No. 2: The Goldie, The Newbie, and the Nearbie

People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.
–Steven Spielberg

Movies have long been considered the epitome of storytelling, something everyone can relate to. As movie directors and their production teams send their masterpieces into the world to be seen, admired and critiqued, we must remember those in the past which have shaped the movie industry and the creative minds of today with newer films and bright ideas.

The Goldie: The Lost Film Era

In the hustle and bustle of new feature films released by the many, people often forget the roots of common cinema and how it has truly influenced and shaped today’s content.

I was reading through some new books one spring afternoon in the calm of the library when I stumbled upon an unfamiliar term: lost films. I later discovered that these are movies which have no copies or prints to exist and keep a record of, and therefore disappear, with the vast majority of them being from the silent era before 1950 and remain permanently lost.

One of the greatest lost films includes “London After Midnight” (1927), a brilliant masterpiece pieced together nearly 100 years prior as a mystery-thriller starring a detective and a ghoul played by Lon Chaney and directed by Tod Browning (yes, THAT Tod Browning, the same one who directed and wrote “Dracula” (1931)). Since few copies were kept intact, the last known copy was destroyed in the infamous MGM vault fire of 1965.

There are several reasons for this, some of which include how the earliest film negatives were made of cellulose nitrate, a dangerous, flammable substance which, if not stored in proper climate-controlled vaults, would disintegrate. Most of these perished in vault fires, which commonly occurred when the nitrates (which have properties similar to gunpowder) spontaneously ignited due to poor ventilation and were nearly impossible to extinguish. As a result, before an alternative to nitrate films was found, studios intentionally burned their remaining collections after copying the footage. Unfortunately, the movie world still mourns the untimely loss of the greatest historical film ever lost.

Additionally, as the silent era coincided with the Great Depression, films were viewed as disposable and were frequently melted down to reuse the silver content, which was difficult to obtain. Some of the most interesting films ever created have been forever lost, never to be watched or enjoyed again.

Exactly 100 years ago, “The Great Gatsby” was released in theatres only a year after the book was published. F. Scott Fitzgerald hated the feature so much, however, that he and his family left in the middle of the screening. Until his death, he considered his book a massive flop. Coincidentally, the entire 80-minute feature vanished after the nitrate print disintegrated (much to Fitzgerald’s delight), but a minute-long feature remains as a reminder of the original film before the 2013 edition was made.

Here is the trailer of the ’20’s version for you to enjoy:

The Great Gatsby (1926)

Newbie: Nonnas

If you know me, you might already know that I absolutely adore two things: New York and food. When I stumbled upon this movie two years ago, when it had just been released on Netflix, it gave me a sense of nostalgia with the shared enjoyment of a love language lots of people seem to love: Italian food. It blends the timeless beauty of New York and its adjacent boroughs and islands, and gives the audience a sense of time-travelling back to the swinging ’50s and ’60s where it all began. It allows one to delve into the rich background of native New Yorkers from multiple different countries and beliefs.

“Nonnas”, set between two backdrops of the main character as a child with his mother and now with her old recipes, tells the tale of Joe Scaravella as he opens a new restaurant in Staten Island called the ‘ Enoteca Maria’ (a real place inspired by the the true founders) where instead of hiring younger employees, he enlists the help of Italian grandmothers, or ‘Nonnas’. This is entirely based on a true story and the heartwarming attempt to continue his grandmother and mother’s fabulous cooking as part of his Sicilian heritage.

This family-friendly movie is perfect to watch with a steaming plate of ravioli and a delicious bowl of cannolis, and a nice de-stressing activity if you want some hilarious Italian-American comedy.

Nearbie: Hunger Games: Sunrise On the Reaping

I remember the hot summer’s day when I stepped into my favourite bookstore in Paris to purchase some new reading material and stumbled upon the Hunger Games series. As soon as I picked up the first book of the franchise at age 12, I found myself unable to put it down and discovered a new world of action, fear and terrible capitalism within the districts of Panem and the all-knowing, forever-ruling Capitol.

Out of the corner of my eye, on a top shelf, lay a book with an all-too-familiar name: Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

This brand new feature film adapted from the book submitted its trailer exactly one year before the slated release on November 20, 2026, garnering over 116 million views within the first 24 hours with large anticipation. Following “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” book, and then 2024 feature film, describing President Snow’s backstory in the Capitol where he was selected to mentor Lucy Gray Baird of the Covey in District 12 for the 10th annual Hunger Games, the story follows Katniss’ own future mentor and winner of the second Quarter Quell, or the 50th Hunger Games; Haymitch Abernathy (a highly-requested backstory for nearly two decades).

As concurrent with the other blockbuster movies, this film has been predicted to be a major commercial hit with exceptional book sales and “record-breaking success” with 1.5 million copies sold more than its predecessor. Moreover, the film adaptation includes a star-studded cast, including appearances from the original films from Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson to Francis Lawrence (director of Catching Fire and the Mockingjay movies), as well as new appearances from Joseph Zada as the young Haymitch (replacing Woody Harrelson in the original films), Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow (replacing Donald Sutherland who unfortunately passed away in 2024), Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee and Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman (the beloved host of the Hunger Games whom we know for his interesting interviews with the tributes).

Don’t miss this new blockbuster film out in cinemas this fall!

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 50th Hunger Games begin!”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bitesize, Bbc. “Why Were TV Programmes and Films Destroyed? – BBC Bitesize.” BBC Bitesize, 2 Apr. 2026, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvy28p3.
• Carrick, Lydia. “What Is a Lost Film? – the Cinema History Blog.” The Cinema History Blog, 22 Oct. 2022, www.cinemahistory.co.uk/what-is-a-lost-film.
• Lost Films. www.lost-films.eu/index/whatlf.