1 October

The End of St Petersburg (Dir. Vsevolod Pudovkin, USSR, 1927) (Screening format – not known,  87 min)  Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, The End of St Petersburg secured Pudovkin’s place as one of the foremost Soviet film directors. A simple peasant boy arrives in the city to obtain employment. Fate leads him to a factory where there are severe, almost slave-like working conditions. He unwittingly helps in the arrest of an old village friend who is now a labor leader. He attempts to fix this wrongdoing but his future is swept up in revolutionary fervour.  Pudovkin’s sophisticated analysis of the Revolution sits within a brilliant and dramatic reconstruction of the major events.  Find out more at sensesofcinema.com .  With live musical accompaniment composed by Paul Robinson and performed by Harmonieband.  Barbican, London Link

1-2 October

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) 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. Following its world premiere in 1927, half an hour was cut from Fritz Lang’s masterpiece and lost to the world. Eighty years later a spectacular discovery was made when the footage was found in a small, dusty museum in Buenos Aires. The film was then painstakingly reconstructed and digitally restored so that at last audiences could see the iconic futuristic fairy tale as Lang had envisioned it. Find out more at silentfilm.org . With recorded soundtrack. Vue, Camberley Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above. With recorded soundtrack.  Vue, Portsmouth Link

 Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above.  With recorded soundtrack. Vue, Finchley Road, London Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above.  With recorded soundtrack. Vue, Islington, London Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above.   With recorded soundtrack.Vue, Reading Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above.  With recorded soundtrack. Vue, West End (Leicester Square), London Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) For details, see above.  With recorded soundtrack. Vue, Westfield, London Link

6 October

Shooting Stars (Dir. Anthony Asquith and A.V. Bramble,  UK, 1928) (Screening format – 35mm, 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. Shooting Stars begins as a witty and affectionate look at the smoke-and-mirrors world of filmmaking, with many a wink to its audience, but as the paranoia associated with adultery takes its toll, the mood becomes somewhat darker.  Find out more at screenonline.org.uk .  With live musical accompaniment by pianist Cyrus Gabrysch..  Birkbeck Cinema, London WC1 Link

London Symphony (Dir.  Alex Barrett, UK, 2017) (Screening format – not known)  London Symphony  is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through London, a cosmopolitan city facing a challenge to its identity in the current political climate.  It is an artistic portrait of the city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity. Find out more at londonsymphfilm.com .  With recorded James McWilliam soundtrack. East Bergholt Cinema, East Bergholt, Suffolk. Link

London Symphony (Dir.  Alex Barrett, UK, 2017) (Screening format – not known)  London Symphony  is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through London, a cosmopolitan city facing a challenge to its identity in the current political climate.  It is an artistic portrait of the city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity. Find out more at londonsymphfilm.com .  With recorded James McWilliam soundtrack. Followed by Q&A with director Alex Barrett after screening.  Shambhala Meditation Centre, London SW4 Link

The Last Laugh (Dir. F W Murnau, Ger, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 90mins) A screening to mark the 100th anniversary of Germany’s UFA (Universum Film-Aktien Gesellschaft) film studios. The Last Laugh is one of the most important films of the Weimar Republic and a most important piece of cinema history.  Emil Jannings, probably the greatest actor of his time, plays a proud hotel doorman, whose character is devastated when his manager demotes him to washroom attendant because of his advanced years.  The film also gained importance for film history through a new camera technology, the “unchained camera” used by the famous UFA-cinematographer Karl Freund for the first time.  Find out more at rogerebert.com .  With live musical accompaniment by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg conducted by Matt Dunkley.  St John’s, Smith Square, London Link

7 October

From Jealous Dolls to Brutish Bulldogs – A New History of British Animation (Dir. Various, UK, )  (Screening format – not known, 90mins) Taking a new look at British animation,  this genre-hopping, whistle-stop tour presents an animated century of surprises. All newly remastered by the BFI National Archive, this selection of shorts salutes the independence, innovation and irreverence of generations of British animation talent. Silent animated films been shown include; Jealous Doll, Or, The Frustrated Elopement (Dir Percy Stow. UK 1909. 6min), though likely intended as a charming comic tale of young love, this film takes on a strangely gothic hue thanks to the uncanny movements of a puppet plaything; Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus ( Dir Uncredited. UK 1912. 3min), an early experiment in bringing colour to animation sees a bubble-blowing doll, a toy circus and a stubborn donkey revelling in two-tone glory; Ever Been Had? (Dir Dudley Buxton. UK 1917. 10min), in which the man on the moon and the last Englishman on Earth appear in a clever mix of propaganda, science fiction and comedy, with a killer punchline; and, Booster Bonzo; Or, Bonzo in Gay Paree  (Dir Uncredited. UK 1925. 6min), where George Studdy’s cartoon pup makes the transition to the cinema screen and sets the tone for many a British tourist with his drunken high jinks in Paris. Presented as part of the London International Film Festival.  BFI Southbank, London Link

Neil Brand Presents Silent Laughter Neil Brand presents and accompanies an hour of furious comedy for all the family, from the earliest trick films to the greatest of Hollywood clowns, including the greatest of all – Laurel and Hardy. Dogs drive cars, houses explode and trains appear out of nowhere amidst breathtaking stunts, all accompanied by the fastest piano fingers in the business. Royal Albert Hall, London Link

8 October

The Dumb Girl of Portici (Dir. Lois Weber, US, US, 1915) (Screening format – DCP, 115mins) Lois Weber directs ballet legend Anna Pavlova in this epic based on Auber’s opera, set against the backdrop of a 17th century Italian uprising. Pavlova plays Fenella, a mute fisher girl, caught up in the bloody revolt of the Italian peasantry against their oppressive Spanish overlords during the occupation of Naples. Lois Weber’s film tackles the scale of the grand opera settings with assurance, while allowing us to enjoy Pavlova’s exquisite physical performance, in her only feature film role. This previously unseen film is long overdue for recognition as one of Weber’s finest creations and a landmark in women’s cinema. Restored by the Library of Congress from elements held at the BFI National Archive and the New York Public Library. Find out more at www.filmcomment.com .   Presented as part of the London International Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.  BFI Southbank, London Link

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 and see a stunning trailer at youtube.com  With live orchestral accompaniment by the Docklands Sinfonia Orchestra conducted by Spencer Down performing the world premier of a score specially composed for the film by renowned jazz musician and composer Roy Budd.  Budd composed scores for films such as Soldier Blue (1970), Get Carter (1971), Man at the Top (1973), Wild Geese (1978) and many more but died suddenly in 1993 before his score for Phantom of the Opera could ever be performed.    The London Coliseum Opera House, London Link

9 October

Little Veronika (Innocence) (aka Die kleine Veronika (Unschuld) ) (Dir. Robert Land, Aust-Ger, 1930) (Screening format – 35mm, 70mins) Austria’s ‘most beautiful silent film’, according to Nikolaus Wostry, curator of the Austrian Film Archive, Robert Land’s Little Veronika is a real rediscovery. Based on a novel by Felix Salten, who specialised in tales of Vienna’s brothel culture (as well as, bizarrely, being the author of both Bambi and a classic work of pornography), the film follows young Veronika from her Tyrolean village to her aunt’s Viennese apartment for her confirmation. The aunt’s flighty nature and her profession as a prostitute leave her niece in the company of men who assume she is just another new girl on offer. Land’s film is an elegant piece of filmmaking – the train journeys that bookend Veronika’s trip to the city are masterly – but apart from the natural performance of the lovely Käthe von Nagy, what lingers are the stunning views of a disappeared Vienna.  Find out more at wikipedia.org .   Presented as part of the London International Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by Costas Fotopoulos.  BFI Southbank, London Link

10 October

The Goddess (Shen nu) (Dir. Wu Yonggang, 1934) (Screening format – not known, 73mins)  A masterpiece of social realism featuring Chinese superstar Ruan Lingyu as a struggling mother who takes to prostitution on the streets of Shanghai in order to shelter her son from the corrupt city and give him a better chance in life.  This devastatingly beautiful and recently restored film was made by first time director/writer/designer Yonggang aged just 27-years-old, and draws its great power from the striking and subtle performance by Ruan. Ruan’s heart-rending and sympathetic portrayal of a self-sacrificing woman at the mercy of society’s hypocrisy was a sensation that was tragically echoed in her real-life.  On the eve of her trial for adultery and after months of tabloid harassment Ruan killed herself, aged 24, just one year after the release of ‘The Goddess’.  Find out more at shaoyis.wordpress.com .    With recorded soundtrack.  Sands Flm Club, Rotherhithe, London Link

Little Veronika (Innocence) (aka Die kleine Veronika (Unschuld) ) (Dir. Robert Land, Aust-Ger, 1930) (Screening format – 35mm, 70mins) Austria’s ‘most beautiful silent film’, according to Nikolaus Wostry, curator of the Austrian Film Archive, Robert Land’s Little Veronika is a real rediscovery. Based on a novel by Felix Salten, who specialised in tales of Vienna’s brothel culture (as well as, bizarrely, being the author of both Bambi and a classic work of pornography), the film follows young Veronika from her Tyrolean village to her aunt’s Viennese apartment for her confirmation. The aunt’s flighty nature and her profession as a prostitute leave her niece in the company of men who assume she is just another new girl on offer. Land’s film is an elegant piece of filmmaking – the train journeys that bookend Veronika’s trip to the city are masterly – but apart from the natural performance of the lovely Käthe von Nagy, what lingers are the stunning views of a disappeared Vienna.  Find out more at wikipedia.org .   Presented as part of the London International Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by John Sweeney.  BFI Southbank, London Link

13 October

Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 81mins) A German Expressionist 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 by organist Nick Millar.  St John’s Church, Hyde Park, London Link

Piccadilly (Dir E A Dupont, UK, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 92 mins)  A film noir before the term was in use, uncredited director E.A. Dupont’s Piccadilly is one of the true greats of British silent films, on a par with the best of Anthony Asquith or Alfred Hitchcock during this period. Valentine Wilmot (Jameson Thomas) owns a nightclub featuring dancers Mabel (Gilda Gray) and Vic (Cyril Ritchard). After a confrontation with Wilmot, Vic quits performing at the club. When the joint starts losing business, a desperate Wilmot hires former dishwasher Shosho (Anna May Wong) as a dancer. She is an instant hit and forms a rapport with Wilmot, which makes both Mabel and Shosho’s friend (King Ho Chang) jealous, leading to a mysterious murder.  A stylish evocation of Jazz Age London, with dazzlingly fluid cinematography and scenes ranging from the opulent West End to the seediness of Limehouse. One of the pinnacles of British silent cinema, Piccadilly is a sumptuous show business melodrama seething with sexual and racial tension – with an original screenplay by Arnold Bennett.  Find out more at screenonline.org.uk .  With live organ accompaniment by Donald MacKenzie.  St John’s Notting Hill, London, W11 Link

14 October

The Prince of Adventurers (aka The Loves of Casanova,aka Casanova) (Dir. Alexandre Volkoff, Fr, 1927) (Screening format – DCP, 159mins) Ivan Mosjoukine stars as the world’s most notorious rake in this French super-production, with colour sequences beautifully restored by the Cinémathèque Française. What joyousness, what merrymaking, what lovemaking! We imagine Casanova perpetually kissing the hand of his latest innamorata, while half out the window and with a murderous husband leaping up the stairs. There have been some gorgeous Casanovas in recent years, but Ivan Mosjoukine was born to play this mischievous Harlequin with the melancholy heart. He was one of a group of Russian emigrés who fled to Paris in the 1920s – as was Alexandre Volkoff who, fresh from assisting on Abel Gance’s Napoléon, directed this sumptuous blockbuster, replete with stencil colour sequences bringing Venice’s 17th century carnivals to life. A thousand silk dresses (by Boris Bilinsky, designer of the famous Metropolis poster) dance in a rainbow of colours, while fireworks are reflected in the waters of the Grand Canal.  Find out more at wikipedia.org.  Presented as part of the London International Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.  BFI Southbank, London Link

Blinking Buzzards Quarterly meeting of the UK Buster Keaton Society, featuring a selection of Keaton films chosen by members (titles TBC).  The Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Shiraz (Dir. Franz Osten, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 97mins) Based on a play by Indian author Niranjan Pal, Shiraz tells the fictionalised love story of the 17th-century princess who inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal.  It was directed by Germany’s Franz Osten, one of at least 17 films he made in India between 1925 and 1939, best known of which are The Light of Asia (1925) and A Throw of Dice (1929).  The film was photographed entirely on location in India and all the actors are Indian although the crew were mostly German. Upon its release Shiraz was a considerable critical and popular success.  Find out more at silentfilm.org. Presented as the Archive Gala event of the BFI London Film Festival.  With live musical accompaniment by Indian composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar.  Barbican, London Link

15 October

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Dir. 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.    Presented as part of the Organ Reformed 2017 Festival.  With the premier of a new score specially commissioned by the festival, composed by ‘ambient drone mastermind’ Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie and performed by organist James McVinnie with the London Contemporary Orchestra soloists and choir.  Union Chapel, London N1 Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –not known , 149 mins ) 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. Following its world premiere in 1927, half an hour was cut from Fritz Lang’s masterpiece and lost to the world. Eighty years later a spectacular discovery was made when the footage was found in a small, dusty museum in Buenos Aires. The film was then painstakingly reconstructed and digitally restored so that at last audiences could see the iconic futuristic fairy tale as Lang had envisioned it. Find out more at silentfilm.org .  With recorded soundtrack.  The Depot, Lewes, East Sussex Link

16 October

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –not known , 149 mins ) 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. Following its world premiere in 1927, half an hour was cut from Fritz Lang’s masterpiece and lost to the world. Eighty years later a spectacular discovery was made when the footage was found in a small, dusty museum in Buenos Aires. The film was then painstakingly reconstructed and digitally restored so that at last audiences could see the iconic futuristic fairy tale as Lang had envisioned it. Find out more at silentfilm.org .  With recorded soundtrack.  Picture House Central, London Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –not known , 149 mins )  .  See above for details.  With recorded soundtrack. Ritzy Picture House, London Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –not known , 149 mins )  .  See above for details.  With recorded soundtrack. Greenwich Picture House, London Link

17 October

London Symphony (Dir.  Alex Barrett, UK, 2017) (Screening format – not known)  London Symphony  is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through London, a cosmopolitan city facing a challenge to its identity in the current political climate.  It is an artistic portrait of the city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity. Find out more at olndonsymphfilm.com .  With recorded James McWilliam soundtrack.  Pine Grove Pictures, Crowborough Centre, Crowborough, East Sussex.  Link

18 October

Man With A Movie Camera (Dir. Dziga Vertov, USSR, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 68mins)  “An experiment in the creative communication of visible events without the aid of inter-titles, a scenario or theatre “aiming at creating a truly international absolute language of cinema,” is how the inter-titles describe what is about to be seen. Bold claims indeed, but in its awesome sophistication The Man with a Movie Camera does live up to them, making it one of the most contemporary of silent movies. The subject, the life of a city from dawn to dusk, was not original even for 1928, but its treatment was–the cameraman as voyeur, social commentator and prankster, exploiting every trick permissible with the technology of the day (slow motion, dissolves, split screens, freeze frames, stop motion animation, etc). A young woman stirs in her bed, apparently fighting a nightmare in which a cameraman is about to be crushed by an oncoming train. She wakes up, and the sequence is revealed to be a simple trick shot. As she blinks her weary eyes, the shutters of her window mimic her viewpoint, and the iris of the camera spins open. Self-reflexive wit like this abounds here–there’s even a delicious counterpoint made between the splicing of film and the painting of a woman’s nails.  Find out more at openculture.com .  With live musical accompaniment.  BFI Southbank, London Link

Underworld ( Dir.Josef von Sternberg, US, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 80mins)      Boisterous gangster kingpin ‘Bull’ Weed (George Bancroft) rehabilitates the down-and-out ‘Rolls Royce’ Wensel (Clive Brook), a former lawyer who has fallen into alcoholism. The two become confidants, with Rolls Royce’s intelligence aiding Weed’s schemes, but complications arise when Rolls Royce falls for Weed’s girlfriend ‘Feathers’ McCoy ( Evelyn Brent).   Underworld is now recognized as one of the great gangster films of the silent era.  The film “established the fundamental elements of the gangster movie: a hoodlum hero; ominous, night-shrouded city streets; floozies; and a blazing finale in which the cops cut down the protagonist.”   Find out more at   immortalephemera.com .  Presented by the   Kennintington Bioscope with live piano accompaniment.    Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London. Link

19 October

London Symphony (Dir.  Alex Barrett, UK, 2017) (Screening format – not known)  London Symphony  is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through London, a cosmopolitan city facing a challenge to its identity in the current political climate.  It is an artistic portrait of the city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity. Find out more at londonsymphfilm.com .  With recorded James McWilliam soundtrack. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director/editor Alex Barrett   Kingston Museum, Kingston Upon Thames Link

21 October

Battleship Potemkin (Dir. Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Considered one of the most important films in the history of silent pictures, as well as possibly Eisenstein’s greatest work, Battleship Potemkin brought Eisenstein’s theories of cinema art to the world in a powerful showcase; his emphasis on montage, his stress of intellectual contact, and his treatment of the mass instead of the individual as the protagonist. The film tells the story of the mutiny on the Russian ship Prince Potemkin during the 1905 uprising.Their mutiny was short-lived, however, as during their attempts to get the population of Odessa to join the uprising, soldiers arrived and laid waste to the insurgents.  Battleship Potemkin is a work of extraordinary pictorial beauty and great elegance of form. It is symmetrically broken into five movements or acts. In the first of these, “Men and Maggots,” the flagrant mistreatment of the sailors at the hands of their officers is demonstrated, while the second, “Drama on the Quarterdeck,” presents the actual mutiny and the ship’s arrival in Odessa. “Appeal from the Dead” establishes the solidarity of the citizens of Odessa with the mutineers. It is the fourth sequence, “The Odessa Steps,” which depicts the massacre of the citizens, that thrust Eisenstein and his film into the historical eminence that both occupy today. It is unquestionably the most famous sequence of its kind in film history, and Eisenstein displays his legendary ability to convey large-scale action scenes. The shot of the baby carriage tumbling down the long staircase has been re-created in many films. The sequence’s power is such that the film’s conclusion, “Meeting the Squadron,” in which the Potemkin in a show of brotherhood is allowed to pass through the squadron unharmed, is anticlimactic.  Find out more at classicartfilms.com.  With live organ accompaniment by Dave Hinitt and Adam Dickson.  Christ Church, Southgate, London N14 Link

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 organ accompaniment by Donald MacKenzie. The Musical Museum, Brentford, London  Link

22 October

Man With A Movie Camera (Dir. Dziga Vertov, USSR, 1929) (Screening format – DCP, 68mins)  “An experiment in the creative communication of visible events without the aid of inter-titles, a scenario or theatre “aiming at creating a truly international absolute language of cinema,” is how the inter-titles describe what is about to be seen. Bold claims indeed, but in its awesome sophistication The Man with a Movie Camera does live up to them, making it one of the most contemporary of silent movies. The subject, the life of a city from dawn to dusk, was not original even for 1928, but its treatment was–the cameraman as voyeur, social commentator and prankster, exploiting every trick permissible with the technology of the day (slow motion, dissolves, split screens, freeze frames, stop motion animation, etc). A young woman stirs in her bed, apparently fighting a nightmare in which a cameraman is about to be crushed by an oncoming train. She wakes up, and the sequence is revealed to be a simple trick shot. As she blinks her weary eyes, the shutters of her window mimic her viewpoint, and the iris of the camera spins open. Self-reflexive wit like this abounds here–there’s even a delicious counterpoint made between the splicing of film and the painting of a woman’s nails.  Find out more at openculture.com .  With recorded soundtrack.  BFI Southbank, London Link

26 October

Performing Wonders of Entertainment and Film 1895-1920 – This year the Jane Mercer Memorial Lecture will be celebrating the UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and will be given by  Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Chair in Early Film and Popular Entertainment at the University of Sheffield, Founder and Research Professor at the National Fairground and Circus Archive and Director of City and Culture for the University of Sheffield.   Professor Toulmin  will show some clips of her 20 favourite early films that enabled discoveries in film history, help people remember the importance of entertainment and by virtue of the archives are now being shared and discovered.  With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.  Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 81mins) A German Expressionist 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 by musicians the Cabinet of Living Cinema.  Old Street Church, St Luke’s, London Link

October: Ten Days That Shook The World (Dir. Sergei Eisenstein, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 104mins) Borrowing its title from a book by American journalist John Reed, Sergei Eisenstein’s Ten Days That Shook the World reenacts the crucial week-and-a-half in October, 1918, when the Russian Kerensky regime was toppled by the Bolsheviks.  Eisenstein used the film to further develop his theories of film structure, using a concept he described as “intellectual montage”, the editing together of shots of apparently unconnected objects in order to create and encourage intellectual comparisons between them.  A largely non-professional cast was employed, the “actor” playing Lenin, a nonprofessional cement factory worker named Nikandrov, so closely resembles the genuine article that the effect is striking while a University student took on the role of Kerensky and Zinoviev was played by his real brother. The film was not as successful or influential in the Soviet Union as Battleship Potemkin with audiences finding the film stilted and artificial.  Eisenstein’s montage experiments met with official disapproval; the authorities complained that October was unintelligible to the masses and he was also required to re-edit the work to expurgate references to  Trotsky, who had recently been purged by Stalin.  Nevertheless, film historians now consider it to be an important film, a sweeping historical epic of vast scale, and a powerful testament to Eisenstein’s creativity and artistry.  Find out more at imdb.com.  Presented by Kino Klassika to mark the centenary of the October Revolution. With live music accompaniment by the London Symphony Orchestra led by Frank Strobel.  Barbican, London Link

27 October

Chaplin: Silent Soundtracks – An evening of live musical accompaniment to a selection of films and film extracts featuring Charlie Chaplin including The Immigrant (Dir, Charles Chaplin, US, 1917) in which newly arrived immigrant Chaplin struggles to pay for a meal with his new found lady friend; The Adventurer (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1917) in which Chaplin plays an escaped convict on the run from prison guards who falls into favor with a wealthy family after he saves a young lady from drowning; and The Vagabond (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1916) in which itinerant violinist Charlie rescues a girl abducted by gypsies and love blossoms.   The live accompaniment will be performed by  Ashley Wass (piano) and Matthew Trusler (violin) including music written by Rachmaninov, Gershwin, Kreisler, and Chaplin himself at an event to celebrate 65 years of the Royal Over Seas League (ROSL) Arts.   ROSL London Clubhouse, London SW1 Link

The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (Dir. Esfir Shub, USSR, 1927) (Screening format – 16mm, 87mins)  The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty is notable for being constructed almost entirely out of stock footage which was compiled by director Esfir Shub, who had worked as an editor on several films before making this film. Whereas other documentary filmmakers, including Dziga Vertov, created films out of their own footage, Shub constructed a documentary narrative out of newsreel footage shot before the Revolution. Using this footage, she created a narrative about the brutality of the First World War and the neglect on the part of the Tsar and his ministers, one of the catalysts for the 1917 Revolution.  Find out more at edinburghfilmguild.org.uk .   Presented by the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image.  Birkbeck Cinema, London WC1 Link

28 October

London Symphony (Dir.  Alex Barrett, UK, 2017) (Screening format – not known)  London Symphony  is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through London, a cosmopolitan city facing a challenge to its identity in the current political climate.  It is an artistic portrait of the city as it stands today, and a celebration of its culture and diversity. Find out more at londonsymphfilm.com .  With live performance of  James McWilliamscore by the Covent Garden Sinfonia, conducted by Ben Palmer, and followed by a discussion featuring the filmmakers and Geetha Maheshwaran, co-ordinator of the Shree Ghanapathy Temple. Shree Ghanapathy Temple, London  SW19 Link

29 October

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Dir. 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 musical accompaniment by London based experimental and improvisational group Grok.  Genesis Cinema, London  Link

31 October

Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Dir. Benjamin Christensen, Swe., 1922) ( Screening format – not known, 105mins) A fictionalized documentary with dramatic reconstructions showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in modern (1922) Europe. Based partly on Christensen’s study of the  Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch hunts.  Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden when first released, Haxan was heavily censored or banned outright in many countries.  But it is now considered to be Christensen’s finest work, a witches’ brew of the scary, the grotesque, and the darkly humorous. Find out more at thedevilsmanor.blogspot.co.uk .  For this special Hallowe’en screening  Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen, High Rise, A Field in England), will be narrating a live translation of the Swedish inter-titles and renowned musician Stephen Horne. will be providing live musical accompaniment. Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley, London  Link