September 2018

1 September

SWS Silent Film Open Day South West Silents and Bristol’s 20th Century Flicks are getting together to screen a day of silent films. Over the course of the day they will screen a wide selection of silent films in both of Flicks’ specially made cinemas. In the Kino Cinema, they will screen a selection of shorts and documentaries while in the newly built Videodrome Cinema, there will be a range of feature films. Intriguingly they won’t be announcing the titles of the films being screened here, you will just have to turn up sometime on the day and see what is on. But expect classic names such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson and also names you might never have heard of. So you will have plenty to choose from over the course of the day between both cinemas. They are also planning a special ‘Kino Kids’ section in the early part of the day as well. 20th Century Flicks, Bristol Link

2 – 4 September (4 Screenings)

Dawson City – Frozen Time (Dir. Bill Morrison, US, 2016) This documentary pieces together the bizarre true story of a collection of some 500 films dating from 1910s – 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until discovered buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory, in Dawson City, located about 350 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Using these permafrost protected, rare silent films and newsreels, archival footage, interviews and historical photographs to tell the story, and accompanied by an enigmatic score by Sigur Rós collaborator and composer Alex Somers (Captain Fantastic), Dawson City: Frozen Time depicts a unique history of a Canadian gold rush town by chronicling the life cycle of a singular film collection through its exile, burial, rediscovery, and salvation – and through that collection, how a First Nation hunting camp was transformed and displaced. Find out more at picturepalacepictures.com. Filmhouse, Edinburgh Link

3 September

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 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 score. Opera House Arts Centre, Buxton Link

4 September

6 September

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 91 mins ) In The Lodger, 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 With live piano accompaniment by Tony Judge. Jacaranda Records PHASE ONE, Liverpool Link

8 September

Silent Film Night with live organ accompaniment from Donald MacKenzie. Films TBC. St Mary and St Giles Church, Stoney Stratford. Link

Where The North Begins (Dir. Chester M Franklin, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 60 mins) This was the third film appearance by canine wonder dog Rin Tin Tin but his first in a starring role. Playing ‘The Wolf Dog’, raisd by a pack of wolves, Rin Tin Tin befriends a French trapper (Walter McGrail). Along the way he takes on the evil Shad Galloway (Pat Hartigan) who is not only out to con the trapper but is also after his girl (Claire Adams). Find out more at wikipedia.org. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

When the Dead Are Living Again (Dir. Erwin Baron, Ger, 1919?) (Screening format – not known, ? mins) No further information. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The Garden of Resurrection (Dir. Arthur Rooke, UK, 1919) (Screening format – not known, ? mins) Starring husband and wife team Guy Newall and Ivy Duke this is the story of a mixed race woman, abandoned after a mock marriage and with a still borne baby who falls for the man who comes to her aid. Guy Newall was feted as this time as one of British cinema’s most acclaimed actors, noted for his understated and realistic acting style. He was seen most recently at the KenBio’s Silent Train Day as the bumbling lead in the 1927 version of The Ghost Train. Find out more at wikipedia.org. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Pearl White; Queen of the Serials. Presented by Glenn Mitchell and Michael Pointon this is a look at the life and movie career of one of the great stars of silent film serials. White was noted for doing the majority of her own stunts in several film serials, most notably in The Perils of Pauline. Often cast as a plucky onscreen heroine, White’s roles directly contrasted those of the popularized archetypal ingénue. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Her Night of Romance (Dir. Sidney Franklin, UK, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 70 mins) American Dorothy Adams (Constance Talmadge) is the sole heiress to her father’s scrub brush fortune but she has no intention of being romanced for her money after she arrives in London. An impoverished British Lord (Paul Menford) impersonates a doctor to woo the heiress. The Lord is in love but his business associate (Joe Diamond) is only interested in the money. A funny, charming film with the unforgettable Constance Talmadge, an actor whose comic timing is impeccable but who is now almost completely forgotten. Find out more at tcm.com . Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Sparrows (Dir. William Beaudine, US, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 84 mins). Molly (Mary Pickford) is the eldest resident of a prison-like orphanage run by the abusive Mr. Grimes (Gustave von Seyffertitz), his neglectful wife (Charlotte Mineau) and their diabolical son, Ambrose (“Spec” O’Donnell). She struggles to lead a group of young children to freedom through the treacherous swamps that surround the orphanage where they have all been enslaved. The film was produced by Pickford herself, who was the most powerful woman in Hollywood at the time. But Pickford and director Beaudine clashed frequently on the picture. Eventually he handed over direction to his assistant while Pickford vowed that he would never work for her United Artists studio again (and he never did!). Find out more at wikipedia.org. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

9 September

Sam’s Boy (Dir.H Manning Haynes, GB, 1922) + British film shorts (Screening format – not known, 48mins) Sam’s Boy is another in the glorious series of films from the Artistic film studios directed by Manning Haynes, scripted by Lydia Hayward and based upon the stories of W W Jacobs (remember The Head of the Family (1922), A Will and a Way (1922) or The Skipper’s Wooing (1922)? ) In this one, orphan Billy and his dog Matey ‘adopt’ deck-hand Sam as their new father. But Sam is non too pleased at taking on extra family responsibilities. This is one you really must not miss. Find out more at anneramsden.wordpress.com. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. Introduced by the BFI’s Bryony Dixon. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Miss Lulu Bett (Dir. William C De Mille, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 71 mins) Based on a 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning play and bestselling novel of the same name by Zona Gale and with a screenplay written by Clara Beranger, the film features Lois Wilson, Milton Stills and Theodore Roberts. Apparently presenting an an idealized picture of the small mid-western town, a peaceful place inhabited by happy, sharing, loving “folks.” , in truth the town is revealed to be a place filled with tension, gossip and meanness. The film, directed by Cecil’s elder brother, is centered on Miss Lulu, living in a boring Midwestern town, an exploited household drudge for her sister and her overbearing brother-in-law. In the course of the story , Lulu evolves from slavery into an attractive and self-assured woman, prepared to make her own life. Find out more at moviessilently.com. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The Silent Enemy (Dir. H P Carver, US, 1930) (Screening format – not known, 84 mins) A dramatised documentary and early ethnographic film, and featuring genuine native American tribal leaders the film is set in the Canadian Northwest, where the Chippewa tribe struggles to find food before the onset of winter. Chief Chetoga agrees with the hunter Baluk to move north toward the caribou herds, despite the protests of Dagwan, the medicine man. On the way north they endure great hardship, and the conflict between Baluk and Dagwan deepens. It doesn’t help that both want to marry the chief’s daughter. Find out more at silentfilm.org. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

Balaclava (Dir. Maurice Elvey/Milton Rosmer, UK, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 72mins) A British officer (Cyril McLaglan) is falsely accused of murder and is dishonorably discharged from the army. He rejoins as an enlisted man and is posted as a cavalryman to the siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War. He discovers that there is a Russian spy masquerading as a British soldier, and his efforts to unmask the spy results in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade. The film was re-released in 1930 as a talkie while a very young David Lean worked on the picture as an assistant/second unit director. Find out more at imdb.com . Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

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. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

The Golden Butterfly (Dir. Michael Curtiz, Aust-Ger, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 77 mins) Based on a story by P. G. Wodehouse, Der golden Schmetterling – released in Britain as The Golden Butterfly – was the final European film made by Michael Curtiz before he moved to find fame and fortune in Hollywood, where he is principally remembered for Casablanca (1942) and Mildred Pierce (1945). In the film, a restaurant cashier (lila Damita), who has a mutual attraction to the restaurateur, has a secret passion for dance. As soon as she finishes work she is off down to the dance studio for a practice. She has a chance meeting with a handsome impresario, who promises to make her into the greatest dancer the world has ever known. With both impresario and restaurateur competing for her affections she has to choose. But meanwhile, tragedy looms. Lili Damita (last seen at KenBio’s screening of The Road To Happiness (1926), another Curtiz directed film – the two were married at the time) gives a knockout performance as the dancing golden butterfly. Find out more at britishsilentfilmfestival.files. Presented as part of the Fourth Kennington Bioscope Silent Film Weekend. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, Lambeth, London Link

12 September

Au Bonheur des Dames (Dir. Julien Duvivier, Fr, 1930) (Screening format – 35mm, 89 mins) Au Bonheur des Dames is the eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical Gil Blas and published in novel form by Charpentier in 1883. Denise (Dita Parlo), an orphaned girl, moves to Paris where she hopes to find work at her uncle’s store. But the glamorous department store ‘Au Bonheur des Dames’ across the street crunches all the little businesses around. She finds a position there. Find out more at silentfilm.org. Presented by the Kennington Bioscope. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Cinema Museum, Lambeth Link

14 September

The Joy of Laughter An evening of silent comedy featuring films from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. With live musical accompaniment from Jeff Barnhart. Beoley Village Hall, Beoley, Worcs. Link

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. Legendary silent comedian Buster Keaton counted this 1928 feature The Cameraman as ‘one of his pet pictures’, and that’s not just because it has a pet monkey in it. This is Keaton at his comedic best in this hilarity-packed screening. Find out more at slantmagazine.com. Presented as part of the Telford Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment from Meg Morley. All Saints Church, Wellington, Shropshire Link

Diary Of A Lost Girl (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 106mins) A masterpiece of the German silent era, Diary of a Lost Girl was the second and final collaboration of actress Louise Brooks and director G.W. Pabst a mere months after their first collaboration in the now-legendary Pandora’s Box (1929). Brooks plays Thymian Henning, a beautiful young woman raped by an unscrupulous character employed at her father’s pharmacy (played with gusto by Fritz Rasp, the degenerate villain of such Fritz Lang classics as Metropolis, Spione, and Frau im Mond). After Thymian gives birth to his child and rejects her family’s expectations of marriage, the baby is torn from her care, and Thymian enters a purgatorial reform school that seems less an institute of learning than a conduit for fulfilling the headmistress’s sadistic sexual fantasies. Find out more at rogerebert.com Presented by South West Silents. With an audio introduction by Silent London’s Pamela Hutchinson and live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Cube Microplex, Bristol Link

15 September

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 91 mins ) In The Lodger, 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 With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland Link

Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks (Dir. Geoffrey Malins, UK, 1917) (Screening format – not known, 67mins) The Battle of the Ancre is the official record of the British Army’s winter campaign on the Somme in 1916. It is the sequel to “The Battle of the Somme” (1916), which covered the opening phase of the campaign (Battle of Albert) and the infantry offensive on 1 July 1916, but “The Battle of the Ancre” should not be dismissed as Somme II. Although less well known than Battle of the Somme, which did record business at the box office, Battle of the Ancre also drew big audiences and was a critical success. Many consider “The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks” as the better film cinematically and it contains haunting images of trench warfare, notably of the mud that beset the battlefields, the waves of troops advancing into no man’s land, the use of horses and the first views of the ‘Tank’; the secret weapon which it was hoped would break the military deadlock on the Western Front.. Find out more at imdb.com . With live orchestral accompaniment by students and staff of the Waltham Forest Youth Orchestra performing Laura Rossi’s acclaimed score. Introduced by Laura Rossi and the Imperial War Museum’s Toby Haggith. St Mary’s Church Walthamstow Link

16 September

Prix de Beaute (Dir. Augusto Genina, Fr, 1930) (Screening format – not known, 108 mins) This rarely-seen jazz age classic was the last major film to star the dazzling Louise Brooks. Famously contemptuous of what Hollywood had to offer her, Brooks is best remembered for films she made when she headed for Europe and this French film has been long unavailable in its original silent-era version. Prix de beauté puts her at the centre of a trenchant and perversely seductive depiction of social decadence. Venturing an early critique of celebrity culture, the rags to riches tale of a vivacious young office worker who enters a beauty competition packs a surprising punch. Find out more at silentfilm.org. With live musical accompaniment from Stephen Horne. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee Link

Pandora’s Box (Dir. G W Pabst, Ger, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 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 un-selfconscious 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 . Presented by South West Silents. With recorded score. Curzon, Clevedon Link

Blighty (Dir. Adrian Brunei, UK, 1927) (Screening format – 35mm, 93mins) A war film with no battle scenes, Blighty traces the course of the war from its beginning to the first Armistice, focusing on the effects – both profound and intimate – on those left behind on the Home Front. One family is transformed by the conflict, while hints of the new social order to come surface in its conclusion. Find out more at screenonline.org. With live piano accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London Link

Beggars of Life (Dir. William Wellman, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 100 mins) Nancy (Louise Brooks), is a young woman on a farm who kills her foster father when he attempts to rape her. She is assisted in escaping from the farm by Jim (Richard Arlen), a young hobo who has stopped to ask for food. By dressing in rough men’s clothing, Nancy, with the assistance of Jim, eludes the police. They hop a freight train and, when thrown off by the brakeman, they wander into a hobo camp. The hobo camp is run by Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery), a villain….or maybe not! Beggars of Life is based on the 1924 novelistic memoir of the same name by Jim Tully, a celebrated “hobo author”. Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award), the location shooting for Beggars of Life was awash with hair-raising stunts, hard-drinking nights and countless fights, apparently the norm for a William Wellman picture, and nicely detailed in Louise Brooks’ own words in her book ‘Lulu In Hollywood’. Find out more at silentfilm.org . With live musical accompaniment from The Dodge Brothers, followed by a Q&A with Mark Kermode (Dodge brother and film Critic), Neil Brand (Dodge Brother and acclaimed silent film accompanist) and Dr Mike Hammond (University of Southampton). Electric Palace Cinema, Bridport, Dorset Link

20 September

Shiraz (Dir. Franz Osten, 1928) (Screening format – DCP, 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). Shot entirely on location in India with an all-Indian cast, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings – all the more impressive in this restoration by the BFI National Archive with specially-commisioned score. The film was the brainchild of producer Himansu Rai, who also stars as humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she’s sold by slave traders to the future emperor (Charu Roy).Upon its release Shiraz was a considerable critical and popular success and received rave reviews when the restored version was screened at last year’s London Film Festival. Find out more at silentfilm.org. With recorded Anoushka Shankar score. David Lean Cinema, Croydon Link

Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film (Dir. Various) (Screening format – DCP) By the end of the silent era around 300 Shakespeare adaptations had been produced. This celebration from the BFI National Archive draws together a delightful selection of thrilling, iconic and humorous scenes from 24 titles (many unseen for decades), newly digitised and brought to life by the composers and musicians of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. See King Lear battle a raging storm at Stonehenge, The Merchant of Venice in stencil colour, the fairy magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and what was probably John Gielgud’s first appearance on film, in Romeo and Juliet (1924). With recorded score. Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge Link

21 September

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 live piano accompaniment from Jonny Best. Truck Theatre, Hull. Link

22 September

Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks (Dir. Geoffrey Malins, UK, 1917) (Screening format – not known, 67mins) The Battle of the Ancre is the official record of the British Army’s winter campaign on the Somme in 1916. It is the sequel to “The Battle of the Somme” (1916), which covered the opening phase of the campaign (Battle of Albert) and the infantry offensive on 1 July 1916, but “The Battle of the Ancre” should not be dismissed as Somme II. Although less well known than Battle of the Somme, which did record business at the box office, Battle of the Ancre also drew big audiences and was a critical success. Many consider “The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of the Tanks” as the better film cinematically and it contains haunting images of trench warfare, notably of the mud that beset the battlefields, the waves of troops advancing into no man’s land, the use of horses and the first views of the ‘Tank’; the secret weapon which it was hoped would break the military deadlock on the Western Front.. Find out more at imdb.com . With recorded Laura Rossi score. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford. Link

Passion of Jon of Arc (Dir. Carl Theodore Dreyer, 1928) (Screening format – 35mm, 82 mins) In 1926 Danish film director Dreyer was invited to make a film in France by the Societe Generale des Films and chose to direct a film about Joan of Arc, due to her renewed popularity in France (having been canonised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in 1920 and subsequently adopted as one of the patron saints of France). Apparently discarding a script provided by the Societe, Dreyer spent over a year researching Joan of Arc including study of the actual transcripts of her trial before producing a script of his own. In the title role Dreyer cast the little-known stage actress Renee Jeanne Falconnetti who had previously acted in just two previous, inconsequential films, both back in 1917. The film focuses upon the trial and eventual execution of Joan of Arc after she is captured by the English. Although not a popular success at the time, the film attracted immediate critical praise. The New York Times critic wrote “…as a film work of art, this takes precedence over anything so far produced. It makes worthy pictures of the past look like tinsel shams. It fills one with such intense admiration that other pictures appear but trivial in comparison.” Falconnetti’s performance has been widely lauded with critic Pauline Kael writing in 1982 that her portrayal “…may be the finest performance ever recorded on film.” The film was subsequently re-edited against Dreyer’s wishes and his original version was long thought lost. But in 1981 a near perfect copy was found in the attic of a psychiatric hospital in Oslo. The Passion of Joan of Arc now regularly appears in ‘Top Ten’ lists not just of silent films but best films of all time. Find out more at rogerebert.com . Accompanied by a new original live score from musicians Heliopause & This Ship Argo. Duke of Yorks, Brighton Link

23 September

Empire On Film A rare chance to see archive film from the Empire & Commonwealth Collection at Bristol Archives spanning the 1930s to the 1960s, this is a unique opportunity to see the films in the context of a heritage cinema. Much of the film was taken by amateur filmmakers, largely British colonial workers and their families, and covers a vast range of topics from industry to private parties, local life to ceremonial occasions, and indications of the darker side of the Empire. Clips include vivid scenes from the Seychelles in the 1950s, biplanes in action in India, defence manoeuvres in North Borneo and a royal visit to the Gambia. The British Empire & Commonwealth Collection is a great springboard for exploring the complicated legacy of the British Empire and how it still plays out in the lives of people around the planet today. Selected and introduced by Ingrid Sinclair of Afrika Eye Film Festival, with live musical accompaniment from Stephen Horne and followed by a Q&A session. Curzon, Clevedon Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927)(Screening format – not known, ? 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. Find out more at silentfilm.org With live piano accompaniment by Tony Judge. Plaza Community Cinema, Crosby Link

27 September

28 September

The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . With live musical accompaniment by Neil Brand. Eden Court, Inverness Link

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 . Presented in conjunction with South West Silents. With recorded score. No.6 Cinema, Portsmouth Link

29 September

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 piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. St Mary’s Church, Barnes Link

Zeebrugge (Dir. A V Brambell/H Bruce Woolfe, UK, 1924) (Screening format – Not known, 60mins) April 23rd 1918 saw one of the most daring and heroic raids of the First World War with the British Royal Navy attempting to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge, a key U-boat and light shipping base for the Imperial German Navy. Based on the raid, directors Woolfe and Bramble’s much forgotten gem is a film that recreates the famous heroic attack at Zeebrugge with a mixture of drama and authentic First World War film material including captured German film as well as some of the most advance special effects of the time. Find out more at imdb.com. Presented in conjunction with South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Martin Pyne. No.6 Cinema, Portsmouth Link

Nelson (Dir. Maurice Elvey, UK, 1918) (Screening format – Not known, 128mins) Rarely seen since its original release, Maurice Elvey’s masterpiece on the life and career of Admiral Nelson was a major passion project for Britain’s most prolific film director. Written by Alfred Hitchcock’s scriptwriter Eliot Stannard and made with the support of the Admiralty at a time when the Navy needed to recruit. The film transforms Nelson into an action packed hero for the British audiences of World World One, celebrating his heroic status and recreating famous moments in British Naval history. Elvey’s action packed film is very much an education as well as entertainment with stunning cinematography and razor sharp action sequences mixed with model shots and animation. Part of the film was shot on HMS Victory, making NELSON the only feature film ever made on the Royal Navy’s most famous ship. Find out more at wikipedia.org. Presented in conjunction with South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne and Martin Pyne. Introduced by Maurice Elvey expert Lucie Dutton. No.6 Cinema, Portsmouth Link

30 September

The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . With live piano accompaniment from Neil Brand. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee Link

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Dir. Lotte Reiniger , Ger, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 65mins) The first feature-length animation in film history, masterminded by Lotte Reiniger and hand-tinted frame by frame. Based on ‘The Arabian Nights’, the film tells the epic tale of Prince Achmed, who is tricked into mounting a magical flying horse by a wicked sorcerer. The horse carries Achmed off on a series of adventures, over the course of which he joins forces with young Aladdin, battles ogres and monsters and romances the beautiful Princess Peri Banu.Find out more at wikipedia.org . With live piano accompaniment by Meg Morley. Palace Cinema, Broadstairs, Kent Link

L’Hirondelle et la Mésange (aka The Swallow and the Titmouse) (Dir. Andre Antoine, Fr, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 80mins) Shot entirely on location on the waterways of Flanders, the story is set on two canal barges, L’Hirondelle (The Swallow) and La Mesange (The Titmouse). The drama involves the tensions between the barge captain and the pilot whom he has hired to steer the coal-bearing ships to areas in France devastated by the war, but who sullenly lusts after the captain’s wife. Never released upon its completion on the grounds that it was not ‘commercially viable’, the unedited film lay in the archives of Cinémathèque Française until the early 1980s when the perfectly preserved footage was edited into a completed film using Gustave Grillet’s script and the director’s detailed notes as a guide. Find out more at silentfilm.org. With live musical accompaniment on harp and piano from Elizabeth-Jane Baldry and Stephen Horne. Introduced by the BFI’s silent film curator Bryony Dixon. Barbican, 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

September 2018

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