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Read the Los Angeles Times' coverage on the series here.
UCLA Film & Television Archive launched its “Archive Treasures” program in October of 1990, with support from the Ted Mann Foundation, with the aim of: “recreating a classic night at the movies.” That meant screening a newsreel, shorts and a feature presentation, all drawn from the Archive’s holdings. Over the next 15 years, there were 98 installments in the series and the vast majority of them were curated by Charles Hopkins. Cinephiles argue about auteurist signatures but what can you glean about someone from the films they program? Charles became one of the Archive’s first full-time employees in 1974 and officially retired in 2007 (but lent a hand until 2011). Over the years, Charles wore many hats, including archivist and programmer, as the Archive grew from a motley classroom print collection into an internationally respected institution of moving image preservation and programming. Charles’ curatorship of “Archive Treasures” was a significant part of that development, as he introduced audiences locally and around the world to the depth and breadth of the Archive’s classic American film holdings in the most entertaining way possible: by putting it up on screen. From his selections and program notes it’s clear that Charles knew and loved the Hollywood classics, but he frequently championed the smaller, unheralded gems that got away. Indeed, he often cited in his accompanying program notes a film's poor contemporary reviews as if to highlight how today’s masterpiece might have been yesterday’s flop. In so doing, he underscored the Archive’s mission to remain above fashion or trends, to save and protect even those works overlooked in their time as they remain a part of our shared cultural heritage and are also worthy of remembrance. Charles passed away in July of this year. He won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
This series pays tribute to Charles Hopkins and his invaluable contributions to the Archive by recreating a modest sampling of his "Archive Treasures" programs. While the formats of the titles are not the same in every instance---safety stock in place of nitrate, 16mm in place of 35mm---the titles are exactly what he selected, presented with Charles’ original film notes.
