Reddit reviews Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers [Blu-ray]

It’s a shame so much of those silent films are gone. Narratives on early film history would be so much different than it is today. If anyone is interested Kino last year released a blu-ray set with a lot of those early films, also a couple of other sets featuring early films made by women and POC in the related section.

It’s $61.89 on Amazon.ca. You might be able to get it at 40 to 50% off when B&N does it’s blu-ray sale, although the set might be excluded.

I’m a HUGE Alice Guy Blache fan, I’ve written a few essays on her. My focus of studying as of late has been women filmmakers in the silent era.

If you have Kanopy, there are several of her films streaming, namely the ones from Flicker Alley. I know that Netflix US has (some) of the Kino box set on there, and off the top of my head i know her film “Falling Leaves” is there, which is essential imo. One of my absolute favorite films from the early 1910s.

Beyond streaming, if you want to explore her works (as well as other silent female filmmakers), I cannot recommend these sets enough:

Kino’s Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers

• This set is probably my favorite of the 3 because it has a LOT of content and set up beautifully in a film festival format with lots of supplemental material. Only deals with US female filmmakers though (so Guy-Blache after she moved to the US)
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Pioneers-First-Women-Filmmakers-Blu-ray/dp/B07H5VTD5R/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=first+women+filmmakers&qid=1556993682&s=gateway&sr=8-1
  
  Flicker Alley’s Early Women Filmmakers
  
  
• This set is just organized by filmmaker and makes the PERFECT supplement to Kino’s set since it takes a more international look at women filmmakers and features one of my favorites, Olga Preobrazhenskaya’s The Peasant Women of Ryazan.
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Early-Women-Filmmakers-International-Dual-Format/dp/B06X42G2RT/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=early+women+filmmakers&qid=1556993790&s=gateway&sr=8-1
  
  Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913
  
  
• The first disc in this set is all dedicated to Guy-Blache. It has a LOT of her early works and if you’re interested in her filmography (she does a lot of interesting stuff in terms of gender discussions), I cannot recommend this one enough.
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Gaumont-Treasures-1897-1913-Felix-Mayol/dp/B0029R81JO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1D624QCL92156&keywords=gaumont+treasures&qid=1556993913&s=gateway&sprefix=gaumont+&sr=8-1
  
  If i had more time, I’d add some book recommendations so maybe I’ll add some when i have more time!