"What kept me going was Alice herself, but also the people
surrounding the film…because they wanted Alice’s story told.” Pamela B
Green
Watching this documentary it’s difficult not to get more
than a little angry on behalf of Alice Guy-Blaché, a woman robbed for so long
of recognition as the probable creator of narrative film-making let alone her
position as the first woman film-maker in 1896. Various modern directors are
asked about her, and almost all including Patty Jenkins, Julie Delphy, Ava
DuVernay and even Geena Davis, had either not heard of her or been aware of
what she achieved.
Understandably Pamela B Green has been a woman on a mission
for the decade it has taken to bring this documentary to fruition and by
helping to right an historical wrong dating back to the birth of film, the real
triumph may well be as one audience member suggested, that her family now know
that Alice is getting the credit she deserves.
Alice Guy-Blaché made something like 1000 films including
150 with synchronised sound during the first three decades of film. Of these
over 150 have now been recovered and are starting to take their place in
screenings and on digital releases such as the box sets from Kino-Lorber, BFI
and Lobster Films. AG-B along with the great Lois Webber and others are being
returned to rightful prominence and on merit, with their films the equal of
anyone from this period.
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| Probably Alice Guy... |
As with the development of early films, collaboration has
been key – “it takes a village” as Green says - but, unlike the films of Alice
Guy, credit was due but withheld and even today Gaumont will not be releasing
the home video version of this film. You want the truth, perhaps they can’t
handle the truth which is rather shameful and beyond petty. But, as Green as
said in the Q&A, history is usually defined by the dominant voices and perhaps
Alice didn’t rate herself ahead of others such as Louis Feuillard or Georges
Méliès
Chance also plays as part with founder Léon Gaumont passing
away in 1946, before the second edition of the company’s history that would
have included more credit for his former secretary.
Alice Guy famously started out as Léon Gaumont’s secretary
and he gave her the chance to create films with a story narrative as well as
hand-tinted colour and synchronised sound. These innovations were extraordinary
at the time and the only extraordinary thing about a woman directing them is
the simple fact that she was not given the credit more widely then or for the
majority of her life.
She was probably the only woman directing films for the
first decade of cinema and was certainly recognised as a talented, bankable
film maker in France and then later in the USA where she not only established
her own studio, Solax, but also built her studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey. She
married British cameraman Herbert Blaché in 1907 and they had two children including
daughter Simone – born 1908 - who is featured in filmed interviews. Alice
returned to France in 1922 and divorced Herbert Blaché severing her ties with
the film industry for good too.
The film follows her progress which becomes that of Simone
as she accompanies her around the world, Simone was married to a diplomat, and eventually
attempts to find her films and re-establish her place.
The film then becomes a fascinating procedural
investigation, as not only films but footage of interviews is found and a
clearer picture is formed. This may not be the first Guy-Blaché
documentary, as Jay Weissberg observed in his Variety review, but it is
certainly the first to build on those earlier efforts and to reach a wider
audience. It has also been a living exercise in recovery – both of reputation
and, not unconnectedly, materials; the films found during the period of the
research are now being digitised and shown more widely. That in itself is the main
thing that will continue to uplift the reputation of this key figure.
After the Q&A we were treated to a screening of Matrimony's
Speed Limit (1913) a charming short from Solax about a young man who just has
to get married at short notice in order to gain his fortune, It’s as funny as
any Sennett film form the period and much more of a laugh than one of DW
Griffith’s. For further proof, c.f. The Consequences of Feminism (1906)
which even impressed Sergei Eisenstein.
Martin Scorsese describes Alice as an extraordinary and
sensitive filmmaker and as more of her films are found and shown, lets hope for
a fuller appreciation of her skill and not just the uniqueness of her contribution.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
(2018) is on release from 18th January – full details will
be on the BFI site as well as the film's own. Not to be missed even if, as Pamela
said in the Q&A, they’re standing on the shoulders of the many researchers
who went before.
It’s a very well-made film which catches the excitement of the
filmmakers’ journey and does surprise and entertain even for those familiar with
the subject. Let’s hope there’s more to be found,
Here’s to Alice Guy and her family!
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