tbolan

This is the final film in the series, “The Court Martial at Rennes” because two other films have been lost. The court martial takes place at the Lycée in Rennes. The bailiff of the court strides up and makes an announcement. The judges arrive and take their seats, along with Dreyfus’s lawyer Maître Labori and two other men. Dreyfus is then brought in, and a judge questions him. General Mercier, the first witness, enters, salutes the judges, and mimes that he’d like a seat. A chair is brought in, and a debate follows, which becomes heated to the point when Mercier leaps up and begins gesticulating. Mercier’s testimony lasted for four hours and he definitely dominated the courtroom, although Picquart, not shown in the film, also left a lasting impression with his cool intellect. When Mercier sits down, Dreyfus rises and makes a protest. Unfortunately for Dreyfus, they found him guilty once again. However, his sentence was much lighter, having to serve only ten years, with credit given for the five he had already served. The next question to ask was whether to apply for a pardon. Many people, Emile Zola included, felt that asking for a pardon implied guilt. However if a pardon would be granted within twenty-four hours it would seem as though the government knew they made a mistake. A pardon was asked for, mainly because it did not look like Alfred Dreyfus could handle another week in jail, let alone another five years. Also Dreyfus was told he would get the pardon within at most two days. The pardon did not come until eight days later. Lucie and Alfred’s brother Matthieu took Alfred to the country to recuperate, he had lost a lot weight and had difficulty speaking.

This film is harder to follow than the other ones if you do not know the story since there is less action. However, the people of Georges Melies’s time would have known the case well, it being the most popular case in France at the time. People were able to buy each film individually making it much more affordable and practical. The film however was highly controversial and was banned in France until around 1950. This is possibly and probably the first time a film was censored for political reasons.

“The Attempt against the Life of Maître Labori” is the seventh film in the series. It begins with Maitre Labori, Alfred Dreyfus’s lawyer, along with Colonel Georges Picquart, the man who discovered that Esterhazy was the traitor and not Dreyfus, and M. Gast the Mayor of Rennes. There also is an unknown woman accompanying the trio. The group is walking near a bridge, where they stop for to have a chat, and the woman leaves them. A lurking man creeps up behind them, acting suspiciously. The trio seem to notice this gruesome man, but they pay him no heed and continue with their talk. The men turn around to  walk across the bridge, but the man pulls out a concealed gun and shoots Maitre Labori twice in the back. The shooter runs away, hotly followed by Colonel Picquart and the mayor. Labori has fallen down to  the ground in agony and writhes in pain. Labori tries to get help from people who pass by, but they fail to notice him. This is almost comical because it would seem apparent that someone would notice if a man was on the floor calling for help. Finally a third person comes by, notices him and rushes to his aid and calls for more people to help, and a few people respond.

The assassination attempt occurred one week after Dreyfus’s second trial began. Fortunately the wounds were not mortal, in fact they were not even that serious and Maitre was back on his feet in less than two weeks. One interesting thing to note is that it is possible that Melies is the player of the assassin. Is there anything he can’t do?

The film which follows this one is “The Fight of Reporters.” It starts off with perhaps a dozen men in the stereotypical news reporter hat all shaking hands amiably. Soon however a fight breaks out and everyone get involved. However once the guards get involved many flea and those who do not are kicked out.

Whats was interesting about this film is the breaking of the fourth wall. The reporters run to and past the camera. This clip also demonstrates the fierceness with which people were sided into the Dreyfusard and Anti-Dreyfusard camps. This film seems the most like it was taken at the actual time in place instead of being a reenactment.

In this film, “Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon,” Méliès shows Dreyfus arriving at Quiberon on a dark and stormy night. In the cloudy background lightening flashes. This is one of the very first special effects ever, George Méliès is called the “First Wizard of Cinema.” A group of military personnel waits beside a boat moored in the harbor. The soldiers on the boat bob up and down as though they were on a boat in rough water. One soldier hands over papers to another officer. The officer gives them his signature. Then Alfred Dreyfus emerges from the boat. The soldiers surround him and they escort him off scene. The actual occurrence of this event is quite similar to what was portrayed, however it is also the scene that is most apparently fake with the clouds in the background not moving and and obvious lack of space between the foreground and background. Dreyfus landed at the port of Quiberon on July 1 1899. A severe storm had kept the ships from landing in the docks and Dreyfus had to be taken to shore in a smaller boat. The soldiers in the film were those responsible for transporting Dreyfus to the military prison located in Rennes. The army had chosen Rennes because they were hoping to keep the retrial under the rug and did not want publicity. The last thing the military wanted was to seem like they had made a mistake, which is part of the reason the retrial was not a success until the king pardoned Dreyfus eight days after his conviction.

“Dreyfus meets his wife at Rennes” follows the “Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon” in the Dreyfus Affair series. Dreyfus is sitting at a desk in a room busy with some papers. Then two men enter the room after a guard. They are Dreyfus’s two lawyers, Edgar Demange and Fernand Labori. They sit around the desk and Dreyfus points to something on a paper and a lively discussion begins.Then the guard reenters, says something and then Lucie Dreyfus enters along with her friend Madame Havet. Lucie and Alfred rush into each other’s arms and have a warm embrace. It is short lived however and Dreyfus sits forlornly down seeming to know their reunion will be short-lived. In contrast to the previous film, this one does not rely on special effects, but on the emotional portrayal of Alfred and Lucie.

The next film in the series by George Méliès is “Dreyfus is Put in Irons”. The scene takes place in Dreyfus’s cell, he is asleep and two guards enter and wake him up. One guard reads Dreyfus something from a piece of paper. Dreyfus reacts in a  surprised and incredulous manner, pointing to himself and finally falling back down into his bed and clasping his hands. The guards then move furniture out of the way and put Alfred Dreyfus’s feet in irons, attached to the bed.  Dreyfus continues to look as though he cannot believe what is happening. He seems to make a final plea but the guards ignore him and walk out.

Dreyfus was put in irons after an article was published in London stating that Alfred Dreyfus had escaped Devil’s Island. This article was written not only to sell newspapers, but also to keep interest in the Affair alive. Dreyfus’s family knew that the only way to get a retrial besides getting new evidence was to maintain public interest in the story. Despite these efforts to help him, they actually worsened his time at Devil’s Island. Dreyfus was now shackled to his bed every night, had shorter time outside and could no longer view the ocean.

The following film is the “Suicide of Colonel Henry”. This film like its name depicts Colonel Henry’s suicide. Colonel Henry is anxiously pacing back and forth in the room. Then he makes up his mind, sits down, and picks up a quill. He writes a note and then shoots up. He picks up a razor, takes a few final moments and then slits his throat. He falls to the floor and three guards burst in, presumably after hearing the noise, but this is a silent film. One guard takes Colonel Henry’s pulse and another finds a note.

Colonel Henry was the forger of the secret dossier used against Dreyfus in his first trial. He fabricated evidence because the military was worried they did not have enough evidence to convict Dreyfus of treason. A few years after the trial Colonel Henry did commit suicide and had left a note stating it was he who fabricated the secret dossier. However this did not clear Dreyfus’s name. In fact some Anti-Dreyfusards, as they were called, claimed this to be a patriotic act and that Dreyfus was still guilty.  I still cannot comprehend this willful ignorance and plain stupidity.

In 1899 Georges Méliès made a series of short films about the Dreyfus Affair. The first of these films was on the Captain Alfred Dreyfus’s arrest. After the discovery of the famous bordereau, a letter to the German spy Esterhazy offering French military secrets, Dreyfus was suspected. He was in the artillery division and Jewish, two strikes against him since the secrets regarded artillery and France was anti-Semitic. Also, Dreyfus’s handwriting looked somewhat similar to the bordereau. To confirm Dreyfus as the culprit, they asked him to come in out of uniform and then asked him to write a passage from the bordereau under the guise that du Paty de Clam injured his hand and could not write. Dreyfus wrote, but because the room was cold his hand was shaking and they accused him of trying to disguise his handwriting. In the film Dreyfus is in his military uniform. They also show him writing the note and then being accused. Dreyfus is offered a gun to commit suicide instead of being dishonored by being charged with treason, but he refuses, as actually did happen. Dreyfus then leaves the scene. The next film shows Dreyfus at Devil’s Island where he was imprisoned after being found guilty. The trial was largely just for show. Evidence was fabricated and given only to the military tribunal, so the defense had no way of refuting it. Dreyfus was then sentenced to be imprisoned on Devil’s Island, the same place Napoleon was exiled to. The film shows Dreyfus in his outside walled area pacing aimlessly. The scenery is actually very accurate with what Devil’s Island had looked like. Dreyfus seems exasperated and then pulls out a book. Dreyfus did actually learn English by reading Shakespeare while he was on Devil’s Island. A guard enters the scene and hands Dreyfus a letter, but does not speak to him. Dreyfus and his wife Lucie did keep a correspondence throughout the duration of his imprisonment and the guards were forbidden to speak to him. His letters from his wife were read before they reached them and often censored and/or transcribed so they could not pass secrets. This took the small comfort that his wife’s handwriting was away. Dreyfus reads the letter and snaps his fingers in a frustrated and agitated manner. He then shakes his head and takes a seat.

With only twenty some odd more days till my favorite holiday, Christmas, something had felt missing. This is my first year not living at home during the Christmas “season” and it’s definitely strange to say the least. Besides not being with my family and watching the Christmas classics such as Elf, The Muppets Christmas Carol, and all the claymations that help make the season bright, there was also something else that was missing. At home there is the seven foot tree, the nativity scene, the advent wreath, the miniature Who village my sister created, the multicolored lights, the garland the poinsettias, and the ubiquitous cards that surround the living room. This is in large part what was making my room feel so lonely. So to remedy this I brought the string of colored lights that I would hang in my room at home, cut out some paper snowflakes, a few of which came out quite good, and started making cardboard cutouts of the characters from Christmas movies I love. While I was making the Grinch and Max, I was wondering what art in the everyday I could blog about. Then I realized, I was making art. I had started off with cutouts of Snow Miser and Heat Miser, two of my favorite characters and they came out pretty nicely in my opinion. Then I made two evergreen trees because I couldn’t think of what else to make. The next day, while procrastinating, I saw my background and realized I could make a cutout of what I had staring me in the face, the Winter Warlock and Kris Kringle putting one foot in front of the other. I was still pleased with how this cutout came out, but the silhouette is less interesting and the cardboard was thicker so it looks fuzzy. Today while procrastinating once again, I made cutouts of Rudolph and Clarice. After I finished that duo, I made the Grinch and his dog Max. I really like how both sets came out. These cutouts really do add to the feeling of Christmas. They remind me of my childhood watching these movies with my family and just feeling so loved and complete. This may sound silly, but that’s why I love these movies, not because of the amazing animation or spellbinding storyline, but because they remind me of a time when all was right with the world when my family could gather in the living room, turn on the lights on the tree, and watch as Ralph and his family have Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Bolan, Thomas. Cutouts of Christmas. 2011. Cardboard. The Human Fund.

Late last night I got a call from a friend asking me if I wanted to go to a museum in the morning. My initial reaction was, I do not want to wake up early on a Saturday, since I enjoy sleeping in a lot. But after a moment of consideration I decided it would be useful since I need to blog some more, and even if the museum was no good, it would probably still be fun going with my friend. So I woke up at 9:30, got ready and set out. It was a surprisingly beautiful day, although still a bit chilly. Yet we saw an astonishing number of people donning shorts and a few in flip-flops. The museum we went to was the MCNY, located of 5^th also known as Museum mile. The museum itself is beautiful on the outside and overlooks Central Park. At the Museum of the City of New York there are two exhibits on the World Trade Center, The Twin Towers and the City: Photographs by Camilo Jose Vergara and The Twin Towers and the City: Paintings by Romain de Plas. The first is an exhibit display four decades of photography of the World Trade Center spot. The photos are taken from the surrounding area of the Twin Towers: Brooklyn, New Jersey, the Bronx, and Manhattan. It was astonishing to see the difference in pre and post 9/11 photos. The space left by the towers feels unnaturally empty. It feels like the city is missing a big part of it, and yet can still feel the space it should be in like a phantom limb. Besides the obvious affects the Twin Towers create, you can also see how lower Manhattan has developed. The exhibit of Romain de Plas is a collection of eight oil paintings, a series he began after 9/11 in his studio in downtown Manhattan. Unfortunately, de Plas passed away before he could complete his series. This is the first time that these paintings are on display. They show a variety of emotion, from muddled and confused to violent and angry to calm and peaceful. What I liked most about these was the fact that they were oil and you could see the layers of paint. I don’t know why but I always liked that. I also liked the smoke swirls because it was childlike to make it look like it and yet also sophisticated. I really enjoyed this museum and I am shocked it’s not talked about more.

One really cool exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, was the New York Interiors: Furnishings for the Empire City. This exhibit displays six different rooms from the colonial era to the early 1900s. They show very clearly how style has changed, along with wealth, and yet how certain elements remain throughout time. The first display, The Dutch Alcove, is set between 1680 and 1710. What I thought made it most evidently Dutch was the Dutch door, I thought that was pretty cool, and the blue and white ceramics. At home my mother has blue and white ceramic miniature clogs, so it was amusing seeing a similar feature in this room that is set over three hundred years ago. The next display, Cherry Street Alcove, is set in 1760, and is based on a house that once occupied 29 Cherry Street. I learned that the ball and claw feature that dominated the feet of the chairs, is actually based on the Chinese image of a dragon clasping a pearl. The furniture is heavily influenced by Thomas Chippendale, the foremost figure of cabinet making at the time. His name is attached to Rococo design, which is reflected in the room. The Benkard Alcove is placed in the early 1800s. The most interesting piece in this room was the gaming table, centered in the display. The bed was surprisingly small, seeming more appropriate for a child rather than a married couple. The Whitney Alcove is placed in the peak of the American Classical Style, 1820-1830. Most of the furniture exhibited came from a suite designed by Duncan Phyfe, a notable designer who said what was haute in furniture. It was designed for Stephen Whitney’s drawing room. He was a wealthy merchant and lived at 7 Bowling Green. The Pierrepont Alcove is based on the Renaissance Revival that occurred it the mid to late nineteenth century. Renaissance style was reflected in more than just the seating, but in the cabinets and even the candlesticks. The final alcove is the Flagler Alcove. A portion of the room comes from the 1868 home of Anne and Harry Flagler, but the rest come from after they purchased the house in 1902 and had it remodeled by Willard Parker Little. To suit their diverse tastes, he has elements of the room inspired by Renaissance Italy, Classical mythology, and eighteenth century English architecture. This was probably may favorite room, although the ceiling is a bit disconcerting with the patternof women’s faces peering down on you. This exhibit was very interesting and I would definitely recommend it.

Pictured below is the Flager Alcove

I have always loved New York, the vitality, the availability of anything and everything, the acceptance of all kinds of people, the subway, the skyscrapers, the ideals of the city, the hopes of those that come here. This film, Timescapes, showed all of these and more, making me fall even further in love with New York.  In the showing room, there are three screens, each which show a different image while the narrator discusses the evolution of New York. The film begins with New York’s beginning, the settlement by the Dutch and the famous deal for Manhattan from the Native Americans for the bargain price of twenty-four dollars. The film continues with the British conquest and renaming of New Amsterdam to New York after the king’s brother, the Duke of York. The film shows New York change from a merchant city to a center not only of commerce, but also of industry. The creation of the Erie Canal made New York the center for shipping goods to and from the Midwest. New York’s elite fleet actually made it cheaper for Southern states to ship their products to New York first, then from there to Europe. The growth of New York to the rest of the Island was facilitated by the waves of immigrants, now working in the numerous factories on the island and by the development of the above ground trains known as El trains. The development of bridges, especially the Brooklyn Bridge, linked New York with other cities, and coupled with public transportation, allowed people to live away from work for the first time ever. It also allowed for people to experience much more, traveling to the new resorts such as Coney Island. The film explains how New York really became a metropolis, with avenues that defined fields, like Broadway did entertainment. The struggles New York experienced are also depicted, showing the unfathomable gap between rich and poor, with the rich living in opulent estates, while the poor crammed together in tenement houses. But New York rebounded, at least for a short time until a period of chaos took hold. A wave of arson devastated the Bronx, and slums became more numerous. However New Yorkers rebounded once again, and New York became the safest big city in America. With the attacks of September 11^th, New Yorkers were once again tested, but once again, rose above it, feeling a strong sense of unity against terror. Today New York is what I consider the best city in the world, and this film proves it. If you every have time I would strongly recommend seeing it.

Timescapes. Dir. Barton, Jake and James Sanders. Museum of the City of New York, 2005. Film

After lazing away an hour or so after my last class in the destitute Hunter Library that seems to have more portraits than people after five o’clock, I met up with Taylor and Sarah to see the play Antigone. I had read Antigone in my junior year of high school as an extra credit assignment after reading Oedipus Rex, however I was unimpressed. Antigone, meaning against man, is the cursed daughter of Oedipus, former king of Thebes, married to his own mother, and killer of his father. All his children, like their father, have a curse. His two sons kill each other in battle, one for Thebes, one against Thebes. Proper burial is forbidden for the rebel, which means his spirit will wander for eternity, and never reach Hades. Antigone is moved by love to give her brother a burial, even though the penalty is death. Antigone tries to get her sister but her sister refuses to help. Antigone gives her brother funeral rites, but is discovered. The king of Thebes Creon, must now decide to enforce or renege on his decree since Antigone is his niece and engaged to his son. Creon holds his edict firm and sentences Antigone to be entombed in a cave. Soon after Creon regrets his decision and opens the tomb to find Antigone has hanged herself and her fiancé, Creon’s son, has killed himself as well. The performance of this was consistent with the plot, but I did not like it. The acting was in need of a life preserver, and I believe whoever auditioned received the part, since a male role was played by a women. The best actor was Choragus, leader of the chorus. Another thing I found irritating was the use of guns instead of swords. I would have preferred historical accuracy instead of symbolism.  Also the costume seemed more appropriate for Russian peasant women in the 1930’s with the exception of the burqa and the hijabs. The scenery was bland and monochromatic and the lighting was boring except when it was shined blindingly in your eyes. Perhaps I was so disappointed because References to Salvador Dali Make me Hot was done so well. I also feel they should’ve explained more why Antigone needed to bury her brother, since I knew only because I have read many myths regarding the afterlife. I hope that the theater department’s next production is better.