As the Earth Turns (1938 film)
As the Earth Turns is a 1938 American independent[1] science-fiction silent film directed by Richard Lyford. Lyford was 20 years old when he directed As the Earth Turns and the film is one of many avant-garde films that he made in Seattle, Washington, before finding success with Walt Disney in the 1940s.[2]
Summary
He portrays a central character in the film, Pax, "who attempts to persuade the world to put down its weapons by inducing extreme climate change".[3]
Rediscovery
Like most of Lyford's early films, it was presumed lost until it was discovered in his former Seattle home over 80 years later.[4] KING-TV reported that the film may have never left Lyford's basement, which he would use as an auditorium to show his films.[5] After the rediscovery, Lyford's family asked Seattle composer Ed Hartman to create a score for the film.[5] As the Earth Turns made its theatrical premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2019.[1] LA Weekly wrote that by October 2019, the rediscovered film "played at over 100 film festivals worldwide and garnered many awards along the way".[2] It made its television debut on Turner Classic Movies on October 31, 2021.[1]
References
- Macdonald, Moira (October 27, 2021). "A 20-year-old made a movie in Seattle in the 1930s. This week, it finally makes its TV debut". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- Bell, Nathaniel (October 17, 2019). "Movie Pick: As the Earth Turns". LA Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Rechtshaffen, Michael (October 17, 2019). "Review: Unreleased 1938 silent sci-fi film 'As the Earth Turns' boasts analog ingenuity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- LePire, Bobby (June 17, 2020). "As The Earth Turns". Film Threat. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- Denver, Jim (May 31, 2019). "An 80-year-old film shot in Seattle is finding new life". KING-TV. Retrieved September 1, 2020.