New NDL motion picture colletion

[Tamara Swora <tswo@xxxxxxx>]

This message is being posted to numerous listservs; please forgive any
duplication)
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The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures

The Library of Congress National Digital Library Program and the Motion
Picture, Broadcasting and
Recorded Sound Division announce the new online presentation, The
Spanish-American War in
Motion Pictures, available through the American Memory collections at
the Library's home page
(http://lcweb.loc.gov), or directly at:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/sawhtml/sawhome.html

Fifty-three films made from 1898 to 1901 of the Spanish-American War and
the Philippine Insurrection
are featured in this first release, timed to coincide with the 100th
anniversary of the sinking of the
battleship U.S.S. Maine.  Fifteen more films will be added in April
1998, along with selected sound
recordings related to the war.  The Spanish-American War is notable for
being the first U.S. war in
which the motion picture camera played a role.  The films presented were
made by the Edison
Manufacturing Company and the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company, and
consist of
actualities filmed in the U.S., Cuba, and the Philippines, showing
troops, ships, notable figures, and
parades, as well as reenactments of battles and other war-time events. 
A special presentation,
entitled "The Motion Picture Camera Goes to War: the Spanish-American
War and the Philippine
Insurrection," lists the films in chronological order and offers essays
that provide an historical context
for the filming of the motion pictures.  Comprehensive catalog records
are also available for each film
title.  The motion pictures are available in MPEG and Quicktime formats
for downloading and
viewing.


Karen Lund (klun@xxxxxxx)
Judi Hoffman (jhof@xxxxxxx)
National Digital Library Program
Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of
Congress