Monday, April 28, 2008

In soft focus

Sunday, April 27, 2008

From archiv nega

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Another article about an accompaniest

The Bangor Daily News ran an article yesterday about film pianist Harry Weiss, who as it turns out, has accompanied such "darker classics" as Pandora's Box. Check out the article here.

Weiss now lives in Bangor, Maine where he will be playing tonight for a screening of The Battleship Potemkin at the Bangor Opera House.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Beggars tonight in NYC

This short write-up appeared in today's New York Times.  I wish I could be there for this special screening . . . . 

THE MONT ALTO MOTION PICTURE ORCHESTRA We are lucky enough in New York City to have a handful of highly talented pianists who are experts in the subtle, self-effacing art of providing accompaniment to silent films. But it’s a particular pleasure to hear silent-film music as it was actually performed in most of the first-run theaters of that era — which is to say, by an orchestra.

The five-member Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, based in Louisville, Colo., and led by Rodney Sauer, can be heard on several silent-film DVDs, but the group will offer its first live performance in Manhattan on Friday at Lincoln Center, accompanying two films of high interest in themselves: Harold Lloyd’s 1927 comedy “The Kid Brother” (6 p.m.) and William A. Wellman’s rarely screened 1928 social drama “Beggars of Life” (9 p.m.), with Louise Brooks (above, with Richard Arlen) as a young woman who kills her abusive stepfather and, to escape the police, disguises herself as a boy and joins a group of tramps.

Mr. Sauer specializes in compiling scores from the authentic photoplay music of the period, drawing on the work of neglected composers like Gaston Borch and J. S. Zamecnik; the results are often breathtakingly beautiful and always in the strict service of the film on the screen. (Friday at 6 and 9 p.m., Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, 212-975-5600, filmlinc.org; $20.) DAVE KEHR

Thursday, April 24, 2008

A new book



There is a new book out about silent film - and what's more, in mentions Louise Brooks (and the Louise Brooks Society). Sounds like a good read to me.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Beggars of Life in NYC

Beggars of Life (1928) will be shown at the Film Society at Lincoln Center theater this Friday (that's April 25th). The print to be screened is the newly restored version from the George Eastman House - so don't miss it. More information can be found here.

Golden Silents: The Kid Brother and Beggars of Life
Friday, April 25, 2008 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm

The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra onstage accompanying screenings of two silent film greats: Harold Lloyd at 6pm in The Kid Brother and Louise Brooks at 9pm in Beggars of Life.

The Kid Brother
Ted Wilde, US, 1927; 83m
Harold Lloyd was the most successful comedian of the silent era, more popular than Buster Keaton and in more films than Charlie Chaplin. In his comic masterpiece The Kid Brother, Lloyd plays Harold Hickory, the youngest son in a family of burly mountain lawmen. When Mary Powers (Jobyna Ralston) arrives in town with a medicine show, it sets brother against brother in one of the finest––and funniest––of all the silent comedies. Guaranteed fun for the whole family. Fri Apr 25: 6 

Beggars of Life
William A. Wellman, US, 1928; 82m
Louise Brooks plays an abused orphan on the run from the police. She dresses as a man, befriends hobo Richard Arlen, hops a freight train and hides in a hobo camp run by Wallace Beery. But which man is helping her escape to Canada, and which is after the $1000 reward? Beggars of Life is a well-crafted thriller with a straightforward look at 1920s hobo life. Special thanks to The Film Foundation for their funding of the George Eastman House restoration of this film. Fri Apr 25: 9


The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra creates film scores in the same way it was done in the silent film era, selecting music for each scene from their large library of historic “photoplay music.” With five-piece orchestration typical of smaller movie houses of the day, Mont Alto has scored over 50 films since 1994, performing at historic theaters and film festivals around the country.

The year-round Golden Silents series is made possible through the generosity of the Ira M. Resnick Foundation. Golden Silents is programmed by Sayre Maxfield.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Louise Brooks blog theme

Looking for a Louise Brooks blog theme? Look no further than here. It's nice!            

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Stuart Oderman

There is a wonderful article about Stuart Oderman in the April 20th issue of Newark Star-Ledger. The article, "Silents Are Golden Pianist carves a career out of the era before the talkies," can be accessed here

Who is Stuart Oderman? Not only is he one of the great silent film accompanists, as well as an author of books of interest to silent film buffs - but he is also the performer of my very, very, very favorite score / musical accompaniment to Pandora's Box. That score can be found on 2000 VHS release by Homevisions. That was the first Louise Brooks film I ever saw - and the first version of Pabst's Pandora's Box I ever saw. Not only did I fall in love with Louise Brooks, but I also came under the spell of the musical atmosphere created by Oderman. So much so, that I recorded the score on my tape recorder so I could listen to it whenever ever I wanted. I still have that tape.



Oderman's score led me to discover Debussy, Satie, Chopin, and others. And late 19th century and early 20th century piano music is a favorite. (Brooks was fond of Debussy, was she not?)

I once spoke to Oderman on the phone. He was a gracious man, and was patient with my questions. [He did meet Louise Brooks.] He is one of last living links to the films and stars of the silent film era. Read the article about him to find out more.
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