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Back in January I posted an historical archive film of the San Francisco Cable Cars.

The film is historically important for numerous reasons, not the least of which being its date. Filmed mere days before the Great Earthquake of 1906, this video stands as one of the most vivid documentations of San Francisco before the quake that would utterly transform the city.

Interestingly, most historians had assumed the video to be from 1905. Film historian David Keihn, however, thought otherwise. He theorized the film to be from a later date and went about to prove it.

This past weekend, 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer went behind the scenes of this film to meet David Keihn and uncover the history, mystery, stories and personalities behind it. The story has an almost whodunnit quality to it that will keep you interested to the end.

The Market Street Film is hauntingly surreal. It stands as a silent eulogy to a place all but destroyed which  – quite literally – no longer exists. As Mr. Safer so eloquently puts it, the film documents “San Francisco closing in on its rendezvous with catastrophe. The odds are, some of the people you see had just days to live.”

It’s wonderful, charming and beautiful. It will make you stop and contemplate. I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but it will. Take the 12-and-a-half minutes required to watch it. You’ll be glad you did.

As an added bonus, a whole new, never-before-seen HD remastering of the film is presented.