The Universal Newsreel Collection is the largest donated newsreel collection in the Moving Image and Sound Branch at the National Archives. The popular collection includes nearly 4,000 edited releases which were originally shown in movie theaters, as well as 8,500 reels of unedited outtakes. [Read more…] about Universal Newsreels In The National Archives
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5 New Yorkers Named 2022 MacArthur Fellows
Among the twenty-five 2022 MacArthur Fellows announced this week are five New York State residents. The MacArthur Fellowship is a $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential. Among the awardees are: [Read more…] about 5 New Yorkers Named 2022 MacArthur Fellows
Charles Evans Hughes Doc Screening in Glens Falls on Saturday
Charles Evans Hughes, a Glens Falls native, was Governor of New York from 1907 to October 1910, when he resigned to accept appointment as a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice. He resigned from the court in June 1916 to accept the Republican nomination for President, narrowly losing to incumbent Democrat Woodrow Wilson. He later served as U.S. Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the United States.
Many places in the Adirondacks lay claim to the distinction that Charles Evans Hughes slept there. A century ago, it was at the home of Louis and Charlotte Hyde, now The Hyde Collection art museum, where Charles and Antoinette Hughes stayed overnight on June 24th, 1922, the night before dedication of the Helen Hughes Memorial Chapel, built in memory of their daughter, at Silver Bay Association in Hague on Lake George. [Read more…] about Charles Evans Hughes Doc Screening in Glens Falls on Saturday
Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin Documentary with Producer David Schmidt
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World Podcast, David Schmidt, a senior producer at Florentine Films and a senior producer on Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin, joins Liz to investigate documentary filmmaking and the life of Benjamin Franklin. [Read more…] about Ken Burns’ Benjamin Franklin Documentary with Producer David Schmidt
New Documentary Celebrate Schenectady Black History
In Celebration of Black History Month, the Schenectady County Historical Society has released A History Erased: Rediscovering Black Schenectady, a new documentary exploring the history of Black people in Schenectady.
A History Erased: Rediscovering Black Schenectady is produced by SCHS and investigates the missing story of Schenectady’s 19th century Black population. From the beginning, Schenectady’s African American population was a small and marginalized community. This documentary looks at what happened to Black Schenectadians over the course of the 1800s; how they responded to the end of slavery, to industrialization, and to ongoing racial concerns; why the small community nearly vanished; and the marks it left on Schenectady’s culture and society. [Read more…] about New Documentary Celebrate Schenectady Black History
Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?
This week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is James Kirby Martin, executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.
The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero. The documentary, streaming on several TV platforms, is narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara. Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci. [Read more…] about Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?
New Documentary About NY’s Burned Over District In The Works
A new documentary film about the religious history of 19th century Western New York is in production.
Burned Over, a reference to the region’s nickname, “The Burned-over District,” focuses on the history of the Oneida Community, a commune led by John Humphrey Noyes, and the Fox sisters, the two girls from outside Rochester that launched the phenomenon of spiritualism.
The film was halted by the pandemic, but now a new fundraising campaign on Kickstarter has been launched and a new teaser has been released. [Read more…] about New Documentary About NY’s Burned Over District In The Works
New Film Seeks To Rehabilitate Benedict Arnold
Legacy Distribution will debut Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed, a documentary that claims to capture “the brutal hardships of the revolutionary war and the heroic deeds of a man scorned by history.”
The feature-length film challenges the long-standing narrative of Benedict Arnold as a traitor and places him among the names of American war heroes, with its in-depth interviews with historians and re-enactments featuring Peter O’Meara (Knightfall, Band of Brothers) and narrated by Martin Sheen (The West Wing, The Departed). [Read more…] about New Film Seeks To Rehabilitate Benedict Arnold
‘Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species’ Premieres Nov 1st
Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species, a new film from Westfield Production Company and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is set to premiere November 1st. Uninvited covers the damage that invasive species are causing to New York’s natural environment, communities, and economy. [Read more…] about ‘Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species’ Premieres Nov 1st
D.W. Griffith’s Orange County ‘Magic Hour’ Discovery
A few people sitting on the front porch of a Barryville home on the Delaware River last weekend learned firsthand what movie makers in the region discovered more than 100 years ago. There is a light that sweeps down the river valley shortly before dusk that is pure magic.
G.W. “Billy” Bitzer, the master cameraman who accompanied influential director D.W. Griffith to Cuddebackville, in western Orange County, NY, in the early part of the last century, dubbed it magic hour, and “the light Mr. Griffith waited for.” It brought Griffith and his crew back to the area year after year before he discovered the advantages of filming in California and became known as “the man who invented Hollywood.” [Read more…] about D.W. Griffith’s Orange County ‘Magic Hour’ Discovery