The Salon Cinema
When asked
about the movies, Fred Linch says his favorite quote "Cinema is
life at twenty-four frames a second" once stated film director
Jean Luc Godard. Fred Linch hosted the film series The Salon Cinema at his Phoenix home for 18 years.
The Salon Cinema was offered twice each month among the other performances
or talks that explore the artistic and cultural imagination for
the members of Spirit of the Senses.
No where
in the country, with the exception of New York and Los Angeles
could one find as extensive and longer running cinema series, as
The Salon Cinema, that had included shorts, unusual films, as
well as, popular films. The menu of Fred's twice monthly series
had included films by Peter Greenway, Akiri Kurosawa, Wim Wenders,
Traffaut, Fellini, and Woody Allen. Fred has shown Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers in "Top Hat", Clark Gable in "Gone With the
Wind", the insightful 1950's comedies of Jacques Tati's "My Uncle"
and "Mr. Hulot's Holiday", unique European films like 'The Decalogue',
films from India and Hong Kong, films about women, B Westerns,
and other topics and themes. Through his series, members of Spirit
of the Senses had the unique pleasure to see American
and foreign films, fifty percent that have never been shown in
Phoenix before.
Fred always
began The Salon Cinema with short subjects. Through time Fred
has shown clips of Martin Scorsese student films, Alfred Hitchcock
discussing the difference between surprise and suspense, Canadian
Film Board cartoon winners, and news reels of other eras.
Fred, who
has a collection of five thousand films and one thousand cinema
related books in his library, has been involved in introducing
film to many in the Phoenix area. Watching the cinema at Fred's
home is a ritual. The scene was always relaxed and the Spirit of
the Senses members attending bring treats and movie candy to share
with others of the small group that fits into Fred's kitchen during
the break to discuss the film. It is the communal aspect of watching
films that Fred believes the reason that The Salon Cinema has
lasted so long.
On December
28th, 1995, The Salon Cinema celebrated the 100th Anniversary
of film with an extravaganza at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. Fred
Linch notes that this was the only organized celebration in the
United States. Another celebration was held that year in Paris,
where the Lumiere brothers made their first film. Fred Linch showed
the Lumiere brothers film at the celebration in the Biltmore.
Fred showed the ten part series by film director Krzysztof Kieslowski
"The Decalogue". This European film has rarely been seen in the
United States and appears this winter at BAM in New York City.
Fred film series for 2001 is about films that have not been seen
at the Phoenix theaters but are important works of art.
We asked
Fred who his favorite filmmaker is. Fred replied that his thought
Jean Renoir, of all the filmmakers was his favorite because Renoir
was the most humane. "Renoir knows how people really are, he has
a sense of humanity." Fred believes that the images on the wall
created by films having a tremendous staying power.
Fred began
is love of the cinema with westerns starring Buck Jones, Roy Rogers,
and Wild Bill Elliot. If given only one film to see, Fred would
chose Sam Pechinpah's "The Wild Bunch". Fred believes the film
changed the course of film, had a beautiful look, and appealed
to his early love of westerns.
