It's a rare chance to see 'Sunrise' (1927) in the late afternoon.
That's because I'll accompany the Academy Award-winning silent drama on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. at the Jane Pickens Theatre in downtown Newport, R.I.
More info about the film and the screening is in the press release pasted in below.
And the next day brings one of my most unusual gigs: the annual Boston Sci Fi Marathon, which starts on Sunday, Feb. 16 at noon and runs straight through to Monday, Feb. 17 at noon.
I'll be there to accompany 'Algol: Tragedy of Power' (1920), a bizarre German film thought lost for decades until it was rediscovered in recent years and is now available for viewing.
'Algol' is being shown late Sunday afternoon: not sure of the exact time as that depends on how far behind (or ahead) the marathon is running.
It's the 50th year of this event, which I've appeared at several times before and it's always a hoot. There's no better audience for silent film that a theater fill of insomniac sci-fi fans.
Alas, tickets aren't available for individual films during the marathon, which is a $100 all-or-nothing proposition. But the line-up includes LOTS of great titles, and there's nothing like seeing them in this kind of communal environment.
Interested? Below are links, although I notice the online ticket portal incorrectly says the marathon starts at Sunday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. It really starts at noon—and there's also a pre-show scene of people lining up in front of the Somerville before doors open to get first dibs on favorite seats.
Boston Sci-Fi Marathon line-up
Tickets for Boston Sci-Fi Marathon
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Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Silent film won three honors at first-ever Academy Awards, including 'Best Actress' for Janet Gaynor; show features live musical accompaniment
NEWPORT, R.I.—Silent film on the big screen with live music returns to the Jane Pickens Theatre with the Academy Award-winning romantic drama 'Sunrise' (1927) on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
The screening of 'Sunrise,' starring Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien, will take place at the Jane Pickens Film and Event Center, 49 Touro St. in historic downtown Newport.
Admission is $17 per person. Tickets available online at https://janepickens.com or at the door.
Gaynor, a popular female star of the silent film era, won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 'Sunrise.'
The movie took top honors in cinematography and was also recognized for
"Unique and Artistic Production" at the inaugural awards.
'Sunrise'
tells the story of a young country couple (played by Gaynor and
O'Brien) whose marriage is threatened by the presence of a woman from
the city (Margaret Livingston) who convinces the man to abandon his
wife. Will the young husband go through with a plan to kill his wife?
Will true love overcome the obstacles of temptation and the promise of
short-term pleasure?
'Sunrise' was directed by F. W. Murnau, a German filmmaker and one of the leading figures in German Expressionism, a style that uses distorted art design for symbolic effect. 'Sunrise' was made when Murnau was invited by studio chief William Fox to make a film in Hollywood.
The resulting movie features enormous stylized sets that create an exaggerated, fairy-tale world. The city street set alone reportedly cost over $200,000 to build, a huge sum at the time. Much of the exterior shooting was done at Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
Full of cinematic innovations, the groundbreaking cinematography (by Charles Rosher and Karl Struss) featured moving cameras and impressive tracking shots. Titles appear sparingly, with long sequences of pure action and most of the story told in Murnau's signature visual style. The extensive use of forced perspective is striking, particularly in a shot of the city with normal-sized people and sets in the foreground and smaller figures in the background by much smaller sets.
The story of 'Sunrise' is told as a visual allegory with few specific details. The characters have no names, and the setting is not named in order to make the tale more universal and symbolic.
With a full title of 'Sunrise:
A Song of Two Humans,' the film is regarded as one of the high points
of the silent cinema. In 1988, it was selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress for films that
are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The Sight
and Sound poll of 2012 for the British Film Institute named 'Sunrise' the fifth-best film in the history of motion pictures by critics, and 22nd by directors.
Critics continue to hail 'Sunrise' as one of the best films of all time.
"F.W. Murnau's 'Sunrise'
conquered time and gravity with a freedom that was startling to its
first audiences," wrote Roger Ebert in 2004. "To see it today is to be
astonished by the boldness of its visual experimentation.
Rapsis, who uses original themes to improvise silent film scores, said great silent film dramas such as 'Sunrise'
used their lack of dialogue to create stories that concentrated on the
"big" emotions such as Love, Despair, Anger, and Joy. Because of this,
audiences continue to respond to them in the 21st century, especially if
they're presented as intended — with a live audience and live music.
"Dramas such as 'Sunrise'
were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience,"
Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they come to life
as their creators intended them to. So the screenings at Newport's Jane Pickens Theatre
are a great chance to experience films that first caused
people to fall in love with the movies," he said.
'Sunrise' will be shown with live music on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
at the Jane Pickens Film and Event Center, 49 Touro St. in historic downtown Newport.
Admission is $17 per person.
Tickets available online at https://janepickens.com or at the door.
Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien in 'Sunrise' (1927).
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