back from Pordenone

I just got back from the annual Pordenone silent film festival...we
finally moved back there from Sacile to the new Verdi...the theater
itself was aggravating and dangerous, even though it's a brand new
theater, the ventilation system was so bad the upper levels were like
being in a sauna. Worse, the uneven steps in the theater produced
numerous falls, one attendee was in the hospital for days afterward.

In general, the films this year had fewer 'undiscovered masterpieces'
none, in fact, but the overall range was good. Best film (which has
been shown already in the U.S.) was Chicago, which I think is far
superior to the musical best picture which mysteriously won for best
picture oscar.

Of interest to this group was the finding of a ten minute reel by
Alistaire Cooke when he, Chaplin, and Paulette Goddard went sailing to
Catalina around 1933. Lots of close ups of Chaplin..I've seen a lot of
home movies of Chaplin, but these ten minutes were far superior--the
fact he was just starting a relationship with Paulette, and got along
well with Cooke, seemed to make Chaplin the most relaxed I've ever
seen him--that is, he was 'on' but not completely 'on' when you see
him perform even for home movies. He looks like he's on top of the
world (and he is!) and is just really enjoying himself. He does a
little impromptu slapstick with Alistaire, and does some mimicing of
other stars, including Greta Garbo. Some unpleasant scenes with the
ship hooking sharks show some unPC elements, but these raw tapes are
quickly going to be condensed by someone for future film and DVD
release.