Movies: 50 special films and an evening series
By Sudie Blanchard Assistant Director
This summer, with the "Sunday at the Movies" series in full swing, we seem to have movies on our mind. Movie enthusiasts will be happy to know that this spring, thanks in part to a gift from a local movie buff, the library has been able to acquire "The Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films." This collection consists of 50 films in DVD format, accompanied by a large, fully illustrated book that contains a short introduction by Martin Scorsese, followed by a thorough history of Janus Films and the art-house phenomenon written by film historian Peter Cowie. There are also cast lists and concise descriptions for each film, along with the film's artistic and historical significance.
Janus Films was founded in 1956 by Harvard friends and film aficionados Bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey at the Brattle Theatre, Boston's famous repertory house. Knowing first hand that there was real market for high-quality foreign films, the company began by distributing Federico Fellini's "The White Sheik" and "I Vitelloni." The success of those films led to Janus's acquiring distribution rights for films by most of the great foreign directors of mid-century: Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut and others.
In 1965, the company's new owners, movie critic William Becker and documentary producer Saul Turell, expanded the company's mission. In addition to distributing new films, they started acquiring and distributing classics, such as Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast" and Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon." Janus became the means by which film lovers, such as the young Martin Scorsese, first encountered the work of Sergei Eisenstein, G.W. Pabst and others.
The titles of some of the 50 films in the collection are familiar: "Beauty and the Beast"(1946), "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952), "M. Hulot's Holiday"(1953),"The 39 Steps"(1935) and "La Strada"(1954). Other titles may be ones that most of us have not encountered before: "Ikiru"(1952), "Häxan"(1922), "Ugetsu"(1953) and "Fists in the Pocket"(1965). To see a list of all the movies in the set, search our catalog using "Janus Films" as the author. The book that accompanies the Janus collection is in our reference section, so it's always available for browsing. If you love movies and remember the days before video, you are in for a treat - borrow a few of these classic art films and enjoy!
Although our "Sunday at the Movies" series is nearly half over, there are still films to please everyone in your family. This coming Sunday at 7 p.m., for example, families will enjoy the adventures of Mumbles, the tap-dancing penguin in "Happy Feet." On July 26, for a change of pace, watch "The Italian," an award-winning film about a Russian orphan adopted by an Italian couple. Other films in the weekly series, which concludes on Sept. 9, include "Pirates of the Caribbean" on Aug. 12, "Annie Hall" on Aug. 26 and "Coming Home" on Sept. 2.
