Fantastic 1958 Film Footage of San Francisco

San Francisco 1958 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

A film colorist at a local Chicago production house inherited a bunch of 16mm Kodachrome film shot in the late ’50s by his grandparents.

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Cars driving down Lombard Street. The silhouette of the guy smoking the cigar in the window is classic. I also like the moody accompanying music.

UPDATE: A commenter at Boing Boing informs that the song is “Alone in Kyoto” by Air.

Related book: Historic Photos of San Francisco
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From Powell’s

21 thoughts on “Fantastic 1958 Film Footage of San Francisco”

  1. You should also check out the skyline shot in “Where the Buffalo Roam” with Bill Murray. There’s also a great time lapse sequence of the now non-existent Embarcadero Freeway at minute 49 of “Koyaanisqatsi”…both are color but done in the late 70’s/early 80’s…

  2. Vídeo muy atractivo que me retrotrajo a la visita que hice a San Francisco hace algunos años. Prof. C. Rodríguez-Ruano

  3. Very enjoyable. The music was a nice touch. I like to think this would have been a great time to live in San Francisco. Alas…

  4. Good A/V pairing. This track also appears on Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation”. If you like the vibe of this song, definitely check out the soundtrack of the aforementioned film. IMO, it is one of the best film soundtracks ever assembled.

  5. The only thing that’s changed about SF is what the people wear and how they get around. That’s something else.

  6. Ahh, the 50’s. I can’t get over how clean, uncrowed and smog free the city appears. Thanks for sharing.

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