Quick post just to get some details out about tonight's screening of 'Safety Last' in Manchester, N.H.
I'm doing live music for Harold Lloyd's iconic thrill comedy tonight at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theater, 23 Amherst St. Hope to see you there!
Lots more info about the film in the press release, which is pasted in below.
And after tonight's screening, I'll reveal a long-kept secret about Harold that you'll find hard to believe, especially after what you've just seen on the big screen.
Speaking of which, let's check...yes, Harold is still hanging in there. Come to the show to see how it all turns out!
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WEDNESDAY, JAN. 25, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Hang on! Rex Theatre to celebrate 100th anniversary of silent film classic 'Safety Last'
Thrill comedy climaxed by Harold Lloyd's iconic building climb; screening with live music on Wednesday, Feb. 8
MANCHESTER, N.H.—It's a cinematic image so powerful, people who've never seen the movie instantly recognize it.
The
vision of Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of a huge clock, from the
climax of his silent comedy 'Safety Last,' (1923), has emerged as a
symbol of early Hollywood and movie magic.
Celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the film's original release with a screening of 'Safety
Last' on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 20 Amherst St.,
Manchester, N.H.
The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. General admission is $10 per person.
The
show is the latest in the Rex Theatre's silent film series, which gives
audiences the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was
intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.
His career at a downtown department store stalls, however, until he gets a chance to pitch a surefire publicity idea—hire a human fly to climb the building's exterior.
But when the human fly has a last-minute run-in with the law, Harold is forced to make the climb himself, floor by floor, with his sweetheart looking on.
The result is an extended sequence filmed without trick photography that blends comedy and terror, holding viewers spellbound.
Lloyd, along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, is regarded as one of the silent screen's three great clowns.
Lloyd's character, an ambitious young man ready to struggle to win the day, proved hugely popular in the 1920s.
While Chaplin and Keaton were always favored by the critics, Lloyd's films reigned as the top-grossing comedies throughout the period.
Silent film at the Rex Theatre gives today's audiences the chance to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.
"Put the whole experience back together, and you can see why people first fell in love with the movies," said Rapsis, who practices the nearly lost art of live silent film accompaniment.
Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra, creating a traditional "movie score" sound.
"Seeing 'Safety Last' with an audience is one of the great thrill rides of the cinema of any era, silent or sound," Rapsis said. "Harold's iconic building climb, filmed without trick photography, continues to provoke audience responses nearly 100 years after film was first released."
Tributes to the clock-hanging scene have appeared in several contemporary films, most recently in Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' (2011), which includes clips from 'Safety Last.'
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harold Lloyd's iconic thrill comedy 'Safety Last' (1923) with a screening on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 20 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.
General admission is $10 per person. Tickets may be purchased online at www.palacetheatre.org, by phone at (603) 668-5588 or at the door.
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