Masterpieces of Classic Cinema on Kanopy

KANOPY is a free video streaming resource available to Acton residents from Acton Memorial Library and to residents of other subscribing communities. The Kanopy catalog includes documentaries, indie films, classic films, educational videos and kids' content.

Among the variety of Kanopy offerings is a particularly strong collection of important classic movies from the silent era to the 1960s. 

This one-hour talk will describe many of these movies and discuss their influence in the history of cinema. 

The goal of the talk is to highlight older movies that are often overlooked but have been acknowledged for decades as masterpieces, including early short films and features by D.W. Griffith; the silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd; the sound era satires of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges; and important foreign films from Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia. 

With Kanopy as your streaming resource, and the downloadable handout accompanying this talk, you can have your own personal class on the history of cinema in the comfort of your home. 

Presenter Randall Warniers. Randall is an editor and book designer who left a career in the sciences to pursue longstanding deep interests in literature, cinema, and the arts. He has studied cinema at both UCLA and UC Berkeley, and he is particularly fond of silent cinema, film noir, John Ford movies, and anything French.

This program is sponsored by the Acton Memorial Library Foundation.