Lock-down may be preventing us from getting out to see silent film events ‘in the flesh’.  But don’t forget that there are still opportunities to see films at live On-Line screenings.  Forthcoming events include;

 

Forthcoming Live Streaming Events

24 May

Grass: A Nation’s Battle For Life (Dir. Merian C. Cooper/Ernest B. Schoedsack, US, 1925) (71 mins)  Before they went on to make King Kong, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack told the jaw-dropping true story of a tribe of nomads in Iran known as the Bakhtiari and their epic annual  48 day trek across inhospitable terrain from Turkey to Iran to their flock’s summer pastures.  Venturing through deserts, mountains, rivers and snowy wastelands in search of the life-sustaining grasslands, the Bakhtiari’s 50,000 strong caravan – complete with 500,000 cattle and goats – becomes the sole focus of the camera’s gaze.  A spectacular ethnographic record, this film was intended for the lecture circuit but was snapped up by Paramount for theatrical distribution on the strength of its powerful dramatic punch. It’s easy to see how the character of Denham in King Kong was modelled after the adventurer Cooper, whose daredevil real-life exploits were the stuff of Hollywood adventure films. Find out more at wikipedia.org .  Presented by the Sands Films Cinema Club  With recorded score.  Screens at 20:00 UK time. Link

 

30 May

The Women Who Built Hollywood  Today it looks like Hollywood is run by men, but it was built by women. In fact, there were more women working in Hollywood in its first two decades than there are now, or have been at any time since. If Hollywood is ever to achieve gender parity in its studios and boardrooms, it should look back to its beginnings. This on-line lecture seeks to highlight just how much the cinema of today owes to the brilliant but often overlooked women of the silent era: the stars, directors, screenwriters and producers. Women like Mary Pickford, who said: “I am the star, I am the producer, and I am the owner of this picture.” Or Lillian Gish, who recruited an all-woman crew for her directorial debut. Hollywood became the world leader in cinema thanks to the wit of screenwriter Anita Loos the visual flair of director Lois Weber, the charisma of stars such as Gloria Swanson and Gish and Pickford. So, travel back in time to a period when the Universal studio produced 170 films directed by women in a seven-year period – a feat never to be repeated, or even approached by any Hollywood studio since. When the best films were made by women, for a majority female audience.  Presented by Pamela Hutchinson  a freelance critic, writer, curator and film historian who also runs the Silent London website.  Screens at 18:30 UK time. Link

 

 

 

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Past Live Streaming Events

 

18 March

Wartime Propaganda And Peacetime Diplomacy: Edith Cacell On Film 1915-1928  When the German occupiers in Belgium shot Edith Cavell for treason in 1915 they handed the British and their allies a perfect propaganda opportunity to portray the enemy as brutal and uncivilized. After the war international relations shifted significantly, and cinema took a key role in cementing more friendly relations within Europe and in remembrance activities through battle reconstructions and war stories. Lawrence Napper’s accessible, illustrated talk will consider Herbert Wilcox’s extraordinary retelling of Cavell’s story in the film Dawn (1928) and discuss representations of the Cavell case on film as part of allied propaganda, shining a light on the diplomatic controversy sparked by continuing interest in the case.  Presented as part of the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival.  Dr Lawrence Napper is a senior lecturer at King’s College London.   Event streams at 13:30 UK time.  Details  Here

 

16 March

Queen Of Hearts: Mary Queen Of Scots In Popular Culture  Mary is not just Queen of Scots, but Queen of the movies. Like the plays, songs and ballads, the films from cinema’s earliest days have portrayed the Mary we love to know – passionate, headstrong, and with a dash of adulterous spice. In this illustrated talk, Donald Smith celebrates the Mary of legend, while inviting the equally interesting Mary of history to step out of the silver screen shadows. Presented as part of the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival.   Donald Smith is an author, storyteller, and Director of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival since 1989.   Event streams at 16:00 UK time.  Details  Here

 

 

9 March

Mark Kermode In Conversation With Neil Brand and Mike Hammond  The nation’s best-loved film critic: Mark Kermode, in conversation with Mike Hammond and Neil Brand. Ahead of the long-awaited premiere of their musical accompaniment to FW Murnau’s City Girl, members of the Dodge Brothers discuss their unique collaboration with composer Neil Brand, their respective approaches to creating music for silent film, and their unique take on this silent-era masterpiece. This is a live event with an opportunity to pose questions via live chat.    Presented as part of the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival.   Streams at 19:00 UK time.  Details  Here

 

2 March

Composing For A Movie World Tour    Silent film composer and pianist John Sweeney joins film composer Dr Chris Letcher and Screen Music History honours students at the Reid School of Music (Edinburgh College of Art) for a lively conversation with film archivist and researcher Paul Frith to discuss composing for this unique, international film programme of counterculture silent film from the 1930s. Chaired by HippFest Director: Alison Strauss. Presented as part of the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival.   Streams at 19:00 UK time.  Details  Here

23 February

A  String Of Pearls: Mandarin Ducks, Butterflies and Modern Shanghai In the 1920s   The Chinese melodrama  A String of Pearls (1926) exemplifies the kind of “modern cinema” Shanghai filmmakers and intellectuals in the 1920s had aspired to achieve before the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It is also one of few surviving films written by Hou Yao (1903–42), who was a pioneer in Chinese-language film theory and criticism. In this talk, Victor Fan (Reader in Film and Media Philosophy, King’s College London, author and Film Consultant of the Chinese Visual Festival from 2013–21) will introduce the historical background and critical discourses of Shanghai cinema in relation to this masterpiece.     Presented as part of the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival.    Streams at 19:00 UK time.  Details Here

 

 

30 January

The Silent Comedy Watch Party, screened live from New York and hosted by accompanist Ben Model and silent film historian Steve Massa.  The usual format is three silent comedies introduced by Steve and with Ben doing live piano accompaniment from his Upper West Side apartment.  Tonight’s event is a re-broadcast of one of their earlier shows.  The event streams at 3.00pm EDT (8.00pm UK time) on You Tube. Further details here.       (NB  This event will be available to watch live but will also remain available on You Tube to watch later.)

28 January

Sally of the Sawdust (Dir. D.W Griffith, US, 1924) (104mins) This rare example of a D.W Griffiths comedy pairs silent film darling Carol Dempster with W.C Fields playing the suitably cantankerous role of a juggler and small time conman who is left, literally, holding the baby when the child’s mother dies, having been cut off by her high-born family. Together they form a double act but trouble follows when Sally, now grown up, becomes romantically involved with the son of one of her estranged grandfather’s friends.Find out more at imdb.com  Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  With an introduction from  presenter Chris Serle and a personal message from Dr Harriet Fields (Fields’ granddaughter). With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.  Screens at 10:00am UK Time (Available to watch until 4 February) Here

Slapstick Conversations: Buster Keaton James Curtis, admired biographer of Preston Sturges, W.C.Fields and Spencer Tracy, gives us the richest, most comprehensive life story to date of the legendary actor, stunt artist, screenwriter, director and comedic master Keaton, in his latest biography Buster Keaton: A Filmmakers’ Life. Buster transformed movie-making by elevating physical comedy on film to the highest of art forms. His silent shorts and features remain as startling, innovative, and irresistible today as they were when they first beguiled audiences almost a century ago. Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival in partnership with Festival of Ideas.   Slapstick is proud to present a special ‘in conversation’ with James Curtis on Zoom, live from California, hosted by Bristol Ideas director Andrew Kelly.  Screens at 3.30pm UK Time (Available to watch until 4 February)  Details  Here

27 January

First Women in Comedy   Lucy Porter and Sian Norris present a series of short films celebrating pioneering women in film comedy. Between 1914 and 1919, Universal
Studios alone released 170 movies from women directors. By comparison, between 2007-2017, only 53 films directed by women were among the 1,223 which made it into each year’s chart of top 100 movies at the box office.  Featuring films from pioneering directors Alice Guy Blache, Mabel Normand, Lois Weber and more, Lucy and Sian discuss the films, the culture of the period and take a look at women in comedy today.   Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  Hosted by stand-up comedian, writer and actor Lucy Porter  and writer and journalist Sian Norris. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.  Screens at 1:00pm UK Time (Available to watch until 3 February) Details Here

The Kid Brother (Dir. Ted Wilde & Harold Lloyd, US, 1927) (82mins)  Slapstick legend Harold Lloyd stars in one of the greatest ever silent comedies ‘The Kid Brother’. Lloyd is undoubtedly an icon of the silent era, and this film is an incredible testament to his talent. Perfectly paced, it balances humour and action into a beautifully crafted story of a sheriff’s timid son (Lloyd, of course), someone who has a chance not only to prove himself when a medicine show run by con artists comes into town but also to win the affections of his sweetheart, Mary (Jobyna Ralston).  Find out more at  silentfilm.org . Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  With an on-line introduction from renowned film historian and director Kevin Brownlow with a personal message from Suzanne Lloyd, Harold’s grand-daughter. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.    Screens at 3;00pm UK time (Available to watch until 3 February)   DetailsHere

26 January

Days Of Youth (Dir. Yasujirô Ozu, Jap, 1929) (103mins) Ozu’s eighth and his earliest surviving film. Made in the director’s student days, it is his most lighthearted film and although it’s very different to his later work, a keen eye could certainly spot how this film helped shape the incredible career he had ahead of him. .  Two friends at Waseda University (Ichirô Yûki and Tatsuo Saitô.), one a smart guy, the other a bumbler, fall in love with the same girl (Matsui Junko) but postpone courting her until they are through “exam hell.” After their exams are over the two students head off on a ski holiday where they run into the same girl once more.  But have they left it too late…..Find out more at ozu-san.  Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  Introduced virtually by renowned film historian David Robinson.  With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.   Screens at 10:30am UK time (Available to watch until 2 February)  Details Here

Be My Wife (Dir. Max Linder, US, 1921) (57mins)  French-born Max Linder writes, directs and stars in the second of his three American films. In it, he plays a man determined to wed his fiancée but there’s a challenge: his sweetheart’s aunt doesn’t approve of the match and is equally determined to set her niece up with another. Although he had just recently returned to the United States and formed his own studio, comedian Max Linder’s career was nearing an end, his popularity increasingly overshadowed by that of Charlie Chaplin, upon whom Linder had been such an influence and inspiration.  After just one more film, Linder would return to France where he would eventually take his own life.  Find out more at theguardian.com Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  With an online introduction from silent film champion and Lobster Films co-founder Serge Bromberg. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.  Screens at 1:20 UK time (Available to watch until 2 February)  Details Here

25 January

Edward Everett Horton – Silent Comedian? Edward Everett Horton is remembered today for his fussy on-screen character in Hollywood sound films such as Top Hat (1935). While never thought of as a silent slapstick comedian, he actually was! Mr Horton had a substantial career in 1920s silent comedies, culminating in eight starring two-reelers – produced by no less than Harold Lloyd. Undercrank Production’s new DVD Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies presents the whole series. This programme features three of the best – Find the King (1927), Scrambled Weddings (1928) and Dad’s Choice (1928). Presented as part of the Bristol Slapstick Festival.  Curated and hosted live from New York by silent film musician and historian Ben Model and silent comedy historian Steve Massa. Accompanied by Ben Model on piano.   Screens at 5:30pm UK Time (Available to watch until 1 February)  Details  Here. 

Sunday 23 January

We’re now up to Episode 75 of the Silent Comedy Watch Party, screened live from New York and hosted by accompanist Ben Model and silent film historian Steve Massa.  The usual format is three silent comedies introduced by Ben and Steve and with Ben doing live piano accompaniment from his Upper West Side apartment.  Tonight’s films are yet to be announced  The event streams at 3.00pm EDT (8.00pm UK time) on You Tube. Further details here.       (NB  This event will be available to watch live but will also remain available on You Tube to watch later.)

 

Sunday 16 January

 

Thursday 13 January

 

Wednesday 17 November

The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington NY presents Chicago (Dir. Frank Urson & Cecil B.DeMille (uncredited),  1927) (118mins )  Seventy-five years before Bob Fosse’s Oscar-winning musical version of Maurine Watkins’ successful stage play, Cecil B. DeMille’s production company made this saucy silent film version.  Phyllis Haver is hugely entertaining as the brazen Roxie Hart “Chicago’s most beautiful murderess” – a woman so pathologically shallow she sees notoriety for a murder rap as an opportunity to secure her fortune.  Egged on by her crooked lawyer (“they’ll be naming babies after you”) Roxie neglects her long-suffering loyal husband and sets about milking her celebrity status for all she’s worth. The sequence in the prison is an absolute delight – particularly the rivalry between Roxie and fellow-murderess Velma (played by DeMille’s mistress), as are the climactic courtroom scenes.  A cracking, satire on fame and the media, this fun-filled tale of adultery, murder and sin (so sinful that DeMille – known for his Biblical epics – was at pains to keep his name off the credits) is as fresh and relevant as ever.  Find out more at wikipedia.org   With live piano accompaniment by Ben Model.  Film screens at 7.00pm ET (Midnight UK time)  Details Here

23 September

The Real Friese-Greene  Peter Domankiewicz recovers the reputation of the ‘Inventor of Kinematography’    Everything about William Friese-Greene is a problem, beginning with the well-known monument in Highgate Cemetery that marks his resting place, declaring him to be “The Inventor of Kinematography”.   His glorification led to a backlash in the 1950s and 60s, that declared him a fraud and a fantasist, from which his reputation never recovered. Over the last 25 years, Peter Domankiewicz – a film director, writer, and film historian – has been trying to uncover the real Friese-Greene underneath the many layers of myth painted on by those who wanted to depict him as a hero or a scoundrel.  In this talk, in the year of the centenary of Friese-Greene’s death, he will be lifting off the weight of that monument to find the man beneath.   19.00 – 20-30 UK Time. Link

26 September

The Silent Comedy Watch Party, screened live from New York and hosted by accompanist Ben Model and silent film historian Steve Massa.  The usual format is three silent comedies introduced by Steve and with Ben doing live piano accompaniment from his Upper West Side apartment.  Tonight’s event is a re-broadcast of one of their earlier shows.  The event streams at 3.00pm EDT (8.00pm UK time) on You Tube. Further details here.       (NB  This event will be available to watch live but will also remain available on You Tube to watch later.)

27 September

Retroformat Silent Films from Los Angeles present The Mark Of Zorro (Dir. Fred Niblo, US, 1920) ( 85mins)  Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) masquerades as an ineffectual fop to bamboozle his enemies and conceal his secret persona: ‘Zorro’: avenger of the oppressed. The first King of Hollywood – dashing, athletic Fairbanks, pretty much defined the swashbuckling genre with this rip-roaring adventure flick. Featuring horseback stunts, witty chase sequences and sword fighting, this entertaining romp achieves a satisfying blend of humour and heroics that remains the benchmark for action films today.  Find out more at  silentfilm.org  Film screens at 7.30 pm US PDT time  with a brand new score by Cliff Retallick. Link     (NB  This event will be available to watch live but will also remain available on You Tube to watch later)

2 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present An Old Fashioned Boy (Dir. Jerome Storm, US, 1920) David Warrington (Charles Ray) is an old-fashioned boy, not very familiar with modern girls. When the girl of his dreams lets her kiss him, he thinks that seals their betrothal. But when he finds out that she has other ideas, David tries a trickier method of winning her for his bride.  Find out more at  wikipedia.org  Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK Time) ,        With musical accompaniment by Philip Carli. Link

3 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present Short Films From The Cineteca Del Friuli.  A selection of short films including Le Bolle Di Sapone/Soap Bubbles( Dir. Giovanni Vitrotti, It, 1911) the story of a young tearaway who teases an old lady, rejects the authority of a policeman and mocks his own mother but who is reformed by the strange characteristics of some soap bubbles;   Cenerentola/A Modern Cinderella (Dir. Eleuterio Rodolfi, It, 1913) an Italian variation of the Cinderella story but focused upon the audition of an ingenue actress for the title role in a movie of that title;  Polidor Cambia Sesso/Polidor Changes Sex (Dir. Ferdinand Guillaume, It, 1918) in which to receive an inheritance, a man asks Polidor to disguise himself as a young girl and to pass himself off as his fiancée.;  Bigorno Fume L’Opium/Bigorno Smokes Opium (Dir.  Roméo Bosetti, Fr, 1914)  in which Bigorno is by the seashore with his wife and mother in law when a friend returns from a trip to the Orient with gifts — including a hookah and supply of Opium, which Bigorno tries with disastrous results;  La Mosca e il Ragno/The Spider and the Fly (Dir.  Emilio Vardannes, It, 1913) and Il Giglio Nero/Sign of the Black Lily (Dir. Unknown, It, 1913), a crime drama as we follow the hunt for whoever leads the deadly Black Lily Gang..  Screening commences at 17.00 CEST (16.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment from  Maud Nelissen    Link

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present The Man From Kangaroo (Dir. Wilfred Lucas, Au, 1920) Former athlete John Harland (Snowy Baker) is a parson on probation.  After loosing his job for teaching young boys how to box he ends up in the town of  Kalmaroo, where he comes up against a gang led by Jack Braggan (Wilfred Lucas) and things come to a head when the gang kidnaps Harland’s girlfriend Muriel.  The Man from Kangaroo was the first of three features produced by Carroll-Baker Australian Productions, a partnership of the theatre and film showmen EJ and Dan Carroll, the Australian sportsman and film star Reg L ‘Snowy’ Baker and the Southern Cross Feature Film Co. Ltd. The initiative was spearheaded by Baker, who visited Hollywood in 1918, where he perfected his cinematic skills to ensure that his subsequent films would have international standards and appeal. Find out more at aso.gov.au   Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time) With musical accompaniment by Mauro Colombis.   Link

We’re now up to Episode 69 of the Silent Comedy Watch Party, screened live from New York and hosted by accompanist Ben Model and silent film historian Steve Massa.  The usual format is three silent comedies introduced by Steve and with Ben doing live piano accompaniment from his Upper West Side apartment.  Tonight’s films are yet to be announced  The event streams at 3.00pm EDT (8.00pm UK time) on You Tube. Further details here.       (NB  This event will be available to watch live but will also remain available on You Tube to watch later.)

4 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present  JOKEREN/Der Faschingskönig/The Joker (Dir. Georg Jacoby, Dk/De, 1928)  Its carnival week in Nice but amongst the jollity a fatal car accident leads to a blackmail plot.  Can  Lady Cecilie Powder‘s headstrong younger sister Gill (Elga Brink) prevent the unscrupulous lawyer Borwick (Miles Mander) from profiting from his ill-gotten knowledge.  And who is the young Englishman Mr Carstairs (Henry Edwards), known to his friends as ‘The Joker’, with a passion for gambling.  Is he acting in cahoots with Borwick or against him?  This Danish/German co-production, with some big British names in the cast, is based on the novel “The Joker” by Noel Scott.  Find out more at de-m-wikipedia-org.  Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.   Link

5 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present Fool’s Paradise/Paradiso folle (Dir. Cecil B. DeMille, US, 1921)  After returning from World War I, Arthur Phelps (Conrad Nagel) meets Poll Patchouli, a cantina girl (Dorothy Dalton), in a Mexican border town. She falls in love with him and it pains her to see that he has become infatuated with another dancer, Rosa Duchene (Mildred Harris). After Phelps is blinded (by an exploding cigar!!) he thinks he is marrying Rosa.  However, he is in for a big surprise.  But this is just the start of his adventures. Based on a Leonard Merrick story ‘The Laurels and the Lady’, director DeMille pulls out all the cinematic stops, from Texas to Siam, in this somewhat improbable romantic drama.   Find out more at cecilbdemille.com.     Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by Neil Brand.   Link

6 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present A Public Prosecutor and a Teacher/Geomsa-wa yeoseonsaeng (Dir. Dae-Ryong Yoon, Kr, 1948)  A poor orphan is protected by a female teacher at the school he attends.  Years later, the teacher is sent to the prosecutor’s office on the charge of mistakenly killing her husband during their fight, which started when her husband wrongly thought she had hidden an escapee from prison. The prosecutor turns out to be the same young student  whom she used to take care of. He sets out to prove the teacher’s innocence in order to repay her for her previous kindness.  This incredibly late era silent film is often mistakenly referred to as the only surviving Korean silent.  But the earlier  Crossroads of Youth (1934) has also survived.   Find out more at biff.kr/eng.  Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).     Link

6 – 17 October

The 2021 London Film Festival presents  Around Japan With a Movie Camera Intense interest in Japan by the West made it a favourite destination for filmmakers from the earliest days of film. This selection of films from 1901 to 1913, newly restored by the BFI National Archive, takes us on a fascinating journey through Meiji Japan.  All films in the programme have been restored and remastered by the BFI National Archive from original elements held within the collection. The programme will be introduced by Mika Tomita, Bryony Dixon and Michelle Facey and the musical accompaniment will be provided by Cyrus Gabrysch, Costas Fotopolous, Stephen Horne and Lillian Henley.  Available to watch on the BFI Player. Link

7 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present Le Menage Dranem/The Dranem Household  (Dir.   ?   Fr, 1912) about which I can find no information,  plus  Phil-For-Short (Dir. Oscar Apfel, US, 1919)  is a cross-dressing rom-com in which Evelyn Greenly plays Damophila Illington — Phil, for short. Her father (Charles Walcott) is an absent-minded Greek professor, and Phil lives up to her name by dressing up as a boy. When the father dies, Phil is to be put in the care of Donald MacWrath (Jack Drumier), an old fossil who wants to marry her. To avoid this fate, Phil dresses in her boy’s clothes and hits the road with Pat Mehan (James Furey), a fiddler chum. Along the way she meets John Alden (Hugh Thompson), a Greek teacher at a local college and a staunch misogynist. Then its not just a question of who gets the girl but who will even notice she’s a girl! Find out more at  imdb.com  Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by José Marìa Serralde Ruiz   Link

8 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Mutoin Pordenone present Moral/Moralità/Morality (Dir. Willi Wolff, De, 1928)   A late German silent directed by Willi Wolff and starring Ellen Richter, Ralph Arthur Roberts, Jakob Tiedtke and Fritz Greiner.  No further details. Film screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin   Link

9 October

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present Vitagraph Japonisme, three early Japanese themed short films from the Vitagraph Studios.  Hako’s Sacrifice (Dir. unknown, US, 1910) in which the unfortunate Hako, a Japanese boy, is sold into bondage to a cruel fisherman.  Morning Glory, a little Japanese girl, sees Hako’s sad face and feels sorry for him. When her father gives his daughter two chrysanthemum plants, she gives one of them to Hako.  Will this be the means by which he escapes his life of drudgery?  Ito, the Beggar Boy (Dir. unknown, US, 1910)  When destitute little Ito is orphaned, Lady Wistaria and her husband, Lord Idzu, who are without children, adopt him and he moves into their luxurious world,  When the couple have a child of their own, Ito promises to devote his life to little “Clover Blossom”.  But will tragedy overtake the two children?  Love of Chrysanthemum (Dir. unknown, US, 1910)  Chrysanthemum (Norma Talmadge in only her second film role) is a young Japanese girl,  betrothed and married to a rich, older man.   When a visiting young American sees her and determinedly makes her acquaintance, she is soon smitten with him.   But the American also has eyes for another and tragedy surely awaits.  Films screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by John Sweeney   Link

Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone present Maciste All’Inferno/Maciste In Hell (Dir. Guido Brignone, It, 1925)  Pluto, king of Hell, sends his devils to earth to procure souls and capture in particular Maciste, the most virtuous man on earth.  However, Maciste is not tempted by offers of gold, pleasure or power.  But when he is tricked into starting a fight with one of the devils he is consigned to hell.  Once there, will he resist the temptations of Pluto’s wife and daughter and will he every find a way to return to earth.  The character of Maciste,  a slave of herculean strength and great virtue, was created by director Giovanni Pastrone in his 1914 film Cabiria.    While Maciste had only a secondary role in that film, the character proved very popular and, played by Bartolomeo Pagano,  he became one of the favourite characters of Italian silent cinema, appearing in more than 20 films between 1914 and 1926. Find out more at silentfilm.org  Films screens at 21.00 CEST (20.00 UK time).  With musical accompaniment by Zerorchestra   Link