FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES - In one of the most extraordinary film discoveries of the last half- century, the American Film Institute (AFI) today announced it has found the oldest surviving American feature film: a 1912 silent film version of RICHARD III.

The historic discovery was made after AFI obtained the film from a former movie projectionist in Portland, Oregon, who himself acquired it more than 30 years ago in a trade for his collection of silent movies, and had stored it in the basement of his home ever since. Produced three years before BIRTH OF A NATION, the five-reel film is an original nitrate print and features a rare coloring process. Remarkably, it survives in near-mint condition. It will now be preserved by AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation, after which it will be made available as part of the AFI Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The AFI Collection is home to more than 25,000 films and television programs representing America's moving image history.

As the world celebrates 100 years of motion pictures, AFI's discovery of RICHARD III is a watershed moment in American film history because of its place at the birth of cinema and because it is the first feature film adaptation of a Shakespearean work. Since this original version, there have been at least 11 film and television adaptations of "Richard III" and an estimated 400 other Shakespearean screen movies produced. This year alone, four Shakespearean films are scheduled for release, including Al Pacino's LOOKING FOR RICHARD, Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET, and versions of ROMEO AND JULIET and TWELFTH NIGHT.

"For three decades, AFI has been involved in the discovery of many important lost film treasures, but the recovery of RICHARD III is without a doubt the single most important film discovery in AFI's history, and is one of the most significant film finds ever," said AFI Director and CEO Jean Picker Firstenberg. "This is dramatic proof that lost film treasures can still be found and may be in the possession of private individuals or film collectors across the country. When you consider its early place in film history,the story behind its discovery, the fact that it was previously thought lost forever, and its influence on the countless Shakespearean films that have followed, it's impossible to escape the feeling that this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime discoveries."

Director Martin Scorsese, who co-chairs AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation said: "The AFI's discovery of a 1912 film version of Richard III, now considered to be the oldest surviving American feature, is an amazing surprise. So few of the earliest feature films exist today that each new discovery is like finding the rarest treasure. The fact that the print is in nearly mint condition is nothing short of a miracle."

The discovery of RICHARD III is the latest, and one of the most significant, of thousands of historic film finds made by AFI over the last 30 years. AFI has also been a major collaborator in several of the most prestigious and highly-publicized film restoration projects of the last 10 years, including LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, SPARTACUS, MY FAIR LADY, and the soon-to-be-released restoration of VERTIGO. In 1994, AFI coordinated the largest ever film repatriation when it brought back from Australia more than 1,400 early American silent films that had not existed in the U.S. for decades. In another of its most widely-recognized film preservation projects, AFI spearheaded the decade-long worldwide search to recover lost footage from Frank Capra's classic film, LOST HORIZON, and supervised the film's subsequent restoration.

Filmed in Westchester County, New York, RICHARD III stars Frederick C. Warde, the preeminent Shakespearean actor of his time, who is also credited with having discovered and mentored Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. The movie was made for $30,000 and includes 70 scenes, hundreds of actors and extras, 200 horses, five battle scenes, and lush costumes. Its survival in near-mint condition is extraordinary for any nitrate print, let alone one dating from as early as 1912. Of the eight feature films released in 1912-the first year of American feature film production-only three, including RICHARD III, are known to exist in complete form.

"The AFI is working to bring hundreds of previously 'lost' titles back to the U.S. through large-scale international repatriation efforts, such as the one that returned more than 1,500 early American films from Australia in 1995," Firstenberg said. "At the same time, RICHARD III demonstrates why preservationists never give up hope and how exciting discoveries can still turn up when families take a look at those old film cans that may be sitting forgotten in basements, attics or garages."

The film was donated to AFI by William Buffum, a 77-year-old lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon, and self-described "film lover." Buffum acquired the film more than 30 years ago after trading his collection of silent movies to a friend in exchange for RICHARD III and WHEN BEARCAT WENT DRY, a 1919 rare silent film he has also donated to AFI. From 1938 to 1947, as a hobby and second job, Buffum earned $50 a month running the projection booth at Portland's Bluebird Theater, later renamed the Elmo Theater and now closed. Recently, while planning to move to another home with his wife of 50 years, Margaret, Buffum decided to donate the film to AFI so it would be safely preserved. Though he was not aware of the full extent of the film's importance, Buffum was aware of its early place in film history and would protect it by running it by hand from start to finish once a year to ensure the celluloid wasn't sticking.

In addition to RICHARD III, Buffum's donation to AFI also included WHEN BEARCAT WENT DRY, a 1919 rural drama set in Kentucky's Cumberland Mountains that features Lon Chaney in a supporting role. Though badly worn, it is the only known copy in the United States and will be donated as part of the AFI Collection at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, to complement the extensive collection of Lon Chaney films held there.

AFI also has announced that the Joseph H. Kanter Foundation has generously agreed to provide funding for AFI to make backup negatives from the original nitrate copy as well as several prints. The Kanter Foundation will also help fund AFI's efforts to showcase the film to the American and international publics over the next year.

One of AFI's central missions since being founded in 1967 has been the preservation of America's film heritage. From its initial efforts to find 250 of the most significant "lost" movies, AFI has become a global leader in worldwide preservation efforts through AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation. The Center is co-chaired by Fay Kanin, John Ptak, and Martin Scorsese; Ken Wlaschin serves as vice-chair. AFI's Center also created the National Moving Image Database, the largest collective moving image database in North America that houses more than 250,000 records of film, television and video holdings of American archives and producers. In addition, the institute publishes the AFI Catalog, an ongoing project to compile the most comprehensive listing of every motion picture ever made in the United States. To date, the AFI Catalog-all of which is primary research-has published more than 10,000 pages of information on feature-length films from the 1910s through the 1930s, the 1960s, and all films from 1893 to 1910. "Over the years, AFI has led the way to discovering many important American films thought to have been lost forever and then playing a central role in restoring them to conditions that have ensured their continued survival. The discovery of RICHARD III is particularly exciting not only because of its historical importance, but also because it reminds us that one of AFI's most important missions must be to ensure that America's greatest legacy to the arts, the moving image, is protected for generations to come," Firstenberg said.

The American Film Institute is dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of film, television and other forms of the moving image. AFI's programs promote innovation and excellence through teaching, presenting, preserving and redefining the moving image.

Contact: Seth Oster at 213/856-7667

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