London and the South East

1 August

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

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

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

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

13 August

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

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

19 August

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

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 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 Stree Cinema, London Link

30 August

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

London and the South East

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