Flicker Alley
The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers
The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers
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2-DISC BLU-RAY EDITION
What for some audiences may be a delightful introduction, and others a fresh re-discovery, The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers offers a rare portal into the imagination of one of the great innovators and creators of early cinema. Featuring new 2K transfers and new discoveries never been seen before, Flicker Alley, in association with Lobster Films and Blackhawk Films®, invite you to experience the genius of cartoonist, animator, director, and comedian Charley Bowers.
Beginning as an animator in 1915, Bowers soon turned to mixing live-action with puppet animation, producing a score of mini-masterpieces, often featuring himself (billed in France as Bricolo). Forgotten for decades, a few of these films were miraculously rediscovered in the late 1960s by archivist Raymond Borde of the Toulouse Cinémathèque in France. Over the past ten years, thanks to additional materials from the Library of Congress, Národní filmový archiv, EYE Film Institute, Cinémathèque française, MoMA, and many other archives and collectors throughout the world, the legacy of Charley Bowers has been brought back to life using the most recent restoration technologies. Lobster Films scanned the best available sources with their original intertitles, and performed an extensive digital restoration of each short. Featuring recent additions to the previous 2015 release, The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers includes new scores from Donald Sosin and Neil Brand. This is a gift for comedy lovers and animation enthusiasts of all ages!
Produced over the course of more than two decades, this collection of short comedies, presented with optional French and English subtitles, include:
The Extra Quick Lunch (1917, 6 mins); A.W.O.L. (1918, 5 mins); Egged On (1926, 23 mins); He Done His Best (1926, 23 mins); Fatal Footsteps (1926, 23 mins); Now You Tell One (1926, 21 mins); A Wild Roomer (1926, 25 mins); Many a Slip (1927, 22 mins); Nothing Doing (1927, 22 mins); There It Is (1928, 22 mins); Say Ah-h! (1928, 14 mins); Whoozit (1928, 11 mins); It's a Bird (1930, 15 mins); Believe It or Don't (1935, 8 mins); A Sleepless Night (1940, 11 mins); Wild Oysters (1940, 10 mins); and Oil Can and Does (1940, 15 mins).
BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:
- Looking for Charley Bowers - A short documentary by Christophe Coutens on the resurrection of Charley Bowers’ career in France.
- Image Gallery - Slideshow presentation featuring rare production stills and behind-the-scenes photographs.
- Souvenir Booklet - Featuring an essay written by film historian and author Sean Axmaker.
- Reversible Cover Artwork
