The Damnedest, Finest Ruins -- Oscar documentary consideration August 15, 2006

THE DAMNEDEST, FINEST RUINS
A Film by James Dalessandro

“Powerful... Unforgettable...”
-- Jan Wahl, Movie Critic, KRON-TV, KCBS Radio

The Damnedest, Finest Ruins, a one-hour documentary about the great San Francisco Earthquake, opens a one-week run, August 15th through August 21st, at the Laemmle Theatre (Grand 4, 345 S. Figueroa Street), in downtown Los Angeles to qualify for Oscar consideration. Written and directed by James Dalessandro (author of the best-selling novel 1906 and screenwriter of the upcoming Warner Brothers film), The Damnedest, Finest Ruins paints a riveting portrait of the earthquake and fire that wiped a city of 450,000 people off the face of the earth during three terrible days in April of 1906.

The high-def production, narrated by acclaimed actor Peter Coyote, features the digitally re-mastered music of Enrico Caruso, who performed in Carmen at San Francisco’s famed opera house five hours before the disaster struck. The film incorporates never-before-seen still photos, hand-cranked Edison film clips, appearances by historian Gladys Hansen and San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, and exposes the enormous human folly that led to the burning of 29,000 buildings and more than $400 million dollars in destruction.

Official Website: http://www.1906earthquake.com