THE FORGOTTEN SOURCE - THE MOVIES

RESEARCH WORK: Movies as a

source for the research.

A forgotten source when you wants shots of certain aircrafts and cars like FIAT - Topolino
,a dress, a bottle and so on?

To find the shot of wanted

scenes, you have to work hard making the content of the catalogue reliable. The film

" Head in the Clouds " is not a film about cars. It is a good film.

The screenplay focuses on the choices young lovers must make

surrounded by increasing political unrest in late - 1930s Europe. And you find my favorite car in the film too.

THE FILM-THE SOURCE -THE CREDIBILITY

James Jones (1921-1977)

American author.

A report about archive footage used in the film " From Here to Eternity ". The Norwegian title

is: " Herfra til evigheten".

Photos taken from the Norwegian edition of the book.

Douglas SBN Dauntless and Japanese plane Mitsubishi AGM2 - called " Zero ".
What kind of aircrafts have been used to illustrate the attack on Pearl Harbour?

It is not Japanese plane but USA planes attacking the naval base at Pearl Harbour-

but only in the movie!

The photos taken by Tedd Urnes

FILM RESEARCH-FIAT TOPOLINO

Searching after " the reality - the real shots " used in movies is a time consuming business left for professional researchers like Lasse Nilsson and Bengt Lorentzon both working for SVT.

News of events believed lost might be found in films made for light entertainment only. To find shots of the old FIAT car " Topolino " was on my agenda for some time. Lasse Nilsson, former General Secretary of FIAT/IFTA, and Bengt Lorentzon were contacted and the car was found in

the movie called " Head in the Clouds ". A film about the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and a complicated love story. Not a film about cars.

Shots
of the famous car was also found in a movie called: " Charlotte Gray " at the end of the film. The film " Charlotte Gray " was released in 2001. The Australian actress
Cate Blanchett is playing Charlotte Gray and the film is directed by Gillan Armstrong. But that is another story. My concern is the car: FIAT Topolino.

MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY

PEARL HARBOUR DECEMBER 7, 1941
The attack on Pearl Harbour is done by American planes.

The statement could have made newspaper headlines worldwide if it was a true story. Hollywood is bombing Pearl Harbour by using incorrect archival footage about the Japanese air attack on the island. The famous movie " From Here to Eternity " was released in year 1953. I had viewed the film many times without noticing the use of archival footage at the end of the film where the air attack on the American military base takes place. By reading a critical comment on the movie, I was informed about the use of stock shots of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.
The shots of the American dive-bombers were a surprise to me. Douglas SBN Dauntless dive-bombers were attacking the American battleships! The film company who was selling the shots was easy to find searching on internet. To my surprise I even found the same shots used in a documentary about the Second World War where the American planes again were bombing their own soldiers.
The historian facts checkers had made a mistake. The movie industry is a money making industry. The lack of critical source investigations has made it possible to repeat the use of uncorrect footage. This is a challenge for the researchers in the future. Be critical to the archival
footage and question the content information of the archive. Good luck.

MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY

Tedd Urnes in New
York searching for movies. Photo Lasse Nilsson

American historians made this study published in 1995.

The Mexican National Phonoteque is setting up a conference in
Mexico City, November 9- 13. Join us.

Ingmar Bergman used archival footage in his films: " A Passion "

and " Persona ".

"... political activity to-day 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 uesd to be. And they mustn't

imagine they are! Reality is running away from artists and their

political visions " - so far Ingmar Bergman.

Presentation of some facts about movies and archival footage reported in my paper for the conference in La Ciudad de Mexico, November 9 - 13, 2009 - hopefully not postponed again

due to an international flu!

Some reasons for making the collections of audiovisual archives accessible to film productions are

the following arguments:

-For economic reasons. It is less expensive making copies of film made during the Battle of Stalingrad than making a reconstruction of the battle.

-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.

-Because the reality is better on television news than made in the film studio.

-Copyright is no problem when it comes to use German made news films from the Second World War.

-It is better to use real shot of the person dealt with in the film than actors.

To search after the reality used in movies is a time consuming business but very interesting

for those who are working with media archaeology.

See you in Mexico City in November.

.

MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY

A CRITICAL APPROACH TO THE POLICY OF ACTIVE REUSING OF ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE.

THE AIM
The main aim of my paper and presentation at the conference in Mexico City arranged by The Mexican National Phonoteque are to make students and those who are working in different audiovisual archives aware of the importance of reusing of the material.

Archival footage has 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.

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 publication of the book called: " PAST IMPERFECT.
History according to the Movies. 1995 ".

TOURRETTES-SUR-LOUP:LIBRARY

PROVENCE: Tourrettes-sur-Loup.

The French philosopher and journalist, Bernard-Henry Levy, Simone Signoret, Yves Montand and Andre Malraux decided to pay attention to the village Saint-Paul de Vence - a nice mediaval

village not far from Vence and Tourrettes- sur- Loup.
Due to the fact that Vence and Saint-Paul are famous, my short report is concentrated on the beautiful Tourrettes because of the small public library. Among the pictures presented ,you will see a small building which is the police station. The opening hours of the library is also presented. Take a close look at the information of the sign. The library has collections of movies and sound recordings too. Not only books. Two retired nice ladies are running the library. If you want to pay the village a visit, I recommend you to see the library and the ladies. And the village has also at least three splendid restaurantes if you want to enjoy French wine and cooking. Have nice time.

CUBA: ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Havana. Radio message from Tedd Urnes.

A visit to the library of the late American

author Ernest Hemingway is a must for those

of you who are paying Cuba, Havana , a visit.

Photos taken by Tedd Urnes. A part of the

library at Finca Vigia. About 7400 books.
A legacy library.

Ernest Heminway (1899-1961). The author of

" The Sun also Rises " and " A Farewell to Arms".

LIBRARY VISIT-TIMELESS INFORMATION

The book searcher in front of the public library

in Tourettes sur Loup. July 2009.

France.

Rare books at the old library on

Mallorca where

George Sand (1804-76) and

Chopin stayed.

A visit is recommended for

those of you who has a passion

for old books.

Photo: Tedd Urnes

Products of Louis Vuitton.

Nice, France. July 2009.

VIDEOTAPES ON YOUR BOOKSHELVES

Catherine Deneuve is marketing the famous bags

named Louis Vuitton.

Old two inch tapes. Viewing machine.

VIDEOTAPES ON YOUR BOOKSHELVES

VIDEOTAPES ON YOUR BOOKSHELVES and LOUIS VUITTON'S BAGS

Frankly, I must admit that the name Louis Vuitton was not on my list of contact persons or a name of great interest until my summer holiday in the city of Nice, France in July year 2009.
Facts about bags,trunks and suitcases are not the kind of literature I read for fun during hot days in Nice. No. Due to the fact that I had to pass some expensive shops on my way to the beach each morning, I could not avoid being lectured about the greatness of the products of Louis Vuitton. The younger generation ( not passed the age of 40 yet) has a passion for the bags and the trunks made by LV. Wearing my good old jeans and using bags bought from army shops, I am not a customer made for the shops of the famous Louis Vuitton. No. Being accompanied by a representative of the younger generation with a taste for products of high quality, my attitude was accepted for a person out date- so to speak. Yes, I am out of date but I do not remember the date! Anyway, I decided to pay attention to the daily morning speech about ever lasting products. I was trapped by my own statements about keeping every book and videotape bought by me and my own demand for quality - what so ever.

TAPES, FILM REELS, TELEVISION EQUIPMENTS FOR HOME DECORATION

It was time to evaluate my old fashioned opinions about bags making a study of why some
want to buy products made for the few who can afford to buy bags at a price of 6000 NOK?
Any company who has managed to keep the business going for years is admired by me due to my conservative attitude to work and life in general. LV has been in the business for about 155 years. Splendid. A bag is not a bag only. I was told. I am not an admirer of the design of bags but
occupied with the purpose of the bag and with a practical definition of the purpose of the bag. The bag is made for transport of different things. No. I was told that my attitude to products made by human beings is too limited - to narrow-minded - too out of date. What a nice morning
in Nice! I had lost my ability in enjoying beautiful things. " ... A thing of Beauty is a Joy for ever ..." wroet the British poet John Keats (1795-1821) about his contact with nature and life. John Keats did not thought about bags and design products but his attitude is interesting even to-day, I think. We are surrounded by nature and by items made by human beings. It is a part of our life.

THE BAGS AND THE TAPES

Due to the fact that LV has managed to marked bags for 155 years, I began thinking about old tapes. Old two inch tapes only. The bags are not bought only for transport of equipments. No. The bags are also bought for being viewed in your home - a nice decoration. Even on bookshelves you might find a LV products next to book s written by Andre Malraux. When you
make people aware of a product you also support the industry set up for the production. We few, we happy few, who are working hard to make the management interested in the content of old tapes, wish and hope that the tv and radio directors are attending lessons at LV in marked work. Why are we not making the tapes so attractive that even young ladies want to buy the tapes for home decoration? Gradually they might find ou that the tapes are contenting interesting stories and photos and values hard to estimate. A thought brought to my mind while the red wine, the hot sun and a talking lady started a combined operation to make me change my reluctant and negative attitude to some beautiful products worth more than my holiday in Nice, France.

WIPED AND FORGOTTEN: OLD TWO INCH TAPES

It is not a question about bags that is the issue. It is the fight for attention in a business not always appreciated even by the management of the production companies: TV and Radio corporations worldwide. The attention to keep tapes contenting cultural values. No. We should learn the lesson from those who have fought for some values even if the values might not be a part of the economy for Mr. Smith. LV menas quality and high standard. The marketing of bands has been done by French actresses like Cathrine Deneuve ( She is still making movies and she does not care about the age,b.1943). My proposal is thatwe let her go to bed with old two inch tapes making statements about the cultural value of the content of the tapes. To make the shots as provocative as possible, we leave the settings to students of the famous German-Australian fashion photographer Helmut Newton ( 1920-2004). The aim is to make you all aware of the cultural values of old television and radio programmes stored in audiovisual archives worldwide.

AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE A CONCLUSION INFLUENCED BY FRENCH WINE, HOT SUN AND ABOVE ALL A STIMULATING CONVERSATION

I do see the points made by critical readers alraedy: LV is too expensive and made for the rich people only. Young ladies cannot afford buying the products ( agreed).
But that was not my point.
Too much wine and too much sun in Nice are not good for your judgement old man (agreed but what a nice time!).
Stay away for beautiful ladies under the age of 40( Easy for you to say when the lady is my daughter).

Anyway we must not forget about forgotten tapes contenting programmes of great value.
The maketing is important even for audiovisuale archives. The tapes must be as attractive in design as any product of LV. The aim is to bring the tapes to the homes for decoration too.
Last but not least: Make contact with Cathrine Deneuve( b.1943-) and she will make you buy tapes in Nice on a hot summer day even if you do not taste the good vine of France.
Tedd Urnes,
August 9, 2009