Media Archaeology A critical approach to the policy of active reusing of archival footage stored in Audiovisual Archives worldwide.
INTRODUCTION
Archival footage have been used in many historical documentaries and studies produced at universities worldwide. Famous film directors like the late Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2008) has made use of real shots in some of his movies too. Why is the real shots of events put into film productions made for fantasy and fiction only? We ask the question and make an attempt to find an answer to the hidden use of real shots in movies: The issue is archival footage.
HISTORICAL CONVERSATIONS AND REFLECTIONS The late French author and minister of culture of France, Andre Malraux, is reflecting on the subject of making notes or minutes of conversations between men of history in his book called: Les chenes qu on abat (1971). Last conversations with de Gaulle (1971).
Andre Malraux made only one movie called: L Espoir. The film was produced during the end of the Spanish civil war: A realistic movie produced during the fighting in Spain. It is difficult to see where the shots are real or made in a studio. A union of fiction and facts..
HISTORICAL MOVIES American historians have been worried about the influence of movies in school education in USA. The result of the studies has resulted in the publishing of the book called: PAST IMPERFECT, History according to the movies 1995. About 100 films defined as historical movies have been evaluated by professional historians. My report: Facts and Fiction Archival footage. Historical events and Television and Film Production is dealing with the same subject evaluating 93 movies defines as historical films.
My aim for the searching of the movies was to find an answer to the issue of using real shots in any released movie. My work so far is a presentation of 139 movies released between year 1941 and 2008.
MOVIE INDUSTRY- FILM HISTORY
A good cooperation between professional historians and film directors are not always taken place during the preparation for the production of films called historical films. Historians are not a wanted group of people to whom film directors ask for advice in making the film.
Historical accuracy is a most in films based on a true story. The problem is already mentioned. It is not the historians who make the movie. The film industry is an industry like any other industry aiming at making money - not educational materials for schools or universities.
HISTORICAL MISTAKES IN MOVIES, DOCUMENTARIES AND MASTER DEGREE S
Julius Caesar makes a statement about his own career so far and the statement is reported later on: when Alexander the Great was ten years younger than I am today he had conquered the entire civilised world. And in the movie Vercingetorix answered him in this way: At your age he was dead. The statement made by Julius Caesar took place. About year 68. He saw a statue of Alexander the Great in the temple of Hercules in Grades in Spain and he made this remark: He had as yet performed no memorable act at his age 33 years old, Alexander the Great had already conquered the whole world.
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOUR IS DONE BY AMERICAN PLANES IN 1941 The statement could have made newspaper headlines worldwide if it was a true story. Anyway- Hollywood is bombing Pearl Anyway- Hollywood is bombing Pearl Harbour in 1941 by using incorrect archival footage about the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.
THE ARTISTS ARE FIRED. LONG LIVE THE AUDIOVISUAL ARCHIVES! Dream, reality and archive The Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman is debating and commenting the role of the artist in many of his films. He is of the opinion that many actors and filmmakers are humiliated by people whose interest in film and art are negative.
Anyway he also asks himself the question about the importance of the filmmaker. Some of those who dislike his movies are of the opinion that his attitude to art in generally is out of date and too romantic. We may ask the question about his way of using archival footage in two of his films: Persona and A Passion. For a long time he has made actors create scenes describing reality and fantasy and imagination. His actors are all famous. Why has he fired the actors making realistic scenes in the two movies mentioned? Both films are dealing with dream and reality and he let his actors take care of the dream but not the reality? political activity today is precipitated by the news, by television s immediate closeness to what is going on all over the world. In this respect art has missed the boat completely. Artists are hardly the social visionaries they used to be. And they mustn t imagine they are! Reality is running away from artists and their political visions statements made by Ingmar Bergman in the book : Bergman on Bergman. 1970.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL VISIONS TELEVISION NEWS IN MOVIES For unknown reasons the reality defines by Ingmar Bergman in 1966 are to be found in 139 movies listed. The titles were released from year 1941 to year 2008. The movies which have been evaluated, are all from my own private film collection. The letter (H) next to the year of production, means that the film has been defined as a historical film.
TITLE THE YEAR OF PRODUCTIONA Yank in the R.A.F (The Eagle Flies Again) About American pilots in R.A.F before USA joins the Second World War. 1941 (H) Casablanca 1942 (H) Objective, Burma. A story of American paratroopers fighting in Burma) 1945(H) Zakazane Piosenski (Polish feature) 1946 The Desert Fox 1951(H) The Flying Leathernecks World War II. 1951(H) The Snow on Kilimanjaro 1952 Malta Story 1953 (H) The Glenn Millar Story 1953 From here to Eternity Hawaii 1941. About the life in U.S Army 1953(H) Retreat Hell About the war in Korea 1954 The Caine Mutiny 1954(H) The Unknown Soldier 1955(H) To Hell and Back The true story of the most decorated soldier in U.S. 1955(H) Reach for the Sky 1956 (H)
KONTAKT (CONTACT) 1956(H) The true story of the Norwegian agent Oluf Reed Olsen The Hunters 1958(H) The Young Lions 1958(H) The Naked and The Death 1958(H) Cuban Rebel Girls ( Also known as: Assault of the Rebel Girls) The American actor Errol Flynn is playing himself as a war correspondent active in supporting Fidel Castro 1959(H) The Guns of Navarone 1961 The Heroes of Telemark 1965(H) Un Homme et Une Femme ( A Man and a Woman) 1966 The Triple Cross (Eddie Chapman was a British bank robber, a safecracker, a German and British spy during World War II. The film is based on a true story. 1966 Persona An encounter between two women: A successful actress who has become mute and a nurse charged with caring her 1966 A Passion (About a man who wants to live alone with a limited contact with society 1969 Young Winston (The story of the rise to power of Winston Churchill from childhood to the age of 26 when he made his first speech in the House of comments 1972(H)
Soylent Green 1973 Dillinger The story of the American bank robber and gangster, John Dillinger (1903-1934) and his gang 1973 Lucky Luciano The real story of the mafia leader in USA. 1973 Shout at the Devil (Norwegian titles:1. Flammer over havet, 2. Oppgjør i jungelen) World War 1 in Africa The Amazing Howard Hughes Biography: The career of the American director and aviator Howard Hughes 1976(H) ( See also: The Aviator. 2004) 1977 Coming Home 1978(H) From Hell to Victory 1979 (H) Escape to Athena Second world war film. A prisoner camp on a Greek island. An escape story and a search for a treasure in a monastery 1979(H) The kidnapping of The President 1980
Belønningen (The Reward) Norway, Oslo, 35 years after the end of the Second World War. Two former friends in conflict about the war) 1980(H) Lion of the Desert (The film is about the Libyan resistance leader, Omar Mukhtar, who led the Libyan resistance against the Italian oppressors from 1911-1931. The movie takes place during the reign of Mussolini) 1981(H) Ragtime (In early 1900 New York. A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family) 1981 Eye of the Needle (World War II Film. A spy thriller based on The novel of the British author Ken Follett). 1981(H) The Right Stuff (The story of the first seven American astronauts) 1983(H) Robert Kennedy and his Times (part1.part2) 1984(H) Forbidden (The movie tells the tale of a wealthy German countess who hid her Jewish boyfriend in World War II) 1984(H) Wild Geese II (An American television company is practicing yellow journalism. News has to be made by the TV company. The German Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess is imprisoned in Spandau Prison in Berlin. The TV company wants to get him out of the prison 1985(H) Mussolini: The Untold Story (TV-series). Film about the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945). The seven hour mini-series are based on the memories of Vittorio Mussolini 1985(H)
LBJ: The Early Years 1987(H) Walker (The life story of William Walker, an American adventurer who invaded Mexico in 1850s and made himself President of Nicaragua Broadcast News Television journalism. Network news Production. 1987(H) 1987(H) Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (TV) 1988(H) Mississippi Burning (Two FBI agents arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of civil rights activists. Pancho Barnes Movie portray of the pioneering female 1988(H) aviator Florence Pancho Lowe Barnes(1901-1975) 1988(H) Hemingway (Part 2) 1988(H) Blucher (Norway, April 9, 1940. The German cruiser Blucher is torpedoed close to the fortress Oscarsborg in the fjord of Oslo. Two divers are searching for secrets documents hidden in the cruiser. 1988 Scandal The story of Christine Keeler and Stephan Ward. A British political scandal. 1989
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway 1989 (H) Margaret Bourke-White 1989(H) The Kennedys of Massachusetts (Part I,II,III) 1989(H) Patton (The story of General George Patton s commands during the World War II 1989(H) Bethune: The making of a Hero Based on the true story of the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune (1890-1939) 1990(H) Memphis Belle (The story about a young crew on bombing raid into Europe. The year is 1943 1990 (H) A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia The 1919 Paris Peace conference T.E. Lawrence works as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence 1990 The democratic terrorist(about infiltration of a terrorist organisation connected to Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) in West Germany 1992 L Accompagnatrice 1992 Citizen Cohn 1992(H) Ruby 1992(H)
Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair A fictional account of the alleged romantic relationship between Marilyn Monroe and Robert Kennedy Hong Kong 97 Hong Kong right before the transfer of power from Britain to China. 1993(H) 99 years of British rule are about to come to an end. 1994 Doomsday Gun The story about Dr. Gerald Bull who going to Build a supergun for Saddam Hussein 1994 (H) Nixon 1995(H) Lust och Fagring stor 1995 Hamsun 1995(H) Apollo 13 The movie is based on real events. Apollo 13 mission bound for the moon. The year is 1970. Alfred The life of the Swedish engineer Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). How he invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize 1995(H) 1995(H)
Land and Freedom, A story from the Spanish revolution) 1995(H) The Tuskegee Airmen, The integration of African Americans in US Army Air Corps in World War II 1995(H) Michael Collins 1996 (H) Raputin, The story of the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin and his work for the last Tsar of Russia, Tsar NicholsII 1996 (H) Flynn, A biographical movie of the Australian film actor Errol Flynn ( 1909-1959) The English Patient The love story between an archeologist and a married 1996(H) woman during the Second World War 1996 Hamsun, A documentary film about the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. He supported the German occupation of Norway 1940-45. 1996(H) Winchell 1998(H) The Rat Pack 1998(H) Bravo Two Zero(BBC Production) The story of the British Special Air Service (SAS) mission in the Gulf War 1991. A story of survival against all the odds. 1998(H)
Behind Enemy Lines: Vietnam. American prisoner in Vietnam. About how to rescue the American soldier 1998 Holy Smoke 1999 RKO 281 (The Battle Over Citizen Kane) 1999(H) Thirteen Days 2000(H) ENIGMA 2000(H) Pearl Harbor 2001(H) The Tailor of Panama ( Skredderen fra Panama) The film is based on the novel of John le Carre: The Tailor of Panama. 2001 Dark Blue World, Pilots from Czechoslovakia in RAF. World War II. 2001(H) The Gathering Storm 2002 (H) About Winston Churchill Live from Bagdad, The Golf War 1991. About the work of a group of CNN reporters 2002(H) The Pentagon Papers 2003(H)
The Deal, The story about the political partnership and relationship between the British labour Party politicians Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. A television play. Killing Hitler A drama-documentary about assassinate Adolf Hitler The Dreamers, The relationship between a brother and sister and an American student in Paris in 1968. 2003(H) 2003(H) Paris students riots. 2003 IKE Countdown to D-Day 2004(H) Dwight D. Eisenhower Head in the Clouds (Juegos de Mujer ) 2004(H) The Aviator, Biography: The earlier years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes career from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.american eccentric and billionaire Triple Agent France 1936-37. The Popular Front wins elections. The Spanish Civil War begins. The story of the 2004 (H) former Russian general, Fiodor Voronin 2004(H) //And more
THE REAL SHOTS: THE SUBJECTS SELECTED Real life document dramas It is not my intention to give you a detailed description of the reuse of real shots used in all the movies listed above. But let us evaluate some of the films. The Norwegian movie called: KONTAKT was produced in year 1956. The film is based on the story of the Norwegian pilot and agent Oluf Reed Olsen. He went to Canada for pilot education and later on he was trained for secret agent work in Norway. The film starts with German news. Hitler is speaking and we watch real shots from the Second World War. The real shots and fiction are mixed together. Nils R. Muller made the film. I asked him about the use of fiction and real shots two weeks before he died in 2007. It was no philosophy about the use of real shot. The audience accepted the use and so we did it that is all.
The candidate for President of the United States, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was killed June 5 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel. The movie called Bobby is a fictional account of the lives of several people present during the final hours in the life of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The title role is not played by a professional actor but by RFK himself. A patchwork of archival footage, radio broadcasts, photos and media clips from the 1960 s is used. Robert F. Kennedy alive was better than any actor who was making an attempt to play the late senator!
Persona is the title of one of Ingmar Bergman s most famous movies. The film was released in 1966. A black and white film. The plot is about an encounter between two women: A successful actress who become mute and a nurse charged with caring her. TV images of Vietnamese monks in Saigon burning themselves to death with gasoline are used in the film. Bergman brings reality within the film
A Passion is a story about a man who has decided to live isolated from society. The feature film was released in 1969. A color film. The archive footage is from a famous event in Vietnam where a Vietcong is shot in the head in the street of Saigon. South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Vietcong in Saigon, Vietnam on February 1, 1968. Ingmar Bergman brings the reality into the film by using the archive footage.
NEWS IN MOVIES The majority of the archival footage used in movies is news. Information about events of the Second World War is dominating the subject among shots used. The story about the American Senator McCarthy and his struggle against communists in USA is also a subject dealt with in movies like: Good Night, and Good Bye, Winchell and Citizen Cohn. Real shots from the television transmissions of the programs are used.
CONCLUSION No contacts were made to the film directors who had produced 93 historical films from year 1941 to year 2008 asking for the reasons for using archival footage except for two Norwegians: Nils R. Muller and Bjørn Lien who is working for The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Both film directors had made use of German made newsreels from the Second World War. None of them could give me a good answer and they had no movie philosophy to publish for the use of stock shots. The economic reason was mentioned and the fact that copyright to German made war news was not a problem. To let 100 soldiers march up the main street of Oslo are expensive. The use of shots of German soldiers did not cost much. To make it clear to the audience about the time of the events was made by using shots of the time of the events. Some reasons for making the collections of audiovisual archives accessible to film productions in the future might be the following arguments:
1. For economic reasons only. It is less expensive making copies of film made during the Battle of Stalingrad than making a reconstruction of the battle. 2. To make moviegoers aware of the time of the historical events dealt with in the film to avoid making reconstructions of the events in a studio 3. Because the reality is better on television news than made in the film studio 4. Copyright is no problem when it comes to use German made film from the Second world War. 5. To portrait a person by using real shots of the person might make the film better than using expensive actors
1. To search after the reality used in movies is a time consuming business. News of events believed lost might be found in films made for light entertainment only. Or shots of a car missing in your collections. The search for a FIAT car produced before the Second World War was discovered recently in a film called : Head in the Clouds a film about the Spanish Civil War, Second World War, and a love story between two girls and a man. 2. To make archives accessible for more than those who work in television and radio companies are a political and democratic choice of great importance for a modern society and a most for higher education.
THANK YOU TEDD URNES TEDDVIEW AUDIOVISUAL ARCHIVAL MANAGEMENT (TAAM)2009.