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Home , Phillip Noyce

57th Locarno International Filmfestival

RETROSPECTIVE

Newsfront

ß Introduction

ß Program

ß Pubbliacations

NEWSFRONT

When the legend becomes fact, print the legend

An almost limitless range of films, documents, memories, legends, from which it was almost impossible to make a selection and which will certainly leave plenty of space for criticism as to oversights and omissions. A research process which set out to rediscover a narrative genre in its own right (let’s call it the “newspaper movie”), only to find itself touching on high-level issues – the nature of truth and the objectivity of the image – in a critical and historical reflection connected both to the cinema (the director’s gaze) and to the press (the ethics of the reporter, the fascination of mass media). And to top it all, the highly topical debate on the distortion of reality and the triumph of documentary filmmaking. The result of this journey in search of the relations between film and journalism, of the origins of the information machine, across over a century of the cinema, is Newsfront, the special event at this year’s Festival. It’s a program which has found itself very much tied up with the present as well as with the history of filmmaking. The title Newsfront came from the cinema (courtesy of Phillip Noyce), as did Print the Legend for the volume published for the retrospective by Les Cahiers du Cinéma (a celebrated line from ’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and That’s the Press, Baby! (from the film) for the affectionate anthology specially prepared by Piera Detassis and Mario Sesti. The original concept, put forward with passionate insistence, came from Irene Bignardi, while we owe to the generous assistance of many (outstanding among them Jean-Michel Frodon, Alissa Simon, Bernhard Uhlman and the Swiss Film Archive in Lausanne) the remarkable results achieved: movie fans will be able to choose from over 90 titles for comparison, discussion and sheer enjoyment. What is Newsfront in the final analysis? First and foremost a journey, tracking across four chapters in which historical examination is blended with thematic and stylistic assessments. Many masterpieces are celebrated in the process: some names spring to mind at once, such as Citizen Kane by Orson Welles, The Front Page by Lewis Milestone, Call Northside 777 by Henry Hathaway, Ace in the Hole by Billy Wilder, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by John Ford or All the President’s Men by Alan J. Pakula. The last named will be screened in Piazza Grande as a tribute to the hero of the Watergate scandal, journalist Carl Bernstein. Alongside the famous names, however, there will also be space for rare and unexpected titles: L’Affaire Dreyfus by Georges Meliès (1899), Making a Living (1914) with Charlie Chaplin as a cynical newshound, Buster Keaton as a Cameraman (1927), Romolo Marcellini’s Inviati speciali (1943), the heroic journalists of Invasion USA by Alfred E. Green (1952), the two screen versions of The Quiet American and the disaster movie The Day the Earth Newsfront

Caught Fire by Val Guest (1961), Ján Kadár’s censorship-struck Obzalovany (Defendant, 1964) and Oon Shab ke Baroon Oomad (The Night When It Rained, 1967) by Kamran Shirdel, the forgotten L’ambassade (Embassy, 1973) by Chris Marker and 1974, Une partie de campagne by Raymond Depardon, plus the great lessons in cinema of Michelangelo Antonioni and Jean-Luc Godard and the surprising attention devoted to the theme by Swiss filmmakers past and present. There will be rediscoveries such as the little- known Uslasma (The Consensus, 1992) by Turkish director Oguzhan Tercan, Opération Lune (Dark Side of the Moon, 2002) by William Karel, the premiere of the updated version of ’s Tanner ’88 and the very recent The Hunting of the President by Thomason and Perry, Control Room by Jehane Noujaim and The Revolution will not be Televised by Kim Bartley and Donnacha O’Brian. The four sections covered in each chapter (Prototypes, Genres, Filmmaker as Reporter and The Impure Eye) constantly overlap, however, creating a complex tissue of ideas which will be reflected in the keynote theme for each day of screening. In order to put together a retrospective which features over 90 titles (with the ones screening in Piazza Grande), including restored and specially prepared prints and international premieres as well as acknowledged classics and masterpieces of the genre, we had to make our programming flexible, using all kinds of screening formats, recreating the right conditions for the silent films and taking into account the importance of video in contemporary filmmaking. We also had to face the ever-increasing difficulty of obtaining top quality prints. In our view, it is the duty of a major festival retrospective to highlight this kind of problem. It must be emphasized therefore that in some cases (Fantômas for instance) we decided to go for a video format in order to show the results of recent restoration. In others we had the precious assistance (with help from private sources, too) of DVD producers, who today are often the saviors of genre films that otherwise might disappear altogether. One such instance was Invasion USA, of which there no longer exists an original print, while the digital copy is the result of a painstaking restoration. If it were not for the impetus from DVD for this kind of conservation and restoration work, a great number of films, both old and relatively new, would risk being lost for good. This is one of the tasks of a program dedicated to the memory of the cinema: to point out the constant danger of destruction facing our collective film inheritance and to encourage all new technical means of containing the damage. That does not mean that we prefer to take short cuts (video and DVD can never replace the original formats on film), or that we ignore the responsibilities of the State and private sector towards our heritage of images. On the contrary, our decision to present some films in a different format from their original one is above all a warning, a kind of deliberate scandal in the public eye. The ambition of every retrospective must be to provoke critical debate and, if at all possible, to add through its research to the state of our knowledge – of the cinema, but also of our own time. A themed retrospective must also face another problem. Shedding new light on or completing the history of the art and personality of a single master is the typical task of the historian, but in order to trace an outline across the surface of the History of Communication, the approach must implicitly be itself something close to cinematic. This is Newsfront why we conceived of Newsfront as a single project, but with multiple meanings, giving equal status to films, to the essays in the accompanying book and to the topical discussions of the two panels on the cinema and the press (in cooperation with the Swiss Press Association). Last but not least, of course, all these elements merge quite intentionally with the many titles which, in other Festival programs, feature stories and investigations worthy of the best reporting tradition. This is a retrospective dominated by the questions it raises, but without presuming to supply the answers; it is also a project which grew exponentially as we developed it, almost uncontrollably, as if the issues involved were stronger than our desire to define and contain them, as if the open questions involved had their own, urgent and necessary desire to be addressed.

Giorgio Gosetti and Giovanni Marco Piemontese

A retrospective of the 57th. Locarno International Film Festival.

In partnership with Cinémathèque Suisse.

Direction Giorgio Gosetti. Coordination Giovanni Marco Piemontese. Films researches in collaboration with Bernard Uhlmann. Researchs USA: Alissa Simon. In collaboration with: Hollywood Classics British Film Institute Metro Goldwyn Mayer Newsfront

NEWSFRONT - PROGRAM

1. L'AFFAIRE DREYFUS by George Méliès – FRANCE – 10 min, 1899 Production: Star Film 2. LE MYSTÈRE DES ROCHES DE KADOR by Léonce Perret - FRANCE - 45 min, 1912 Production: Gaumont 3. MAKING A LIVING by Henry Lehrman - USA - 15 min, 1914 Production: Keystone 4. FANTÔMAS CONTRE FANTÔMAS by Louis Feuillade - USA - 59 min, 1914 Production: Gaumont Restored Version 5. KÄRLEK OCH JOURNALISTIK by Mauritz Stiller - SWEDEN - 40 min, 1916 Production: Svenska Biografteatern Restored Version 6. THE MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM by Emile Chautard - USA - 75 min, 1919 Production: Mayflower Photoplay, Emile Chautard Picture Restored Version 7. THE KID REPORTER by Alfred J. Goulbyng - USA - 57 min, 1923 Production: Century Film Corporation 8. THE CAMERAMAN by Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton - USA - 67 min, 1928 Production: MGM 9. DER TEUFELSREPORTER by Ernst Laemmle - GERMANY - 60 min, 1929 Production: Deutsche Universal Film GmbH 10. FIVE STAR FINAL by Melvin Le Roy - USA - 89 min, 1931 Production: Warner Bros 11. THE FRONT PAGE by Lewis Milestone - USA - 101 min, 1931 Production: United Artists 12. SOB SISTER by Alfred Santell - USA - 67 min, 1931 Production: 20th Century Fox 13. NOTHING SACRED by William A. Wellman - USA - 75 min, 1937 Production: United Artists Restored Version Newsfront

14. HIS GIRL FRIDAY by Howard Hawks - USA - 92 min, 1940 Production: Columbia Pictures 15. STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR by Boris Ingster - USA - 64 min, 1940 Production: RKO 16. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY by George Cukor - USA -112 min, 1940 Production: MGM 17. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT by - USA - 119 min, 1940 Production: United Artists 18. CITIZEN KANE by Orson Welles - USA - 119 min, 1941 Production: Mercury Productions, RKO 19. MEET JOHN DOE by Frank Capra - USA - 132 min, 1941 Production: Warner Bros. Restored Version 20. INVIATI SPECIALI by Romolo Marcellini - ITALY - 90 min, 1943 Production: Littoria - Cif 21. THE BATTLE OF SAN PIETRO by - USA - 33 min, 1944 Production: U.S. Army Pictorial Service 22. THE STORY OF G.I. JOE by William A. Wellman - USA - 109 min, 1945 Production: Lester Cowan Productions 23. CALL NORTHSIDE 777 by Henry Hathaway - USA - 111 min, 1948 Production: 20th Century Fox 24. THE BIG CLOCK by John Farrow - USA - 95 min, 1948 Production: Paramount Pictures 25. THE LAWLESS by Joseph Losey - USA - 83 min, 1949 Production: Paramount Pictures 26. SHUBUN by - JAPAN - 104 min, 1950 Production: Shochiku Restored Version 27. ACE IN THE HOLE aka THE BIG CARNIVAL by Billy Wilder - USA - 112 min, 1951 Production: Paramount Pictures 28. INVASION USA by Alfred E. Green - USA - 74 min, 1952 Production: American Pictures, Columbia Pictures Restored Version 29. THE CAPTIVE CITY by Robert Wise - USA - 90 min, 1952 Production: Aspen Production, United Artists Newsfront

30. DEADLINE U.S.A. by Richard Brooks - USA - 87 min, 1952 Production: 20th Century Fox 31. PARK ROW by Sam Fuller - USA - 83 min, 1952 Production: United Artists 32. BIG TOWN - HEART OF THE CITY by William Asher - USA - 27 min, 1953 Production: Gross-Krasne 33. SCREEN DIRECTORS PLAYHOUSE - ROOKIE OF THE YEAR by John Ford - USA - 29 min, 1955 Production: Hal Roach Stubyos 34. WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS by Fritz Lang - USA - 99 min, 1956 Production:RKO 35. WIRE SERVICE - HIDEOUT by Alvin Ganzer - USA - 60 min, 1956 Production: Gross-Krasne 36. SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS by Alexander MacKendrick -USA - 96 min, 1957 Production: United Artists SPECIAL SCREENING PIAZZA GRANDE - Restored Version 37. THE LAST HURRAH by John Ford - USA - 121 min, 1958 Production: Columbia Pictures 38. THE QUIET AMERICAN by Joseph L. Mankiewicz - USA - 122 min, 1958 Production: Figaro, United Artists 39. DEUX HOMMES DANS MANHATTAN by Jean-Pierre Melville - FRANCE - 84 min, 1959 Production: Alter Films, Columbia Films S.A. 40. THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE by Val Guest - UK - 109 min, 1961 Production: Melina, British Lion 41. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE by John Ford - USA - 123 min, 1962 Production: John Ford Prod., Paramount Pictures 42. LE JOLI MAI by Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme - FRANCE - 165 min, 1963 Production: Sofracima 43. THE WAR GAME by Peter Watkins - UK - 50 min, 1964 Production: BBC 44. OBZALOVANY by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos - CZECHOSLOVAKIA - 90 min, 1964 Production: Ceskoslovensk_ Státní Film 45. NEDAMATGAH by Kamran Shirdel - IRAN - 12 min, 1965 Production: Ministry for Art and Culture Newsfront

46. TEHRAN PAIETAKHTE IRAN AST by Kamran Shirdel - IRAN - 18 min, 1966-1980 Production: Ministry for Art and Culture 47. BLOW UP by Michelangelo Antonioni - UK/ITALY - 111 min, 1966 Production: Bridge Films Restored Version 48. LOIN DU - CAMÉRA-OEIL by Jean-Luc Godard - FRANCE - 38 min, 1967 Production: Chris Marker 49. UN SHAB CHE BARUN UMAD by Kamran Shirdel - IRAN - 35 min, 1968-1974 Production: Ministry for Art and Culture 50. MEBYUM COOL by Haskell Wexler - USA - 110 min, 1969 Production: H & J, Paramount Pictures 51. ANAPARASTASSI by Theo Angelopoulos - GREECE - 110 min, 1970 Production: Ghiorgos Samiotis 52. HOA BINH by Raoul Coutard - FRANCE - 93 min, 1970 Production: Madeline Films 53. TOUT VA BIEN by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin - FRANCE - 95 min, 1971 Production: Anouchka Film, Vicco Films, Empire Films 54. IL CASO MATTEI by Francesco Rosi - ITALY - 116 min , 1972 Production: Vides 55. ALICE IN DEN STÄDTEN by Wim Wenders - GERMANY - 110 min, 1973 Production: Produktion 1 im Filmverlag der Autoren Restored Version 56. L’AMBASSADE - FILM 8MM TROUVÉ DANS UNE AMBASSADE by Chris Marker - FRANCE - 20 min, 1973 Production: E. K. 57. THE CONVERSATION by - USA - 113 min, 1974 Production: Zoetrope, Coppola Company, Paramount Restored Version 58. 1974, UNE PARTIE DE CAMPAGNE by Raymond Depardon - FRANCE - 90 min, 1974 Production: Palmeraie et désert International Premiere 59. BYE VERLORENE EHRE DER KATHARINA BLUM by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe Von Trotta - GERMANY - 106 min, 1975 Production: Bioskop Film, Paramount-Orion, WDR 60. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN by Alan J. Pakula - USA - 132 min, 1976 Production: Wildwood Enterprise, Warner Bros. SPECIAL SCREENING PIAZZA GRANDE Newsfront

61. JUDITH THERPAUVE by Patrice Chéreau - FRANCE - 126 min, 1978 Production: Buffalo Film, Gaumont 62. NEWSFRONT by Phillip Noyce - AUSTRALIA - 110 min, 1978 Production: Palm Beach Prod. Restored Version 63. GRAUZONE by Fredy M. Murer - SWITZERLAND - 103 min, 1979 Production: Nemo Film 64. DIE FÄLSCHUNG by Volker Schlöndorff - GERMANY, FRANCE - 109 min, 1981 Production: Bioskop Film, Argos, Artémis 65. OSTANOVILSYA POYEZD by Vadim Abdrashitov - URSS - 90 min, 1982 Production: Mosfilm 66. UNDER FIRE by Roger Spottiswoode - USA - 128 min, 1983 Production: Lions Gate, Under Fire Ass., MGM 67. THE THIN BLUE LINE by Errol Morris - USA - 103 min, 1988 Production: American Playhouse 68. ROGER & ME by Michael Moore - USA - 91 min, 1989 Production: Michael Moore 69. HAI JIAO TIAN YA by Tsai Ming Liang - TAIWAN - 75 min, 1989 Production: T.T.S. International Premiere 70. NEMA-YE NAZDIK by Abbas Kiarostami - IRAN - 85 min, 1990 Production: The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults 71. RASPAD by Mikhail Belikov - RUSSIA/USA - 98 min, 1990 Production: Studio Dovzhenko 72. XIAO HAI by Tsai Ming Liang - TAIWAN - 51 min, 1991 Production: T.T.S. International Premiere 73. GEI WO YI GE JIA by Tsai Ming Liang - TAIWAN - 53 min, 1991 Production: T.T.S. International Premiere 74. UZLASMA by Oguzhan Tercan - TURKEY - 104 min, 1992 Production: Belge Film 75. VIDEOGRAMME EINER REVOLUTION by Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica - GERMANY - 107 min, 1992 Production: Harun Farocki Filmproduktion Berlin Newsfront

76. WO XIN REN SHI DE PENG YOU by Tsai Ming Liang - TAIWAN - 60 min, 1995 Production: T.F.C. 77. SEGELL IKHTIFA by Elia Suleiman - PALESTINE - 84 min, 1996 Production: Dhat Production 78. WAG THE DOG by Barry Levinson - USA - 99 min, 1997 Production: New Line, Tribeca 79. JEUX DE RÔLES À CARPENTRAS by Jean-Louis Comolli - FRANCE - 98 min, 1998 Production: 13 Production, INA, Arte 80. LA PETITE VENDEUSE DE SOLEIL by Djibril Diop Mambéty - SENEGAL, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE - 45 min, 1999 Production: Waka Films, Maag Daan 81. LE JUGE ET L'HISTORIEN - L'AFFAIRE SOFRI by Jean-Louis Comolli - FRANCE, ITALIE - 65 min, 2001 Production: 13 Production, Arte France 82. OPÉRATION LUNE by William Karel - FRANCE - 52 min, 2002 Production: Point du Jour, Arte France 83. THE QUIET AMERICAN by Phillip Noyce - USA - 95 min, 2002 Production: Mirage Enterprises, Saga Films, IMF Production, Miramax Films 84. I TIGI A GIBELLINA. RACCONTO PER USTICA by Davide Ferrario - ITALY - 150 min, 2002 Production: Jolefilm, Tele + International Premiere 85. ARO TOLBUKHIN. EN LA MENTE DEL ASESINO by Agustí Villaronga, Isaac P. Racine, Lydia Zimmermann - MEXICO, SPAIN - 100 min, 2002 Production: Oberon Cinematografica 86. THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED by Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain - EIRE - 74 min, 2003 Production: Power Pictures 2002 87. ILARIA ALPI - IL PIÙ CRUDELE DEI GIORNI by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani - ITALY - 96 min, 2003 Production: Gam Film, Emme 88. TANNER '88 by Robert Altman - USA - 360 min, 1988 - 2004 Production: HBO (1988), Sandcastle 5, Sundance Channel (2004) International Premiere 89. SALVADOR ALLENDE by Patricio Guzman - CHILE, FRANCE, BELGIUM, GERMANY, SPAIN - 100 min, 2004 Production: JBA Production 90. CONTROL ROOM by Jehane Noujaim - USA/EGYPT - 84 min, 2004 91. THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT by Nick Perry and Harry Thomason - USA - 89 min, 2004 SPECIAL SCREENING PIAZZA GRANDE – International Premiere Newsfront

NEWSFRONT - PUBLICATIONS

The Locarno Film Festival retrospective will be marked by the publication of the monograph Print the Legend, edited by Giorgio Gosetti and Jean Michel Frodon and made possible by the partnership between the Festival and “Les Cahiers du Cinéma”. 322 pages / 25 Euros / 350 pictures black and white / 19.5 x 22