A cinephilac blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age, with occasional posts about related books, music, art, and history written by Thomas Gladysz. Visit the acclaimed Louise Brooks Society™ website at www.pandorasbox.com
The sensational 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, will be shown three times this month in the United Kingdom. And what's more, each of these screenings will feature live musical accompaniment by the musical group, Wurlitza. (Thanks Meredith.)
The three screenings are set to take place on
Friday 6th May 2022 at the The Burrell Theatre, Truro in Cornwall. More info HERE.
Friday 13th May 2022 at the Plymouth University Arts Institute, Plymouth in Devon. More info HERE.
Saturday 14th May 2022 at the Noss Mayo Village Hallin Devon. More info HERE.
Wurlitz posted this statement: "We're delighted to be returning to Truro, this time to The Burrell Theatre.
The performance starts at 7.30 and we very much hope to see some of you
for what may be our last performance in Cornwall of Diary of a Lost
Girl for some considerable time.
If you haven't seen it, Diary of a Lost Girl is a wonderful silent film;
action packed and full of drama that shocks and surprises. The
cinematography is just stunning, with beautiful Louise Brooks at her
most mesmerising. It's a story of love in unusual places, as well as
capturing some of the most extraordinary scenes ever seen in silent
cinema. Heavily censored at the time, we are lucky to be able to see the
film as Pabst intended it to be seen, with all its black humour and
vibrant storytelling.
Our soundtrack includes music by Leonard Cohen, Chopin, The Magic
Numbers, Passenger, Eric Satie, The Wire, Portishead and XTC. The album of Diary of A Lost Girl is on Spotify - either follow the link, or search for Wurlitza
We are also performing Diary of a Lost Girl at Plymouth University Arts Institute on the 13th May, and on the 14th May at Noss Mayo Village Hall.
After this we will be working on Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, which will be debuted at Little Big Festival in Ashburton in August."
Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), starring Louise Brooks, will be shown in Devon, England on Saturday March 19, 2022 with live musical accompaniment by the stellar musical group, Wurlitza. More information about this event can be found HERE.
From the venue website:
Director: G W Pabst | Cast: Edith Meinhard, Fritz Rasp, Josef Rovensky, Louise Brooks, Franziska Kinz, Vera Pawlowa
1h 56m | 1929 | Silent Film | *Please note the film was originally certified ‘A’ due to adult themes.
The Barn Cinema (Dartington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6EL) offers a truly unique experience: a wide-ranging film
programme, including independent arthouse, world and mainstream cinema,
all within a truly beautiful, renovated 15th century barn. The Barn Cinema are taking over The Great Hall for a night to invite Cornish band Wurlitza to perform their magical musical accompaniment to one of silent cinema’s classics: ‘Diary of a Lost Girl’.
After two years in the making, Wurlitza’s present their soundtrack for GW Pabst’s 1929 movie Diary of a Lost Girl.
Diary of a Lost Girl was made in Germany at a time of great artistic freedom. Fast moving and at times shocking, the film traces the story of Thymian, played by the mesmerising screen idol Louise Brookes, as her life yoyos between episodes of lightness and innocence, darkness and despair. Moments of great comedy involve life in a reform school for fallen girls headed by a villainous nun, and a modern dance lesson with an incompetent buffoon.
This gripping film defies convention, confounding expectations, as joy and compassion are found in the most unlikely places.
Repertoire for the live soundtrack includes music by Django Reinhardt, Fun Boy Three, Portishead, Wire, Chopin and Leonard Cohen.
Diary of a Lost Girl has been very well received in venues throughout Cornwall and Devon. They’ve celebrated the film by making a soundtrack which can be enjoyed on Soundcloud and Spotify.
"The music was expertly chosen to run seamlessly with the film. It enhanced the experience. It reflected mood and added nuance. The musicianship was excellent. The performance fitted superbly with the images...Why does Wurlitza work? Because they bring magic. And that is never a bad thing." - Ian Craft ‐ Calstock Arts
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Want to learn more about Diary of
a Lost Girl and the book that was the basis for the film? Check out the
2010 Louise Brooks Society publication, the Louise Brooks edition of
Margarete Bohme's The Diary of a Lost Girl, edited and with an informative introduction by Thomas Gladysz.
The 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl,
is based on a controversial and bestselling book first published in
Germany in 1905. Though little known today, it was a literary sensation
at the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of the 1920s, it had
been translated into 14 languages and sold more than 1,200,000 copies -
ranking it among the bestselling books of its time. Was it - as
many believed - the real-life diary of a young woman forced by
circumstance into a life of prostitution? Or a sensational and clever
fake, one of the first novels of its kind? This contested work - a work of unusual historical significance as well as literary sophistication
- inspired a sequel, a play, a parody, a score of imitators, and two
silent films. The best remembered of these is the oft revived G.W. Pabst
film starring Louise Brooks.
This corrected and annotated
edition of the original English language translation brings this
important book back into print after more than 100 years. It includes an
introduction by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society,
detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the 1929
silent film. This special "Louise Brooks Edition" also includes more
than three dozen vintage illustrations.
"Long relegated to the shadows, Margarete Böhme's 1905 novel, The Diary of a Lost Girl
has at last made a triumphant return. In reissuing the rare 1907
English translation of Böhme's German text, Thomas Gladysz makes an
important contribution to film history, literature, and, in as much as
Böhme told her tale with much detail and background contemporary to the
day, sociology and history. He gives us the original novel, his
informative introduction, and many beautiful and rare illustrations.
This reissue is long overdue, and in all ways it is a volume of uncommon
merit." - Richard Buller, author of A Beautiful Fairy Tale: The Life of Actress Lois Moran
Read
today, it's a fascinating time-trip back to another age, and yet remains
compelling. As a bonus, Gladysz richly illustrates the text with stills
of Brooks from the famous film. - Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
In
today's parlance this would be called a movie tie-in edition, but that
seems a rather glib way to describe yet another privately published work
that reveals an enormous amount of research and passion. - Leonard
Maltin Thomas
Gladysz is the leading authority on all matters pertaining to the
legendary Louise Brooks. We owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing the
groundbreaking novel, The Diary of a Lost Girl, back from obscurity. --Lon Davis, author of Silent Lives
It
was such a pleasure to come upon your well documented and beautifully
presented edition. -- Elizabeth Boa, University of Nottingham (UK)
