Rimusicazioni Film Festival 2014: Breath of the Nation – Schaecht’rock

New soundtracks for silent movies is the motto of the 15th Rimusicazioni Film Festival from 29/11 until 6/12 in Bolzano_Bozen, Meran_o, Ora_Auer and Trento. == Der Publikumspreis 2014 wird unter der Schirmherrschaft von franzmagazine vergeben. Ihr könnt auch mitstimmen – klickt dafür einfach auf den Facebook-Like-Button am Ende dieses Artikels. == Il Premio del Pubblico 2014 viene assegnato sotto il patrocinio di franzmagazine. Per votare i vostri preferiti cliccate il bottone Facebook Like in fondo alla pagina. 1/12–5/12/2014 H 12.00.

The Breath of a Nation (1919)
Production Company: International Films Service Co. (Educational Films Corp., distributor). Producer/Director: Gregory La Cava. Writer: Unknown; based on newspaper cartoon characters created by Thomas A. Dorgan. Animators: Grim Natwick (and Gregory La Cava?). Transfer Note: Copied at 22 frames per second from a 35mm tinted print preserved by George Eastman House. Running Time: 6 minutes.
The title of this 1919 cartoon puns on the historical epic of four years previous, The Birth of a Nation. But its subject is tied precisely to its year and, indeed, to its release on June 29. Lobbying by the Anti-Saloon League had brought congressional enactment of an ostensibly temporary “wartime” national prohibition law, which came into effect on July 1, 1919. Hence the cartoon opens with flipping calendar pages: “June 30” with its drawing of a beer stein and “July 1” with its raspberry float. With the Eighteenth Amendment coming into force in January 1920, the prohibition era was effectively under way.

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