Four stars. Not rated, and suitable for all ages
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.26.15
Our digital age has unleashed countless
miracles, and one of the best is the growing cornucopia of archival material
that is becoming available to anybody with Internet access.
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| California Gov. Pat Brown, at the microphones, prepares to introduce presidential candidate John F. Kennedy during the latter's whistle-stop visit to Sacramento in September 1960. You can't see Kennedy in this image, although the president-to-be is standing directly behind Brown, just inside the dark train car. (Photo courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History) |
Time was, researchers or curious
civilians were limited to hard copies of vintage documents, audio recordings
and newsreel footage stored on site, at locations with limited public hours ...
if they offered visiting hours at all. If you lived in San Francisco and wanted
to investigate something that existed only at some repository in San Diego,
that represented a significant investment of time and expense. Not
surprisingly, most folks simply wouldn’t bother.
Things are different today, with
access to such materials no more difficult than firing up a laptop in your
living room.
And, as a charming and
informative new documentary amply demonstrates, you simply won’t believe what has
become available.
The Sacramento Picture is
written, directed and produced by Sacramento-area historian and film critic
MatÃas Antonio Bombal, who also narrates (and has a talent for deliciously
droll asides). Editing and post-production are by Chad E. Williams, and the two
of them have assembled a lively 95-minute glimpse of what can be found at the
Center for Sacramento History.
The film will screen one time
only, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, at Sacramento’s Tower Theater. Tickets are
modestly priced, and the experience is well worth the cost.
The Center, the larger regional
history repository in California, has a mission to preserve and protect its
collection, while also making its contents available to the general public. The
material is slowly being digitized and made available via the web, thanks to the California
Audiovisual Preservation Project, a joint effort between UC Berkeley and the
Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Bombal’s film is an engaging
blend of archival footage and on-camera commentary by folks such as historian
William Burg, journalist Ginger Rutland and beloved former KCRA newsman Stan
Atkinson, who provide context for the video sequences.
They’re quite a treat.
The oldest footage, dating back
to 1910, reveals the scope of Sacramento’s then-quite enormous hops-growing
industry. Another vintage clip, filmed on opening day (April 6) of the 1920
“Base-ball season” at Sacramento’s Buffalo Park, shows streetcars bringing
throngs of fans to watch their beloved Sacramento Senators take on the visiting
Seattle Indians.
Buffalo Park sat at the corner of
Broadway and Riverside, where a Target store and parking lot are found today, just
a few blocks from the Tower Theater.
