August 2017

1 August

Der Müde Tod (aka Destiny, aka Behind the Wall) (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1921) (Screening format – DCP, 98mins) Der Müde Tod (literally The Weary Death) has often been overlooked even amongst Lang’s earlier work but it is a film rich in expressionist imagery and featuring innovative special effects work. It has been hugely influential, with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman and Luis Buñuel citing it as a direct influence on their own work. In the film, a young woman (Lil Dagover) confronts the personification of Death (Bernhard Goetzke), in an effort to save the life of her fiancé (Walter Janssen). Death weaves three romantic tragedies and offers to unite the girl with her lover, if she can prevent the death of the lovers in at least one of the episodes. Thus begin three exotic scenarios of ill-fated love, in which the woman must somehow reverse the course of destiny: Persia, Renaissance Venice, and a fancifully rendered ancient China. Find out more at silentfilm.org. The new restoration of Der Müde Tod by Anke Wilkening on behalf of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung preserves the original German intertitles and simulates the historic colour tinting and toning of its initial release. The film is accompanied by a recently-composed recorded score by Cornelius Schwehr. Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DVD, Jan ’05 pre-restored version, 118mins) Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder (Gustav Frohlich), the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, and Maria (Brigitte Helm), a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichmarks, making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction and is among the most influential films of all time. Find out more at silentfilm.org With live piano accompaniment by Dmytro Morykit. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

2 August

3 August

5 August

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Groβtadt) (Dir. Walter Ruttman, Ger, 1927) (Screening format – DCP, 65mins) This is a visual symphony in five movements celebrating the Berlin of 1927: the people, the place, the everyday details of life on the streets. Director Walter Ruttman, an experimental filmmaker, approached cinema in similar ways to his Russian contemporary Dziga Vertoz, mixing documentary, abstract, and expressionist modes for a nonnarrative style that captured the life of his countrymen. But where Vertov mixed his observations with examples of the communist dream in action, Ruttman re-creates documentary as, in his own words, “a melody of pictures.” Within the loose structure of a day in the life of the city (with a prologue that travels from the country into the city on a barreling train), the film takes us from dawn to dusk, observing the silent city as it awakens with a bustle of activity, then the action builds and calms until the city settles back into sleep. But the city is as much the architecture, the streets, and the machinery of industry as it is people, and Ruttman weaves all these elements together to create a portrait in montage, the poetic document of a great European city captured in action. Held together by rhythm, movement, and theme, Ruttman creates a documentary that is both involving and beautiful to behold. Find out more at sensesofcinema.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With live musical accompaniment. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

Drifters (Dir. John Griersen, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 61 mins) Drifters, the story of the North Sea herring fleets from Yarmouth and Lowestoft to Shetland, broke new ground in 1929. Filmed mainly at sea in all weathers, but with studio sets for some interior scenes, it established Grierson’s style of “creative interpretation of actuality” which came to characterise the British school of documentary film-making. Directed and edited by Grierson and photographed by Basil Emmott. The film was successful both critically and commercially and helped kick off Grierson’s documentary film movement. Find out more at imdb.com . With atmospheric live vocal score by internationally renowned beatboxer and sound artist Jason Singh. Screening alongside Drifters in this special event will be rare archive films of Leith dating from 1918 accompanied live by Leith-based female singing group Davno. Destiny Church , Leith Link

Sherlock Holmes (Dir. Albert Parker, US, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 109mins) One of John Barrymore’s most prestigious early roles, this rarely seen film also presents screen debuts of William Powell and Roland Young. When a young prince is accused of a crime that could embroil him in international scandal, debonair super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes comes to his aid, and quickly discovers that behind the incident lurks a criminal mastermind eager to reduce Western civilization to anarchy. Find out more at moviessilently.com . With live organ accompaniment by Donald MacKenzie. Odeon, Leicester Square, London Link

6 August

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed) (Dir. Carl Koch and Lotte Reiniger, Ger, 1926) (Screening format – 35mm, 72 mins) Based on the classic collection of stories “Arabian Nights,” the film tells the story of an evil African sorcerer who tricks a young prince named Achmed into riding a wild magical flying horse which he does not know how to control. The evil sorcerer assumes that the Prince will eventually get thrown from the flying horse and plunge to his death. However, Prince Achmed manages to tame the flying horse and instead gets whisked away into a series of adventures that include encounters with Aladdin, the Witch of the Fiery Mountains, the beautiful Princess Pari Banu and of course a showdown with the evil African sorcerer. This German animated fairy-tale film is the oldest surviving animated feature film. It features a silhouette animation technique co-director Reiniger had invented which involved manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under a camera. The technique she used for the camera is similar to Wayang shadow puppets, though her’s were animated frame by frame, not manipulated in live action. Find out more at moviessilently.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With live musical accompaniment. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

People on Sunday (Dir. Robert Siodmak/Edgar G Ulmer, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 74mins) Famously, Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann worked with Siodmak on this landmark of realist filmmaking, in which non-professionals act out an ‘everyday’, uneventful story of several young Berliners using their Sunday to spend a flirtatious day together at a lake on the edge of the city. With its massive cast of unpaid extras enjoying the summer sun, this classic silent film feels remarkably modern. Find out more at archive.org. With recorded soundtrack. BFI Southbank, London Link

8 August

The Golem: How He Came Into The World (Dir. Carl Boese/Paul Wegener, Ger, 1920) (Screening Format – 35mm, 94mins) The only one of three films directed by and starring Paul Wegener concerning the Golem, a figure from Jewish folklore, to have survived, this is, along with The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), one of the key works of Expressionism, as well as being one of the earliest and most influential horror films. In medieval Prague, Rabbi Loew fears disaster for the Jewish community at the hands of the Christian Emperor. To defend his people, he creates from clay the Golem, whose awakening leads to a series of disasters in this visual feast. Find out more at filmmonthly.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With live musical accompaniment from pianist Hilary Woods. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

9 August

Piccadilly (E A Dupont, US, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 92mins) Stunningly designed and photographed, Piccadilly brings a sparkling cocktail of influences to its presentation of 20s London, from West End glitter to a seedy dive bar in cosmopolitan Limehouse. Tragic heroine Shosho (Chinese-American star Anna May Wong) beguiles her way from lowly nightclub kitchen hand to the star attraction; but will a love tryst with her boss be this deco diva’s undoing? Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live musical accompaniment by the Lucky Dog Picture House. Centrale Shopping Centre Car Park, Croydon Link

10 August

Drifters (Dir. John Griersen, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 61 mins) Drifters, the story of the North Sea herring fleets from Yarmouth and Lowestoft to Shetland, broke new ground in 1929. Filmed mainly at sea in all weathers, but with studio sets for some interior scenes, it established Grierson’s style of “creative interpretation of actuality” which came to characterise the British school of documentary film-making. Directed and edited by Grierson and photographed by Basil Emmott. The film was successful both critically and commercially and helped kick off Grierson’s documentary film movement. Find out more at imdb.com . With atmospheric live vocal score by internationally renowned beatboxer and sound artist Jason Singh. In addition Yorkshire artist HarryMeadley will present live narration for a selection of local filmmaker John Turner’s Hull Street Scenes films from the 1950s. Floating Cinema, Hull Link

12 August

Phantom Of The Opera (Dir. Rupert Julian, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 103mins) A title that needs no introduction, The Phantom of the Opera has spawned many remakes, remasters and sequels. This original film version, produced with moments of early Technicolour, sees Lon Chaney, the ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’ perform one of his most iconic roles. His ghastly make-up and outrageous performance made this title a benchmark in the American silent film era. The film was a critical and commercial success upon release, and still stands as an important film in cinematic history to this day, with press quotes from the time labelling the film an ‘ultra-fantastic melodrama’ (New York Times), ‘produced on a stupendous scale’ (Moving Picture World) and ‘probably the greatest inducement to nightmare that has yet been screened’ (Variety). The mysterious phantom (Lon Chaney) is a vengeful composer living in the catacombs under the Paris Opera House, determined to promote the career of the singer he loves (Mary Philbin). Famed for the phantom’s shock unmasking, incredible set designs and the masked ball sequence, it still packs a punch. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live music accompaniment by Brendan Murphy and The Mediators. Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle Link

Woman In The Moon ( Frau im Mond ) (Dir. Fritz Lang, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – Blu-Ray, 169mis) The first feature-length film to portray space-exploration in a serious manner, paying close attention to the science involved in launching a vessel from the surface of the earth to the valleys of the moon. In this, Lang’s final silent epic, the legendary filmmaker spins a tale involving a wicked cartel of spies who co-opt an experimental mission to the moon in the hope of plundering the satellite’s vast (and highly theoretical) stores of gold. When the crew, helmed by Willy Fritsch and Gerda Maurus (both of whom had previously starred in Lang’s Spione), finally reach their impossible destination, they find themselves stranded in a lunar labyrinth without walls — where emotions run scattershot, and the new goal becomes survival. A modern Daedalus tale which uncannily foretold Germany’s wartime push into rocket-science, Frau im Mond is as much a warning-sign against human hubris as it is a hopeful depiction of mankind’s potential. Find out more at sensesofcinema.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

13 August

Phantom Of The Opera (Dir. Rupert Julian, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 103mins) A title that needs no introduction, The Phantom of the Opera has spawned many remakes, remasters and sequels. This original film version, produced with moments of early Technicolour, sees Lon Chaney, the ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’ perform one of his most iconic roles. His ghastly make-up and outrageous performance made this title a benchmark in the American silent film era. The film was a critical and commercial success upon release, and still stands as an important film in cinematic history to this day, with press quotes from the time labelling the film an ‘ultra-fantastic melodrama’ (New York Times), ‘produced on a stupendous scale’ (Moving Picture World) and ‘probably the greatest inducement to nightmare that has yet been screened’ (Variety). The mysterious phantom (Lon Chaney) is a vengeful composer living in the catacombs under the Paris Opera House, determined to promote the career of the singer he loves (Mary Philbin). Famed for the phantom’s shock unmasking, incredible set designs and the masked ball sequence, it still packs a punch. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live musical accompaniment by acclaimed musicians Minima. Presented as part of the Martley Fringe Festival. Martley Memorial Hall, Martley, Worcs. Link

Variety (Dir. E A Dupont, Ger, 1925) (Screening format – Blu-Ray, 94mins) Actor Emil Jannings was one of the most esteemed actors of this time, working with directors such as F.W. Murnau and Josef von Sternberg, before moving to America to become the first winner of the Oscar for Best Actor, and ending his career in disgrace after appearing in Nazi propaganda films. In this seamy melodrama, he plays Boss Huller, a former trapeze artist who abandons his family for a younger colleague (Lya De Putti). When the couple becomes a professional trio, a love triangle is formed, and tragedy ensues. The film features some of the most inventive camerawork of the period, its ‘unchained’ approach making for breathtaking performance scenes.Find out more at moviessilently.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

Sex In Chains (Dir. Wilhelm Dieterle, Ger, 1928) (Screening format – 35mm, 107mins) Self-censorship in the silent era prevented the vast majority of filmmakers from portraying homosexuality directly. The very few unambiguous references all seem to appear in films made in Germany during the liberal Weimar era. Although Dierterle’s Sex in Chains is essentially a social problem film dealing with prison reform, it’s also a convenient device for showing a homosexual encounter. Far from being judgmental, the film lays the breakdown of marriage at the door of a penal system that doesn’t allow conjugal visits, and makes the innocent suffer as well as the incarcerated. The issue of same-sex attraction is stated quite matter-of-factly here; the wife certainly recognises it immediately when her husband and his former cellmate meet again. Find out more at allmovie.com . With live piano accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

14 August

Steamboat Bill Jr (Dir. Buster Keaton/Charles Reisner, US, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 71 mins) In Steamboat Bill Jr a crusty river boat captain hopes that his long departed son’s return will help him compete with a business rival. Unfortunately, William Canfield Jnr (Buster Keaton) is an effete college boy. Worse still, he has fallen for the business rival’s daughter (Marion Byron). Not a commercial success at the time, this is now rightly regarded as a Keaton classic. Find out more at Wikipedia Presented as part of the Chichester International Film Festival. With live jazz accompaniment by the Buster Birch Quartet. Accompanied by a musical presentation on ‘The Life of Buster Keaton’. Main Auditorium 17 S, Chichester Link

The Lost World (Dir. Harry Hoyt, US, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 106mins) Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure is brought to the big screen for the first time in an adventure across continents to the land that time forgot, featuring swooping beasts, the terrifying ‘apeman’ and the odd volcano too! This film used pioneering techniques in stop motion by Willis O’Brien (a forerunner of his work on the original King Kong film) and was one of the first to use a tinting technique that brought colour to film. It also features an introduction from the author himself. Find out more at moviessilently.com . With live musical accompaniment by the Lucky Dog Picture House. Wilton’s Music Hall, London. Link

15 August

Waxworks (Dir. Paul Leni/Leo Birinisky, Ger, 1924) (Screening format – 16mm, 84mins) A wax museum owner employs a poet (William Dieterle) to create stories for his pieces. The poet dutifully pens disturbing tales, envisioning himself as a significant character in each story — a baker sentenced to death by the Caliph of Baghdad (Emil Jannings), a Russian prince contending with the deadly paranoia of Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and a man who is pursued through the haunting streets of London by Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss). Actor Conrad Veidt will forever hold a place in popular culture following his performance in The Man Who Laughs (1928), which inspired the appearance of Batman’s nemesis, the Joker. However, he had a significant career during the Weimar era, appearing as the murderous somnambulist in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and the similarly fantastic Unheimliche Geschichten (Richard Oswald, 1919) and The Hands of Orlac (Robert Wiene, 1924). Find out more at filmdirtblog.blogspot.co.uk . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

16 August

Epic of Everest (Dir. J B L Noel, UK, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 85mins) A real adventure captured on film! The Epic of Everest is the official record of the fateful 1924 expedition of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine as they attempted to reach the summit. Filming in brutally harsh conditions with a specially adapted camera, Captain John Noel captured images of breathtaking beauty and considerable historic significance. This is the very earliest footage of the Himalayas and beautifully captures its untouched landscape in colour (tinted) film, while displaying the bravery of this group of British mountaineers and their Nepalese team. Find out more at bfi.org.uk . With live musical accompaniment by the Lucky Dog Picture House. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

17 August

October: Ten Days That Shook The World (Dir. Sergei Eisenstein, USSR, 1928) (Screening format – 35mm, 104mins) Eisenstein’s classic epic commissioned in 1927 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, uses montage and a documentary style to present the events of the Bolshevik uprising in 1917. The resulting footage has often been mistaken for genuine newsreel, although some 1917 footage (shot by Esther Shub) was incorporated. In documentary style, events in Petrograd are re-enacted from the end of the monarchy in February of 1917 to the end of the provisional government and the decrees of peace and of land in November of that year. Lenin returns in April. In July, counter-revolutionaries put down a spontaneous revolt, and Lenin’s arrest is ordered. By late October, the Bolsheviks are ready to strike: ten days will shake the world. Fnd out more at wikipedia.org . Presented as part of the Chichester International Film Festival. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. Main Auditorium 17, Chichester Link

Shooting Stars (Dir. Anthony Asquith and A.V. Bramble, UK, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 80mins) At Zenith Studios, a starlet plots an escape to Hollywood with her lover and the murder of her superfluous husband. Shooting Stars is a must for any silent cinema fan. Offering a rare insight into the workings of a 1920s film studio, there are location scenes, comic stunts and an on-set jazz band which demonstrate just what life was like in the early days of cinema. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk . With live musical accompaniment by the Lucky Dog Picture House. Wilton’s Music Hall, London Link

18 August

The End of St. Petersburg (Konets Sankt-Peterburga) (Dir. Vsevolod Pudovkin, USSR, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 87mins) A peasant comes to St. Petersburg to find work. He unwittingly helps in the arrest of an old village friend who is now a labor leader. The unemployed peasant is also arrested and sent to fight in World War I. After three years, he returns ready for revolution…..Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, The End of St Petersburg secured Vsevolod Pudovkin’s place as one of the foremost Soviet film directors. His sophisticated analysis of the Revolution sits within a brilliant and dramatic reconstruction of the major events. Find out more at sensesofcinema.com . Presented as part of the Chichester International Film Festival. With recorded orchestral score. Festival Studio, Chichester Link

18-22 August (5 Performances)

Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 81mins) A German Expressionis horror masterpiece starring Max Shreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film was an unauthorised adaption of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel. Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaption and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints survived and the film came to be regarded as an inspirational masterwork of the cinema. In the film, Count Orlok travels across Europe leaving a trail of death in his wake. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved. Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live musical accompaniment from Tess Said So. St Vincent’s (Fringe Venue 197), Edinburgh Link

19 August

Faust (Dir. F W Murnau, Ger, 1926) (Screening format – Blu-Ray, 107mins) Like Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau is a towering figure of Weimar cinema, thanks to films such as Nosferatu (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), and, after moving to America, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927). Murnau’s approach to framing and his use of liberating camera movements suggested to subsequent filmmakers a new way of using the pictorial space. Faust, the director’s final German film, draws on sources including Marlowe and Goethe in service of the story of a man who makes a deal with the devil. At that time the most expensive film made in Germany, it remains a visual triumph. Find out more at rogerebert.com. Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. Introduced by Dr. Piotr Sadowski, lecturer in film, literature, and drama at Dublin Business School, and author of an upcoming book on Weimar cinema. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

Arsenal (Dir. Aleksandr Dovzhenko, USSR, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 87mins) Soldiers return to Ukraine to find their homeland teeming with strife and dissension, gripped in a conflict between nationalist forces and communists. One faction of soldiers, led by Timosh (Semyon Svashenko) supports the communists and takes command of a munitions factory at Kiev, converting the weapons arsenal into a fortress. Still reeling from the trauma of war, Timosh and his comrades engage in a violent crusade that soon spreads across Ukraine. The second half pivots on the collision of Ukrainian nationalism and Soviet power with the Reds and the Whites, the Kiev strike, massacres and executions, religious processions with serpentine banners and mighty, bushy moustaches in extreme close-up! Dovzhenko’s progressive approach to editing – he was one of the pioneers of Soviet Montage – camerawork and narrative construction mark him out as an enduringly distinctive voice whose films retain their importance to this day. Find out more at imdb.com . Presented as part of the Chichester International Film Festival. With recorded accompaniment by Igor Belza. Picture Palace, Chichester Link

20 August

The Mountain Lion (aka The Wild Cat) (Dir. Ernst Lubitsch, Ger, 1921) (Screening format – DCP, 86mins) Ernst Lubitsch is primarily remembered for the comedies he made in America, such as Ninotchka (1939), which was co-written by fellow émigré Billy Wilder, and The Shop Around the Corner (1940). While still working in Germany, he alternated between large-scale historical epics such as Madame Du Barry (1919) and Anna Boleyn (1920), and lighter fare such as this, reportedly his own favourite of his German films. It stars frequent collaborator Pola Negri as a bandit leader who falls in love with the new lieutenant of a local fort. Thus the stage is set for anarchic, exuberant comedy, largely at the expense of the German military. Find out more at threemoviebuffs.com . Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

22 August

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, Jan ’05 pre-restored version, 118mins) Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder (Gustav Frohlich), the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, and Maria (Brigitte Helm), a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichmarks, making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction and is among the most influential films of all time. Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented as part of the Brighton Digital Festival. With live piano accompaniment by Dmytro Morykit. Duke of York’s Picturehouse, Brighton Link

23 August

People on Sunday (Dir. Robert Siodmak/Edgar G Ulmer, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 74mins) Famously, Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann worked with Siodmak on this landmark of realist filmmaking, in which non-professionals act out an ‘everyday’, uneventful story of several young Berliners using their Sunday to spend a flirtatious day together at a lake on the edge of the city. With its massive cast of unpaid extras enjoying the summer sun, this classic silent film feels remarkably modern. Find out more at archive.org. Introduced by Erica Carter, German Screen Studies Network. With recorded soundtrack. BFI Southbank, London Link

24 August

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1927) (Screening format – not known) A serial killer known as “The Avenger” is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man (Ivor Novello) arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting’s daughter (June Tripp) is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives (Malcolm Keen) assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger. Based on a best-selling novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, first published in 1913, loosely based on the Jack the Ripper murders, The Lodger was Hitchcock’s first thriller, and his first critical and commercial success. Made shortly after his return from Germany, the film betrays the influence of the German expressionist tradition established in such films as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) and Nosferatu (1922). Find out more at silentfilm.org Presented as part of the Chichester Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. St John’s Chapel, Chichester. Link

25 August

Turksib (Dir Victor A Turin, USSR, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) With bold and exhilarating flair, Turksib charts the monumental efforts to build a railway linking the regions of Turkestan and Siberia in 1920s USSR. Director Turin utilised the signature Soviet montage to craft his portrayal of the battle the builders waged with the desert and the mountains blocking their way. Turksib is a testament to the power of modern engineering strength conquering the natural world and a striking example of 1920’s Soviet filmmaking. Find out more at filmreference.com . With recorded score. Bertha Doc House, Bloomsbury, London Link

27 August

The Cameraman (Dir. Edward Sedgwick/Buster Keaton, US, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 67mins) Buster (Buster Keaton) meets Sally (Marceline Day), who works as a secretary for the newsreel department at MGM, and falls hard. Trying to win her attention, Buster abandons photography in order to become a news cameraman. In spite of his early failures with a motion camera, Sally takes to him as well. However, veteran cameraman Stagg (Harold Goodwin) also fancies Sally, meaning Buster will need to learn how to film quickly before he loses his job. Find out more at slantmagazine.com . With recorded soundtrack. Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. Link

People on Sunday (Dir. Robert Siodmak/Edgar G Ulmer, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 74mins) A novel blend of feature and documentary, People On Sunday was the result of a collaborative effort on the part of a number of talented individuals who would go on to significant careers in America as part of the exodus of talent precipitated by the Nazis coming to power, including its directors, Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, its writers, Billy Wilder and Curt Siodmak, and Fred Zinnemann, who worked on the camera crew. Following ordinary Berliners, including a taxi driver and a shop girl, as they go about their weekend recreation, the film would prove influential on both Italian Neo-Realism and the French New Wave. Find out more at archive.org. Presented as part of the series Dark Cormers: Cinema of the Weimar Republic. With recorded soundtrack. Irish Film Institute, Dublin Link

The Wind (Dir. Victor Sjöström, US. 1928) (Screening format – 35mm, 95mins) Sjöström’s silent masterpiece boasts Gish as the innocent young Virginian travelling West to live with relatives on a windswept Texan prairie, only to find herself imperilled in all sorts of ways. As the film shifts from low-key naturalism to full-on melodramatic symbolism, Sjöström – shooting the climactic sandstorm in the Mojave – makes the weather an astonishingly vivid index of the protagonist’s mental state. Find out more at moviessilently.com . With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. BFI Southbank, London Link

28 August

Sherlock Jnr (Dir. Buster Keaton, 1924) + The Navigator (Dir. Donald Crisp/Buster Keaton, US, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 45/59 mins) In Sherlock Jr, a kindly movie projectionist (Buster Keaton) longs to be a detective. When his fiancée (Kathryn McGuire) is robbed by a local thief (Ward Crane), the poor projectionist is framed for the crime. Using his amateur detective skills, the projectionist follows the thief to the train station – only to find himself locked in a train car. Disheartened, he returns to his movie theatre, where he falls asleep and dreams that he is the great Sherlock Holmes. Although not a popular success on its initial release, the film has come to be recognised as a Keaton classic with its special effects and elaborate stunts making it a landmark in motion picture history. Find out more at silentfilm.org. As The Navigator the wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway (Buster Keaton) decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire). Alhough Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas, allowing Keaton plenty of opportunities to display his trademark agility. Find out more at threemoviebuffs.com . Lith live organ acompaniment. Regent Street Cinema, London Link

30 August

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 77 mins) In the village of Holstenwall, fairground hypnotist Dr Caligari (Werner Krauss) puts on show a somnambulist called Cesare (Conrad Veidt) who has been asleep for twenty three years. At night, Cesare walks the streets murdering people on the doctor’s orders. A student (Friedrich Feher) suspects Caligari after a friend is found dead and it transpires that the doctor is the director of a lunatic asylum. Fueled by the pessimism and gloom of post-war Germany, the sets by Hermann Warm stand unequaled as a shining example of Expressionist design. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live music accompaniment by The Old Police House Collective. Seaton Delaval Hall, Whitley Bay Link

The Wind (Dir. Victor Sjöström, US. 1928) (Screening format – DCP, 95mins) Sjöström’s silent masterpiece boasts Gish as the innocent young Virginian travelling West to live with relatives on a windswept Texan prairie, only to find herself imperilled in all sorts of ways. As the film shifts from low-key naturalism to full-on melodramatic symbolism, Sjöström – shooting the climactic sandstorm in the Mojave – makes the weather an astonishingly vivid index of the protagonist’s mental state. Find out more at moviessilently.com . With recorded soundtrack. Introduction by Bryony Dixon from BFI National Archive. BFI Southbank, London Link

NB. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information contained in these listings is accurate, silentfilmcalendar.org can take no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies. You are strongly advised to confirm with the venue that the event remains as detailed, particularly if traveling any distance to attend.

Silentfilmcalendar.org

The silent film listing site

August 2017

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