Scotland

 

 

 

 

1-6 June (16 Screenings)

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins)  Based on two plays by the German author Frank Wedekind, Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895), which Pabst himself had directed for the stage, and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box, 1904), the silent drama follows the tumultuous life of the showgirl Lulu whose unselfconscious sexuality brings about the ruin of all those that fall for her and eventually her own.  In a daring move, Pabst chose a little known American actress over the more experienced Marlene Dietrich for the part of Lulu, a decision that made the young Louise Brooks an international star. Her innocent looks paired with her natural erotic allure and sense of movement – Brooks was also a dancer – perfectly matched Pabst’s idea of his heroine as unwitting seductress. Subjected to cuts to eliminate some of its “scandalous” content and unfavourably reviewed by critics at the time, it is now considered one of the boldest and most modern films of the Weimar era highlighting Pabst’s command of camera language and montage.  Find out more at silentlondon.co.uk .  With recorded soundtrack.  Filmhouse, Edinburgh Link

2 June

A selection of four silent experimental shorts featuring Emak Bakia (Dir. Man Ray, Fr, 1926), Ghosts Before Breakfast  (Dir. Hans Richter, Ger, 1927), Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, Fr, 1929) Meshes of the Afternoon (Dir. Maya Deren and Alexander Hamid, USA, 1943). (Screening format – not known, 19/9/21/14 mins)  Emak-Bakia, subtitled as a cinépoéme, features many techniques Man Ray used in his still photography, including Rayographs, double exposure, soft focus and ambiguous features. Find out more at wikipedia.org.  Ghosts Before Breakfast  also known as Vormittagspuk, was a silent experimental avant-garde film  considered to be one of the first surrealistic films ever made. Richter’s interest in Dadaism is shown directly in this work as he challenges current art standards of the time by presenting a theme of obscurity and fantasy. Clocks, legs, ladders, hats, and people undergo total irrational happenings in unusual settings. Men have beards magically appear and disappear before the viewer’s eyes, hats fly around in the air, a man’s head comes off and floats in the air, tea cups fill up by themselves, objects and characters move in reverse, men disappear behind a street sign, etc… . Find out more at silentology.wordpress.com.  In Un Chien Andalou fledging director Luis Bunuel and painter Salvador Dali created the ultimate surrealist film, which is essentially a barrage of striking and irrational images designed to shock and provoke. During the course of the film, we witness a close-up of a woman’s eye being slashed open with a razor; a man dragging a piano, two bishops, and a pair of rotting asses across a room; ants swarming around a hole in a man’s palm; and sundry severed limbs and gratuitous slayings.  Find out more at rogerebert.com.  Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the most influential films in American experimental cinema. A non-narrative work, it has been identified as a key example of the “trance film,” in which a protagonist appears in a dreamlike state, and where the camera conveys his or her subjective focus.  A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.  Find out more at moma.org.  Presented as part of the Southside Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by celebrated musician Richard Youngs.  The Glad Cafe, Glasgow Link

8 – 12 June (10 Screenings)

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With recorded soundtrack. Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen Link

15 – 17 June (5 Screenings)

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With recorded soundtrack. Film Theatre, Glasgow  Link

16 June

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With recorded soundtrack. Mareel Arts Centre, Lerwick, Shetland  Link

21 June

Imperial War Museum Films of the Home Front  An evening at the cinema 1918: a screening of contemporary First World War factual films from the archives of the Imperial War Museum. Presented as part of the Home Front 1914-1918 conference.  With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.  University of St Andrews, St Andrews  Link

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With recorded soundtrack. Mareel Arts Centre, Lerwick, Shetland  Link

23 June

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With recorded soundtrack. Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland  Link

24 June

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 135mins) For film details see 1-6 June above. With live musical accompaniment by Jane Gardner (piano) and Roddy Long (violin).  Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland  Link

29 June

Stan and Ollie and Friends Four classic shorts from those masters of comedy Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, including Big Business (Dir. James W Horne/Leo McCarey, US, 1928) +  Habeas Corpus (Dir. Leo McCarey/James Parrott, Us, 1928) + Wrong Again (Dir. Leo McCarey, US, 1929) + Angora Love (Dir. Lewis R Foster, US, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 19/20/20/21  mins) Big Business sees Ollie and Stan as two Christmas tree salesmen (in February!) who get into one of their usual mutual destruction fights with a homeowner. Habeas Corpus sees the boys hired by the mad Professor Padilla to steal a body from a local graveyard on which he can carry out his experiments. But the ‘body’ isn’t quite as dead as they think!  Find out more at   laurel-and-hardy.com  Wrong Again  sees Stan and Ollie working as stable-hands for a racehorse named “Blue Boy.” When they overhear two men talking about the stolen “Blue Boy,” and a  $5000 reward for its return, they don’t realise that the men are talking about a famous painting. In Angora Love Laurel and Hardy are adopted by a runaway goat, whose noise and aroma in turn get the goat of their suspicious landlord. Attempts to bathe the smelly animal result in a waterlogged free-for-all.  Find out more at laurelandhardycentral.com.  With live piano accompaniment by Forrester Pyke. Plus, live music and comedy from Andy Cannon and Wendy Weatherby, and a rare newsreel of Stan & Ollie in Edinburgh!  Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Link

 

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