A few notes on 'Ben Hur' in Wilton, N.H.

It being Easter Sunday afternoon and the weather not being terrible, we had a smaller crowd than usual for our screening of 'Ben Hur' (1925) at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, April 24. But the film itself remained big, big, big.

I did 'Ben Hur' in Plymouth, N.H. earlier this month, so had most of the kinks worked out. Still, I didn't hit the groove until about 20 minutes into the film, when Judah accidentally knocks the brick on the new Roman governor, stopping the parade and changing his family's life forever. That's when I felt it click, and I was in the zone from then on.

Things built nicely to the scenes at sea; this time, I was able to keep pretty closely with drumbeats (seen on screen) used to keep the galley slaves rowing in unison. And then the pirates showed up, allowing me to let loose with some energetic action music, it built very well.

The sequence eventually ends on a fade out, with the battle still going on. And I found it seemed very satisfying to keep the music going full tilt even as the scene ended, and then finally end on a big fat sforzando chord. By accident, I think this helped give the audience a sense of closure; behind me, I heard someone say "phew!" as the chord echoed out and I changed the setting to just strings for what followed.

I completely blanked on what I wanted to do for the scenes where the sultry woman tries to get information about Judah's true identity. So I just vamped with a minor 6th chord in the base, and floated a melody on top, and it just sort of went from there. Turned out to be more effective than anything I could have planned, so sometimes this improv thing really works!

Same thing happened with the "day of the chariot race" sequence, which needed to be grand-sounding but not too big as to overwhelm the race itself. There's one very impressive shot where the camera travels through a tunnel and into the arena, revealing for the first time the scale of the stadium, and by pure dumb luck I found myself running through a series of chords that fit it just right.

The chariot race was a real workout—about 10 minutes of an intense 2/4 gallop, not loud (at first) but still relentless as it builds throughout the sequence. With crisp offbeats in the right hand, and with single notes behind held above it all with my right pinkie, I was going for breathless excitement and I think it held together okay.

So the chariot race finished, and all was great, and there's a quick cut to the women who are still in prison, and for that I wanted to go back to plain strings. So I cycled through the settings and then hit a note as the scene came up, and to my disappointment I had called up an "Asian Techno Pop" setting that was all glitter and rhythmic percussion. Crap! No way to save that one so I just switched quickly to strings and looked ahead, not back.

Maybe I'll get another chance this week to get that right. :) Not sure if I'm doing 'Ben Hur' or another film at Stonehill College in Massachusetts this Thursday, April 28. It was supposed to be 'The Big Parade,' but then the organizer ran into something about the church venue he's using not allowing a secular film to be screened. We'll see...

Celebrate Easter with 'Ben Hur' (1925)

Okay, here's a plug for a big biblical blockbuster: the original 'Ben Hur' (1925), which we're screening today (Easter Sunday!) at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton (N.H.) Town Hall Theatre. Should be good one -- beautiful restored print, live music, a big crowd (I hope) -- so hope you can make it!

Note: I did check with the Diocese of Manchester and the screening does not count as Mass, so you have to take care of that on your own.

In case you're looking here for info about the film or the screening, I'm posting the press release below. As for the music, I'm looking forward to helping bring this big, sprawling historical epic to life. I have several themes in mind, and we'll see where inspiration takes me once the film starts up. Happy Easter, and see you there!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Silent epic ‘Ben Hur’ (1925) in Wilton, N.H. on Sunday, April 24

Biblical blockbuster to be screened with live music at Town Hall Theatre

WILTON, N.H.—One of early Hollywood's great epics returns to the big screen with a showing of 'Ben Hur, A Tale of The Christ' (1925) on Sunday, April 24 at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. The screening, accompanied by live music, starts at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free; donations are welcome to help defray costs.

'Ben Hur' will be accompanied by live music by local composer Jeff Rapsis. For more information, call (603) 654-3456 or visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.

'Ben Hur,' starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman, was among the first pictures to tell a Biblical-era story on a gigantic scale. The film, which helped establish MGM as a leading Hollywood studio, employed a cast of thousands and boasted action sequences that included a large-scale sea battle and a spell-binding chariot race that still leaves audiences breathless.

Set in the Holy Land at the time of Christ's birth, 'Ben Hur' tells the story of a Jewish family in Jerusalem whose fortune is confiscated by the Romans and its members jailed. The enslaved family heir, Judah Ben Hur (played by Novarro, a leading heartthrob of the silent era) is inspired by encounters with Christ to pursue justice, which leads him to a series of epic adventures in his quest to find his mother and sister and restore his family fortune.

'Ben Hur,' directed by Fred Niblo, was among the most expensive films of the silent era, taking two years to make and costing between $4 million and $6 million. When released in 1925, it became a huge hit for the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. The film proved so popular, it was successfully re-released in 1931 with a soundtrack, long after talkies had swept away silent film. One reason the film was so expensive to make is because it was partly shot in Italy, where a sea battle scene led to a fire that endangered the many extras on board. No one was hurt, but MGM moved the delay-prone picture back to Hollywood to be finished.

The chariot race scene in 'Ben Hur,' with Novarro and other cast members driving teams of horses at high speed on a mammoth dirt racetrack in a gigantic replica of a Roman stadium, was among the most complicated and dangerous sequences filmed in the silent era. It remains noted for its tight editing, dramatic sweep, and sheer cinematic excitement. The chariot race was re-created virtually shot for shot in MGM's 1959 remake, and more recently imitated in the pod race scene in 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.'

Besides Novarro in the title role, the film stars Francis X. Bushman as Messala, the Roman soldier who imprisons the Hur family; Betty Bronson as Mary, mother of Jesus; May McAvoy as Ben Hur's sister Esther; and Claire McDowell as Ben Hur's mother. 'Ben Hur' was based on the best-selling 1880 novel by General Lew Wallace. Celebrity "extras" in the chariot race scene included stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Lionel Barrymore, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, and a very young Clark Gable.

The film was remade by MGM in the 1950s in a color and wide-screen version starring Charleston Heston that garnered 11 Academy Awards. Some critics, however, believe the original 1925 version offers superior drama and story-telling. MGM executives at the time, aware of the superiority of the original version, attempted to destroy or confiscate all prints of the 1925 'Ben Hur,' sending the FBI out to confiscate collector copies in the 1950s. However, the studio did preserve the negative of the 1925 version.

The original release of 'Ben Hur' included several early technicolor sequences that were converted to black and white for the 1930 re-release. However, an original 1925 print with the color sequences was discovered in the Czech Republic in the 1980s, and these have been incorporated in the restoration being screened at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre.

'Ben Hur' is the latest in a series of monthly silent film screenings at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. The series aims to recreate the lost magic of early cinema by reviving the elements needed for silent film to be seen at its best: superior films in best available prints; projection on the big screen; live musical accompaniment; and a live audience.

“These films are still exciting experiences if you show them as they were designed to be screened,” said Rapsis, accompanist for the screenings. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that experience. At their best, silent films were communal experience very different from today’s movies—one in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”

For each film, Rapsis improvises a music score using original themes created beforehand. None of the the music is written down; instead, the score evolves in real time based on audience reaction and the overall mood as the movie is screened.

‘Ben Hur’ will be shown on Sunday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H. Admission is free; donations are welcome to help defray costs. For more information, call (603) 654-3456 or visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.

An impromptu 'General' in North Andover, Mass.

Last night I had the pleasure of heading down to the campus of Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., home of the Rogers Center for the Arts, where they screened Keaton's 'The General' to a small but appreciative audience in the main theater. It's a nice facility with a big screen, comfy chairs, and enough room for a keyboard right down front. (The picture was taken after everyone left, just to give you an idea of what the set-up was.)

What a nice surprise to discover a silent film series in such a nice facility! Peter Waldron, the college's Director of Arts Programming, was on hand to welcome me, as was author Christopher DiGrazia, creator of a series of mystery tales set in the silent film era, who served as the evening's guest speaker.

Christopher has since e-mailed me a link to his Web site, www.kissmemyfool.com, which I encourage you to check out. I look forward to getting familiar with his work! Here's a copy of his book, 'The Director's Cut,' with a link to the Amazon.com sales page. Good luck with the book, Christopher!

'The General,' with its mix of period-authentic drama, constant motion, and uniquely Keaton comedy, is a tough film to score effectively. On the one hand, music can give shape and pace to the film's narrative. But at the same time, too much can step on the moments that Keaton goes for laughs. Add to that the constant intercutting between Keaton and his union nemesises (is that a word?), and also the "love story" aspect threaded throughout the film, and you've got a real musical challenge.

I've done this film several times, and the key seems to be to resist the temptation to do too much too soon, which is a very tough thing for me to do. :) I think what helped a bit was that right after the opening titles, I switched from full orchestra to a chamber string ensemble, and kept it there until the union spies make off with Keaton's train. I then switched back to strings during Buster's rainy night behind union lines, and then back to orchestra when he took back his locomotive.

But still, if you're going to be effective with the music, this is a film you can't wing. There's just too much happening too quickly, and a lot of it demands music that varies widely in character. If you can stay ahead of things, the effort is worth it because music can add a lot to the story's forward motion. But if you're not in synch with Keaton's fast-paced cross-cutting, things can quickly get muddled.

Alas, I only learned of this screening the day before, which didn't provide much opportunity to remind myself of the trajectory of Buster's story. Even so, I was moderately pleased with how the music went.

Simple traditional melodies served as useful "leitmotifs" for the two sides: the opening phrase of 'Dixie' for the Confederacy, and 'Yankee Doodle' (often played in a minor key) for the Union. I had a new "love" melody, based on a sharped fourth, which proved quite handy to bring out the subtext, especially when Marion Mack is in the engine cab.

And I had a versatile (and long) original main melody with a couple of break-out-able cells that helped stitch together scenes. So it held together, and there were a few moments that came out really well, I thought—especially near the end, when the soft music I was doing to go with Buster and Marion Mack keeps halting as they get repeatedly interrupted by soldiers marching past the newly minted lieutenant.

Thanks to Peter and Christopher for letting me come down and do my stuff, and for a great audience that had some very kind things to say after the performance. Hope to return there next season and do music for more silent film screenings!

Suddenly, 'The General' on Wednesday, April 20

Talk about last minute!

This morning I found out about a silent film screening taking place tomorrow night at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. It's Keaton's 'The General' (1927), and it turns out they didn't have live music arranged for it, but the folks there were kind enough to allow me to come down on short notice (one day!) and do my stuff.

If you're in the area, the screening is free and includes a talk by silent film author Christopher DiGrazia. Things start at 6:30 p.m. at the Rogers Center, Merrimack College, 315 Turnpike St., North Andover, Mass. For more info, the phone number is (978) 837-5355. Really looking forward to a chance to help bring Keaton's classic to life.

Notes on scoring 'Ben Hur' (1925)

Wow! We did 'Ben Hur' last night and I'm still in recovery! It's a great film with a lot of potential for music, and it was very satisfying to help bring it to life for the audience at The Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H.

For starters, the Flying Monkey has just installed a house sound system, which I got to plug into and use thanks to Tom, the helpful sound guy. I usually use a pair of relatively small Roland speakers, but whenever house sound is available, I try to use it.

And after some adjustments of levels for different settings, it seemed to work pretty well. It's certainly different, and it's hard for me to tell from where I sit -- it sounds a little muffled, more than I like, and I can't seem to get the volume differences I'm used to with direct output.

But audience members said it sounded great, and Tom saved the settings we used, so I guess we'll keep using it. I'm surprised, however, at how different the synth patches sound when run through different systems. It's a variable that I'd rather minimize as much as possible so I can concentrate on doing music.

Speaking of which: Not sure why, but these big, sprawling Biblical epics seem to lend themselves to my kind of stuff. It might be in the pacing: 'Ben Hur,' like others, is full of portentous moments where "big" things are happening, and the overall pace is pretty leisurely, and somehow music I do seems to highlight the drama and keep it all together.

One unexpected challenge is in the galley slave scenes, where the presence of a sailor beating two big timpani to give rhythm to the rowers presents the age-old question to all accompanists: do I try to match the action (which some folks regard dismissively as "Mickey Mouse-ing it") or do I do music that's not specifically synchronized to what's on screen.

In this case, I think the use of the timpani is so obvious, and sets the tempo for the whole scene, and the timpani settings on the synth are really good, so I opted for trying to match it. But I didn't plan it out too well, and it turns out the pace of the timpani beats on screen is incredibly SLOW.

For awhile I tried to match it, but then the action would go elsewhere, and when we cut back to the timpani, it would be horribly out of synch. So I eventually gave up, thankfully saved in time by the chaos of the pirate attack sequence. I still think it could work well, but I'll have to look at this sequence again before we screen the film in Wilton, N.H. on Sunday, April 24.

And then there's the chariot race scene. I had in mind one of those controlled Shostakovich gallops in 2/4 that you sometimes encounter, with a fast-but-not-too-fast tempo of repeated notes in bass, strong off-beats, and menacing chords above it gradually growing in intensity throughout the whole sequence, cycling through the keys to contribute to ever-growing tension.

The chariot race is some of the best stuff from the silent era, and it was such a thrill to create music to help bring it to life! I've watched it several times now, and I'm still catching nuances that they were able to capture between the actors in all the footage that was shot. I think it ranks as one of the great editing jobs of the period.

When I checked out the Carl Davis score on the Photoplay restoration, I was surprised to find the chariot race was done with music in 3/4 time. It was fabulously effective in a kind of Richard Strauss-heroic way, so it just goes to show you how vastly different musical approaches are possible for the same piece of film.

Doing 'Ben Hur' again on Easter Sunday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. Hope to see you there!

Ben Hur (1925) on Thursday, April 7

Coming up next is the the Biblical Blockbuster 'Ben Hur' (1925), but first a few words about 'Metropolis' (1927), for which I did a score last night at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, N.H. Helping bring this film to life was a rewarding experience. We had about 120 people and they seemed absorbed by it all the way through. It's long, but a fantastic film for music—not only does it have science fiction elements, but also heavy religious overtones, with a strong dose of Christian symbolism thrown in.

For 'Metropolis,' I was able to weave together a score using a half-dozen motifs that I created beforehand. I had seen the restored film (with a half-hour of missing footage discovered in Argentina in 2008) in Washington, D.C. last summer and even then was thinking about how to score it.

For a broad theme to tie it all together, I used a chord sequence that cycled between augmented 4ths (i.e. from C major to F# major); a falling minor third was useful for dramatic underscoring and seemed to surface when a character wanted something but couldn't get it; a jaunty nightclub tune was catchy enough for people to say they'd heard it somewhere before, but I swear I just made it up last Saturday; and steady tonic/dominant tread with a flatted 6th thrown in worked well on its own or in counterpoint with the other melodies.

Though I usually stick with orchestral texture, for 'Metropolis' I used some of the Korg's more exotic settings for the scenes in the Machine Hall and for Rotwang's transformation of Maria. It all came together pretty well, I thought, although the last 40 minutes of the film is non-stop action: a triple climax, with the machines being destroyed, then the kids being rescued, and then finally the scene on the roof of the cathedral. Some ending for a science fiction film! After seeing this picture a few times now, I personally think 'Metropolis' is more an exercise in religious allegory, with science fiction serving as a thin veneer at best.

However, as more time passes, the science fiction side of 'Metropolis' gets more interesting as a past vision of a potential future that never was. Afterwards, we had fun picking apart a society that had progressed so far but still had stenographers taking shorthand. My favorite detail is the continuously running elevator visible in Freder's apartment building.

One thing about this film that often gets overlooked is the sheer athleticism of the performances, especially Brigitte Helm. What she does is spectacular, and I'm not just talking about the dance numbers in the nightclub. Throughout the film, she uses her whole body to act the part, especially as the "bad" Maria. It's astonishing to watch.

And an odd grace note about this film that I really like is the way she sometimes half-closes one eye as the "bad" Maria. When that first happens in close-up, and can only mean bad things to come, I was surprised that didn't more of a reaction from Monday night's audience, as it's one of the best moments in the picture, I think.

Show notes: Where I set up in the Palace is down in front but off to stage left, where a portion of two rows of seats have been removed for wheelchair access. It's become such a habit that I'd really forgotten that the reason this space exists is for handicapped people to attend events at the Palace.

So it came as a surprise to see a man in a motorized wheelchair coming up the aisle just before last night's performance, asking an usher where he was supposed to sit, because the handicapped space had the keyboard set up in it.

I felt like a real dolt! I immediately apologized and said that of course he should be able to sit there, and that if I moved my stuff off to one side there would be plenty of room for us both. He went back down front with me, we rearranged things, and it worked! So I had a companion with me for last night's score. :)

Okay, here's the press release for 'Ben Hur.' We're showing it on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H., and then again on Easter Sunday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. As I said to last night's audience for 'Metropolis,' "Instead of going to church, come to 'Ben Hur' and worship at the cathedral of light."

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent epic ‘Ben Hur’ (1925) in Plymouth, N.H. on Thursday, April 7

Biblical blockbuster to be screened with live music at Flying Monkey

PLYMOUTH, N.H.—One of early Hollywood's great epics returns to the big screen with a showing of 'Ben Hur, A Tale of The Christ' (1925) on Thursday, April 7 at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performing Arts Center in Plymouth, N.H. The screening, accompanied by live music, starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 per person.

'Ben Hur' will be accompanied by live music by local composer Jeff Rapsis. Dinner is also available for patrons who arrive early at the Flying Monkey, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H. For more information, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com.

'Ben Hur,' starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman, was among the first pictures to tell a Biblical-era story on a gigantic scale. The film, which helped establish MGM as a leading Hollywood studio, employed a cast of thousands and boasted action sequences that included a large-scale sea battle and a spell-binding chariot race that still leaves audiences breathless.

Set in the Holy Land at the time of Christ's birth, 'Ben Hur' tells the story of a Jewish family in Jerusalem whose fortune is confiscated by the Romans and its members jailed. The enslaved family heir, Judah Ben Hur (played by Novarro, a leading heartthrob of the silent era) is inspired by encounters with Christ to pursue justice, which leads him to a series of epic adventures in his quest to find his mother and sister and restore his family fortune.

'Ben Hur,' directed by Fred Niblo, was among the most expensive films of the silent era, taking two years to make and costing between $4 million and $6 million. When released in 1925, it became a huge hit for the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. The film proved so popular, it was successfully re-released in 1931 with a soundtrack, long after talkies had swept away silent film. One reason the film was so expensive to make is because it was partly shot in Italy, where a sea battle scene led to a fire that endangered the many extras on board. No one was hurt, but MGM moved the delay-prone picture back to Hollywood to be finished.

The chariot race scene in 'Ben Hur,' with Novarro and other cast members driving teams of horses at high speed on a mammoth dirt racetrack in a gigantic replica of a Roman stadium, was among the most complicated and dangerous sequences filmed in the silent era. It remains noted for its tight editing, dramatic sweep, and sheer cinematic excitement. The chariot race was re-created virtually shot for shot in MGM's 1959 remake, and more recently imitated in the pod race scene in 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.'

Besides Novarro in the title role, the film stars Francis X. Bushman as Messala, the Roman soldier who imprisons the Hur family; Betty Bronson as Mary, mother of Jesus; May McAvoy as Ben Hur's sister Esther; and Claire McDowell as Ben Hur's mother. 'Ben Hur' was based on the best-selling 1880 novel by General Lew Wallace. Celebrity "extras" in the chariot race scene included stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Lionel Barrymore, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, and a very young Clark Gable.

The film was remade by MGM in the 1950s in a color and wide-screen version starring Charleston Heston that garnered 11 Academy Awards. Some critics, however, believe the original 1925 version offers superior drama and story-telling. MGM executives at the time, aware of the superiority of the original version, attempted to destroy or confiscate all prints of the 1925 'Ben Hur,' sending the FBI out to confiscate collector copies in the 1950s. However, the studio did preserve the negative of the 1925 version.

The original release of 'Ben Hur' included several early technicolor sequences that were converted to black and white for the 1930 re-release. However, an original 1925 print with the color sequences was discovered in the Czech Republic in the 1980s, and these have been incorporated in the restoration being screened at the Flying Monkey.

'Ben Hur' is the latest in a series of monthly silent film screenings at the newly renovated Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performing Arts Center. The series aims to recreate the lost magic of early cinema by reviving the elements needed for silent film to be seen at its best: superior films in best available prints; projection on the big screen; live musical accompaniment; and a live audience.

“These films are still exciting experiences if you show them as they were designed to be screened,” said Rapsis, accompanist for the screenings. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that experience. At their best, silent films were communal experience very different from today’s movies—one in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”

For each film, Rapsis improvises a music score using original themes created beforehand. None of the the music is written down; instead, the score evolves in real time based on audience reaction and the overall mood as the movie is screened.

‘Ben Hur’ will be shown on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Flying Monkey Moviehouse and Performing Arts Center, 39 Main St., Plymouth, N.H. Admission is $5 per person. For more info, call (603) 536-2551 or visit www.flyingmonkeynh.com.

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For more info, contact:
Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Images attached.
More high-resolution digital images available upon request.