Keepers of the Frame

For one million dollars and no lifelines, answer the following question: where is the classic film capital of the world--a) Hollywood, b) Washington D.C., c) Paris, or, d) Dayton, Ohio. That's right, roll out the red carpets, fire up the klieg lights, start renting the limos, we're all moving to Dayton, home of the Library of Congress Motion Picture Preservation Center, and final resting place of the original prints of Casablanca, Gone With the Wind and thousands of far less celebrated titles. In Keepers of the Frame, we are introduced to the modern day Essenes (of Dayton), film preservationists who sit in darkened caves, studying, copying and saving old testaments of celluloid, trying to prevent them from becoming, forgive the pun, Dead Sea Rolls. Film, the primary method of documentation of the 20th century, is a far more fragile medium than almost anything that has come before. Papyrus, vellum, canvas, even cave painting have proven far more long lasting than flammable, degenerative nitrate film and the ephemeral Kodak "safety" stocks of the 1950s and '60s. Sadly, 90% of the materials shot from 1900 through 1930 have disintegrated without a trace, and everything else is rapidly decaying, including videotape. Covering silent films, the UCLA and Eastman archives, Cinerama, enthusiasts with films in garages, avante garde and Super 8 film, Keepers of the Frame is nothing if not thorough. However, the program itself feels a little dated. Not only does it omit the obvious advancements in digital preservation, transfer and storage of film--a glaring oversight in the 21st century world of archival preservation--but from the appearance of interviewees Roddy McDowall, Leonard Maltin and Alan Alda (and the look of the film stock this program was filmed on), I would venture a guess that at least parts of this video are older than the 1999 copyright date. Still, this well made and inexpensive program promotes awareness of an issue that bears repeating. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Ray)