It's just before show time but wanted to post this to get out the word that the location of tonight's screening is the Derry Public Library.
It was originally another venue, but had to be moved. So come to the library and enjoy the show!
Complete details in the press release below...
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TUESDAY, OCT. 4, 2022 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
'Phantom of the Opera' with live music at Derry Public Library on Friday, Oct. 21
Just in time for Halloween: Pioneer classic silent horror flick starring Lon Chaney shown on the big screen with live music
DERRY, N.H.—Get into the Halloween spirit with a spooky silent horror film!
'The
Phantom of the Opera' (1925), the silent big screen adaptation of the
classic thriller, will be shown with live music on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7
p.m. at the Derry Public Library, 64 East
Broadway, Derry, N.H.
The screening will feature live
accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who
specializes in creating music for silent films.
Admission is free and the program is open to all.
The
show will allow audience members to experience 'Phantom' the way it was
intended to be seen: on the big screen, with live music, and with an
audience.
'The Phantom of the Opera,' starring legendary actor
Lon Chaney in the title role, remains a landmark work of the cinematic
horror genre. To modern viewers, the passage of time has made this
unusual film seem even more strange and otherworldly.
It's an
atmosphere that silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will try to enhance
in improvising live music on the spot for the screenings.
"The
original 'Phantom' is a film that seems to get creepier as more time
passes," said Rapsis, who frequently accompanies films throughout the
nation. "It's a great way to celebrate Halloween, and also the power of
silent film to transport audiences to strange and unusual places."
The film is most famous for Lon Chaney's intentionally horrific, self-applied make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.
Chaney transformed his face by painting his eye sockets black, creating a cadaverous skull-like visage. He also pulled the tip of his nose up and pinned it in place with wire, enlarged his nostrils with black paint, and put a set of jagged false teeth into his mouth to complete the ghastly deformed look of the Phantom.
Chaney's disfigured face is kept covered in the film until the now-famous unmasking scene, which prompted gasps of terror from the film's original audiences.
"No one had ever seen anything like this before," Rapsis said. "Chaney, with his portrayal of 'The Phantom,' really pushed the boundaries of what movies could do."
Chaney, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces" due to his versatility with make-up, also played Quasimodo in the silent 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) and circus performer 'Alonzo the Armless' in Tod Browning's 'The Unknown' (1927).
The large cast of 'Phantom of the Opera' includes Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé, as the Phantom's love interest; character actor Snitz Edwards; and many other stars of the silent period.
'The Phantom of the Opera' proved so popular in its original release and again in a 1930 reissue that it led Universal Studios to launch a series of horror films, many of which are also regarded as true classics of the genre, including 'Dracula' (1931), 'Frankenstein' (1931), and 'The Mummy' (1932).
The silent film version of 'Phantom' also paved the way for numerous other adaptations of the story, up to and including the wildly successful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from 1986 that continues to run on Broadway and in productions around the world.
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