitles, 56 minutes, Poland)

Celluloid Myths and Celluloid Dreams — July 22–July 29

July 22 at 4:00 p.m.
Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (Waxworks) by Paul Leni
(1924, 35 mm, silent, French intertitles with translation, 83 minutes, Germany), with live piano accompaniment by Ben Model
and
Divotvorné oko (The Magic Eye) by Jiří Lehovec
(1939, 35 mm, Czech with subtitles, 10 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

July 29 at 4:00 p.m.
Der Dibuk (The Dybbuk) by Michał Waszyński
(1937, 35 mm, Yiddish with subtitles, 123 minutes, Poland)

City Films

August 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Praha v září světel (Prague at Night) by Svatopluk Innemann
(1928, 35 mm, silent, 24 minutes, Czechoslovakia)
and
Bezúčelná procházka (Aimless Walk) by Alexandr Hackenschmied
(1930, 35 mm, silent, 20 minutes, Czechoslovakia)
and
Žijeme v Praze (Living in Prague) by Otakar Vávra
(1934, 35 mm, silent with music track, 13 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

August 4 at 2:30 p.m.
Berlin: Die Sinfonie einer Großstadt (Berlin: Symphony of a Big City) by Walter Ruttmann
(1927, 35 mm, silent, 65 minutes, Germany)
and
Großstadt Zigeuner (Urban Gypsies) by László Moholy-Nagy
(1932, 35 mm, silent, 11 minutes, Germany)
and
Budapest fürdőváros (Budapest, City of Baths) by István Somkúti
(1935, 35 mm, silent with music track, 14 minutes, Hungary)
and
Jewish Life in Kraków by Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind
(1938 / 1939, 16 mm, Yiddish with subtitles, 10 minutes, Poland)
and
Jewish Life in Lwów by Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind
(1938 / 1939, 16 mm, Yiddish with subtitles, 11 minutes, Poland)
and
Jewish Life in Warsaw by Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind
(1938 / 1939, 16 mm, Yiddish with subtitles, 10 minutes, Poland)

The Popular — August 18–September 2

August 18 at 1:00 p.m.
Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) by F. W. Murnau
(1924, 35 mm, silent with English intertitles, 90 minutes, Germany)

August 18 at 3:00 p.m.
Címzett ismeretlen (Address Unknown) by Béla Gaál
(1935, 35 mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 88 minutes, Hungary)

August 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Maskerade (Masquerade in Vienna) by Willi Forst
(1934, 16 mm, German with translation, 100 minutes, Austria)

August 26 at 4:00 p.m.
Hej rup! (Heave Ho!) by Martin Frič (Jiří Voskovec / Jan Werich)
(1934, 35 mm, Czech with subtitles, 99 minutes, Czechoslovakia)

September 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) by Josef von Sternberg
(1930, 35 mm, German with subtitles, 106 minutes, Germany)

Introduced by Peter Rollberg, chair, department of Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literatures, George Washington University

The following film series will also be shown in the East Building Auditorium at various times between May and September 2007.

Czech Modernism: 1920–1940—May 12–June 17

New Romany Cinema from Hungary—June 30

New City Symphonies—August 5

Lech Majewski—August 11, August 12, and August 19

New Austrian Experimental Cinema—September 1

Films are shown in original format in the auditorium of the National Gallery's East Building at Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Seating is on a first-come basis. To ensure a seat, please plan to arrive at least ten minutes before showtime. Programs are subject to change.