Sundance 2011 Review: These Amazing Shadows

The National Film Registry and its importance to US film culture and society is explored in this engaging documentary

If one were to show a film to open Introduction to Film Studies class, you could hardly do worse than These Amazing Shadows, which premieres simultaneously at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival as well as nationwide on VOD. The documentary, directed by Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton, examines the history and efforts of the National Film Registry in preserving the United States’ film history for posterity. However, the Registry merely provides a pretext for the filmmakers to examine the importance of film history and preservation in general as they interview filmmakers, politicians, and archivists discussing the impact motion pictures have made on their lives and culture at large.

The story itself begins in the late Eighties when media mogul Ted Turner, who had purchased the MGM film library by this time, announced his decision to colorize many of the classic black and white films in his possession. Incensed by what amounted to desecration of beloved films, protests resulted with Turner’s position essentially being “I bought these movies so I’ll do what I want with them”, effectively reducing them down to product and nothing more. Congress, however, eventually thought otherwise and drafted the National Film Preservation Act of 1988. Films deemed worthy of “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance” are officially recognized as works of art to be preserved for posterity.

Every year, twenty-five new films are selected via The Librarian of Congress after public input and recommendations from the National Film Preservation Board and added to the list. Many titles are obvious classics including The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, and West Side Story along with others such as the infamous Zapruder Film documenting JFK’s assassination. Shadows’ first half essentially covers the Registry itself, its internal recommendation process as film scholars and critics debate and champion personal favorites. What comes across is a wide range of individuals passionate about all kinds of film and engaging in a healthy, non-partisan debate which has enriched the Registry at large by crafting a diverse list of studio, independent, and avant-garde films for protection.

The next major thematic thread is devoted towards the preservation process itself as the filmmakers investigate the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Preservation, which is a Congressionally-funded institute that is charged with maintaining actual preservation of remaining negatives and sound elements. The facility itself is a film geek’s dream with underground, climate-controlled vaults storing rusted film canisters containing masterpieces like Citizen Kane, each title tucked away safely. However, restoration is also a key component here and its importance is evidenced by decomposing nitrate films, many of them early silent pictures that are nearly unsalvageable. The site of one particular reel clumped together into a giant puck from water damage is painful to see. Archivists though, through patience and passion, clean and restore these neglected works frame by frame.

One famous example cited is the original Godfather; due to overzealous release print creation, the original film negative was nearly destroyed, ironic that a movie’s popularity can hurt it more than help it in this instance. The original’s wear and tear along with color decomposition, left scenes in a dark shade of blue and scratched. Through the campus’ expert restoration though, the original color and lighting was restored as close to optimal condition as possible. At other times, they are able to discover lost footage and film for that matter, that heretofore had been declared destroyed or missing for good. While the work process itself is intriguing to observe, it is the childlike passion of the staff that holds your attention.

The final major theme explores film itself though as an art form that is singularly able to capture culture and history like no other medium. American values are exemplified as films including To Kill A Mockingbird and West Side Story speak to the concepts of equality and opportunity to those from other places. Actor Tim Roth discusses how Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch in Mockingbird exemplified for his father what America at its best could be. Another intriguing Registry film cited is Topaz, a home movie documentary silently recording life in the Nisei internment camps during World War II, when Japanese-American were locked away in isolation and how they coped in their daily lives. The footage is frank and honest as well as providing an intimate view of history that is frequently ignored.

Other areas of exploration include racism, women in film, war, etc. all interwoven with Registry film clips that are insightful as well as simply pleasurable to watch. All in all, you can argue that the filmmakers have basically shot and sold the audience one long commercial for the National Film Registry but that’s alright. What they have done though is clearly, and with as little pretension as possible, demonstrate the value film has on our cultural history and why it does indeed matter.

To learn more about this film and where to view it, go to www.sundanceselects.com and www.theseamazingshadows.com