In October the Pacific Film Archive lost a great friend and mentor who made an extraordinary contribution to world cinema. All of us were privileged to share a part of Albert Johnson's life-a wonderful life.During January and February, we remember Albert, who was so much a part of PFA's life and history since the early 1970s, with a few of his favorite things-a selection of movies which represent his ten years as Program Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival; his film classes at Berkeley and PFA on Third World Cinema and Images of Ethnic Minorities in American Cinema, taught in the Department of African American Studies which he helped found in the 1970s; his memorable tributes to great filmmakers and actors; his special interest in the cinema of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe; his love of literature. And of course we celebrate his lifelong passion for the musical film, on which he was recognized worldwide as the authority. More than that, he had a song in his heart. As British film critic and historian David Robinson wrote in The Guardian, London: "Albert Johnson...was a unique figure in the international film world-an all-singing, all-dancing scholar and a teacher who exerted the enchantment of a pied piper." The consummate showman whose joy in life and charm gladdened the hearts of audiences, students, colleagues, and friends, he was ever the articulate and cultured gentleman possessed of grace. PFA's future programs promise to continue Albert's interests and concerns, in particular his belief that cinema was not only an art but a path to better understanding among human beings. The cinema was an expression of Albert himself, a man who refused to allow or accept any barriers of race, creed, gender, ethnicity, or nationality.Quotations by Albert Johnson in the following program notes are from the Program Guides of the San Francisco International Film Festival, 1965 to 1972, and 1980-1981. They are reproduced here (in condensed form) by permission of the San Francisco Film Society.Thursday February 25, 1999
