Welcome to the LVCA
Here is a mine of information about the Hugh Stouppe Memorial Library’s DVDs, monthly new DVD releases, DVD reviews and recommendations, foreign film holdings, silent film holdings, Christmas film holdings, film reference books, film polls and surveys, DVD film reviews and recommended DVD film scores. You can learn how to apply for membership in the Ligonier Valley Cinema Association (LVCA). Or visit our ABOUT US page to read how we operate. Investigate the film holdings of the Hugh Stouppe Memorial Library in the Heritage United Methodist Church of Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Want to know if a DVD is available in the Ligonier Valley Library? Use the link to the Westmoreland Library Network to find out. And you can always make suggestions about films or complete a film survey and e-mail the finished document to kinoken@ligoniervalleycinemaassociation.net . If you would like to donate a DVD to the Ligonier Valley Cinema Association, just press the Donations Policy button. So have a look around the website, explore and enjoy.
IN MEMORIAM
Those of us who love to explore the world of cinema were grieved this week to learn of the passing of Roger Ebert. Whether one agreed or not with a given film criticism, it was always a pleasure and an education to read his review. Unlike more academic colleagues, Roger dispensed with impenetrable cant, placing a premium instead on clarity of communication. The singing sentence was not anathema to him. A multitude of readers will attest to the potency of its lure.
On the personal level, poring over his three published volumes of double-page summations comprising THE GREAT MOVIES I was not merely introduced to titles of many estimable films but also provided with a rationale for viewing them. For every film watcher, the most critical question is “Why should I take the time to watch this film, and not that one, or none at all?” Roger invariably assumed his reportage should answer that inquiry. Usually, it did.
No one can screen every motion picture release. Theater patrons and video buffs are indebted to reviewers, like Roger, who provide sufficient information about film content to lead them to superior product and away from the trivial, confused and hyperbolized.
Even when disagreeing with Roger’s opinions at times, fans had to respect their sincerity and the abundance of evidence marshaled to support them. Since his views were quite transparent, it was easy to debate them. But not to ignore their persuasiveness, which would frequently lead to a discovery that otherwise would not have occurred.
Possibly no one in the United States enjoyed the experience of watching a movie more than Roger Ebert. This passion for the delights of kinetic images led to newspaper columns, books, interviews, film festivals, and even chastisements of film projectionists, all for the sake of advancing dissemination of deserving flicks. Roger left behind for us an annual festival of underappreciated screen gems, enough tantalizing festival bulletins and cinematic analyses to last a devoted researcher at least several months, and a devotion to the often disregarded treasures of animation. It is up to us to continue building upon his legacy in promoting moving images that record, define, and dramatically express the unique aspirations of mankind. We thank Roger for inspired leadership in supporting films and filmmakers. Let’s hope the world’s youth eagerly accept the challenge of matching his ardor for the silver screen. We who constitute the Ligonier Valley Cinema Association will likewise attempt to emulate his zeal and commitment to celluloid storytelling.
Attention, film fans! Beginning April 1, 2013, you may complete the SUGGESTIONS FORM for determining the U.S. representative film in the 2013-2014 TRANSGLOBAL TROPHY SOCCER TOURNAMENT OF FILMS. Please remember to invent a name for yourself (your “handle”) and type it on the form, along with whatever film(s) you think would have the most universal appeal. Do not suggest any film on the attached list, as it represents the country where it was mostly filmed (in those cases, not the U.S.). You may suggest one film for each of the seven categories, or just pick out one or more preferred categories and type a suggested film title for each of them. Be sure to e-mail the completed suggestions form to kinoken@ligoniervalleycinemaassociation.net no later than the deadline date of April 30, 2013. Or you can print a copy of the suggestions form from the website, complete it and send it to Ken Orme, 240 Summit Avenue, Ligonier, Pa. 15658. You will find the SUGGESTIONS FORM in the SUGGESTIONS area of the INTERACT section of the LVCA website. Thank you for your participation. You will find the SUGGESTIONS FORM in the SUGGESTIONS area of the INTERACT section of the LVCA website. Thank you for your participation.
Be sure to check out our new FRESH FROM THE FILM FESTIVAL feature, which will be highlighting some films that may eventually reach our Ligonier partner libraries as LVCA donations. This month the focus is on the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the fiction film selections at the Berlinale.
Also new this month is the first poll to begin narrowing the field of candidates for the LVCA 40 Recommended Short Animations. Candidates are selected from such previous polls and surveys as ASIFA’s 2010 FIFTY YEARS – FIFTY FILMS, the Annecy Animation Festival’s 2006 list of the “Best 100 Animated Shorts,” the 1984 Olympics of Animation Poll, a list of THE 50 GREATEST CARTOONS: AS SELECTED BY 1,000 ANIMATION PROFESSIONALS (published in Jerry Beck’s 1994 book of that title), The Best Animated Films of All Time According to Terry Gilliam, the Laputa Animation Festival’s 150 Best Animations of All Time, the IMDB Top 200 Greatest Animated Films of All Time, the 100 Important Directors of Animated Short Films (a 2008 list which includes a minimum of three recommended short animations for each of the 100 directors, found at alsolikelife.com / Shooting Down Pictures) and outstanding short animations from Kino Ken’s neglected favorites, such as John Whitney, Sr., Tadanari Okamoto and Zlatko Grgic. This first preliminary poll will run from March 1st to April 15th, so be sure to explore the films and type up your ballot before your income tax is due. When completed, please send the ballot to kinoken@ligoniervalleycinemaassociation.net . The LVCA goal for returned ballots is 100 by April 15th. Please help us reach that goal successfully. Invent a name for yourself and type that to the right of the words
“Your handle, please:” on the poll. Be creative!
Do you have a question about films that has been bugging you? Or a suggestion for a future poll? Perhaps you would like to share the title of a film that greatly impressed you. If any of these is the case, please send Kino Ken an e-mail so the LVCA is apprised of it. Use the e-address above, please.
Explore and enjoy! I hope to get your e-mail soon. And don’t forget to visit us again.