Rich in detail, this is a study of the interrelationships between film historical discourse and archival practices. Exploring the history of several important collections from the EYE Film Museum in Amsterdam, Bregt Lameris shows how archival films and collections always carry the historical traces of selection policies, restoration philosophies, and exhibition strategies. The result is a compelling argument that film archives can never be viewed simply as innocent or neutral sources of film history.

Bregt Lameris is a post-doc at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.

IntroductionMuseum, archive, collection: unravelling definitions and conceptsCollections and case studiesStructure of the bookThe timeline of the pas-de-deuxPART I: COLLECTIONSChapter 1: Private Collectors Three collection strategies The Desmet Collection: a diorama in timeThe Uitkijk Collection: film as art Chapter 2: Blind Choices: Parameters and Repetitions Film titles and filmmakers: the film canonProduction year: early film Production country: national filmsChapter 3: Eyes Wide Open: DuplicatesAesthetic value From wonder to resonance Canonical selectionEclectic consequencesPART II: PRESERVATIONSChapter 4: Passive Preservation: An Historical OverviewNitrate and the paradigm of reproducibilityNitrate and perishabilityNitrate films and uniquenessChapter 5: Impressions: Restoration of the Film ImageBlack-and-white film artColour restorations: impressions or imprints?Chapter 6: ReconstructionsThe director's versionShown versionsArchival versionsNew versionsUnity in partsAcademics and the 'original'PART III: PRESENTATIONSChapter 7: Interiors and Decorations: Film Museum Exhibition SpacesThe art museum dispositifTwo film museum traditionsTowards a historical sensationChapter 8: Framing Programmes Film as art or from 'the old box'?TransitionsEducational discoveriesChapter 9: Performance: Authenticity or Artistry?Music and lectures Materiality and projection The musealisation of projection techniquesCONCLUSION