Parziale Family History
8mm Films
When my folks moved from Durango, Colorado to Redmond, Oregon they unearthed a few steel cases filled with eight-millimeter films that my dad’s father (Vincent ‘Jim’ Parziale) had shot over the course of his life. My mom thought I might be interested in them since I had an 8mm projector at home.
Our kids were toddlers at the time, and at night I would shoot them on to the wall in their bedroom and film each one with a modern 4K sensor on a tripod. All in all there were seven and a half hours of footage. I did my best to catalog each onto an eight-terabyte external drive and over the next couple years I would edit little bits here and there.
I still don’t think I’ve watched one-hundred precent of what is there and maybe some day my kids will complete the edits, but here are the ones I’ve made so far. They span from the mid-forties to the mid-sixties.
Overview
This first one is almost like a trailer. Just a bit of an overview as to what the series has in store. My grandfather would poke the family cats head out of a box he decorated to look like the MGM lion at the beginning of movie, if you’re wondering what that is. He also put the family coat of arms at the beginning of each reel so I sketched out a cleaned up version of it and overlaid it at the beginning of each edit.
8mm Overview - 03:16
Back to Italy
I think that a family trip back to Sarno, Italy may have been the reason he bought a camera in the first place. He appears youngest in these and there’s definitely some issues with the exposure and focus. His mother, Nanina Parziale, is seen as the star going back to her home town after relocating to Boston, Massachusetts in the late ninteen-thirties, I believe. Sarno is essentially on the side of Mount Vesuvius, near Naples. You’ll see shots of the famous ‘Blue Pool,’ a stroll through her old neighborhood, some Roman Empire relics, and then back through New York City on the way home. It’s very special to have access to these images and some day I really hope to bring my kids to Sarno as well.
Back to Italy - 03:24
At Home
My grandfathers siblings, Christine, Anna, Sonny, and Mikey are seen playing in the yard while their folks do some chores. They make their own wine in the basement, which is really fun to see. They catch the grape juice with pots and pans before barreling it up. Then they’re off to the beach, maybe Gloucester? But the fun is over when my ‘then-one-year-old’ uncle Jimmy eats a mouthful of sand.
At Home - 03:02
Scenic Wanderings
I love that he made this title card for ‘Scenic Wanderings.’ A lot of these trips are North, out of Boston, and heading up to explore New Hampshire, where my grandfather would eventually retire to. You’ll see shots of the Flume Gorge, the Old Man on the Mountain (rip), Sculptured Rocks, and a cabin that he and his brothers built at Newfound lake around 1948 is my best guess. We should all be doing more scenic wandering, don’t you agree?
Scenic Wanderings - 03:24
Homebuilding
This section is centered around building their new home in Wilmington, MA although there is a little bit of building the cabin at Newfound Lake which starts with chopping the trees down. My dad, future General Contractor, can be seen toddling around the job-site with total disregard for OSHA standards in a diaper (sorry dad). Fun fact: My grandfather starts this project with two arms but as you will see, ends with only one. Ironically, he didn’t lose it to a saw but to a printing press where he worked, but he just keeps on shoveling anyways. Whenever I felt frustration while building my own house, I would think about how grateful I was to have two arms, so thanks for that Grampa Jim!
Homebuilding - 03:03
Christmas
Winter 1946. The war is over, babies are being boomed, and Christmas parties are raging in basements all across the world. The kids are seen here sledding on the streets of Medford, MA and opening presents on Christmas morning. You can tell my dad is not one to mess with when he kicks the crap out of his big brother for smashing snow in his face. Lots of sledding with, Comet, the family dog and playing in the snow.
Christmas - 02:11
White Christmas
Simpler times. The Parziale clan of six brothers and one sister are first seen at Santa’s Village, a year-round Christmas themed amusement park in New Hampshire. Then sledding, skiing at Canon Mountain, opening presents under the tree, my dad builds a snowman, they icefish at Newfound Lake with Uncle Sonny, and sliding around on the ice wherever they can find it.
White Christmas - 02:39