...and sure enough, it is!
Join me for Opening Night of the Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall and Community Center's annual Silent Film Series!
The 2024 edition opens on Saturday, May 11 at 7 p.m. (hey, that's tonight!) with Chaplin's 'The Gold Rush' (1925), with live music by me.
Lots more info in the press release below, including the entire Brandon schedule now through November.
See you at the movies!
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MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Classic Chaplin comedy 'The Gold Rush' with live music on Saturday, May 11 in Brandon, Vt.
Brandon Town Hall's 2024 silent film series kicks off with classic comedy featuring the Little Tramp's search for fortune and romance in the Klondike
BRANDON, Vt.—Classics from the silent film era return to the big screen this May at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, which will host another season of vintage cinema with live music.
First
up is Charlie Chaplin in 'The Gold Rush' (1925), an epic comedy in
which the Little Tramp joins in the Klondike Gold Rush. The film screens
on Saturday, May 11 at 7 p.m.
at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon,
Vt.
Admission is free; donations are welcome to help support ongoing Town Hall renovation efforts.
Live
music for each silent film program will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a
New Hampshire-based performer and composer who specializes in scoring
and presenting silent films.
'The Gold Rush,' a landmark comedy and one of the top-grossing films of
the silent era, finds Chaplin's iconic 'Little Tramp' character
journeying to the frozen wastelands of the Yukon. There as a prospector,
the Tramp's search for gold turns into a pursuit of romance, but with
plenty of laughs along the way.
The film contains several famous
scenes, both comic and dramatic, including a starving Chaplin forced to
eat his shoe for Thanksgiving dinner and a heart-breaking New Year's Eve
celebration.
As a comedian, Chaplin emerged as the first
superstar in the early days of cinema. From humble beginnings as a
musical hall entertainer in England, he came to Hollywood and used his
talents to quickly rise to the pinnacle of stardom in the then-new
medium of motion pictures. His popularity never waned, and his image
remains recognized around the world to this day.
'The Gold Rush,'
regarded by many critics as Chaplin's best film, is a prime example of
his unique talent for combining slapstick comedy and intense dramatic
emotion.
" 'The Gold Rush' is still an effective tear-jerker,"
wrote critic Eric Kohn of indieWIRE. "In the YouTube era, audiences —
myself included — often anoint the latest sneezing panda phenomenon as
comedic gold. Unless I’m missing something, however, nothing online has
come close to matching the mixture of affectionate fragility and
seamless comedic inspiration perfected by the Tramp."
The screening of 'The Gold Rush' provides local audiences the opportunity to
experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big
screen, in restored prints, with live music, and with an audience.
Rapsis, who uses original themes to improvise silent film scores,
said the best silent film comedies often used visual humor to create
laughter out of simple situations. Because of this, audiences continue
to respond to them in the 21st century, especially if they're presented
as intended — with an audience and live music.
"These comedies
were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience,"
Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they still come to life
as their creators intended them to. So this screening is a great chance
to experience films that first caused people to fall in love with the
movies," he said.
Rapsis achieves a traditional movie score sound
for silent film screenings by using a digital synthesizer that
reproduces the texture of the full orchestra.
"It's a real treat to return to Brandon
for another season of great silent film," Rapsis said. "If you've never
seen one of these movies in a theater, check it out. These films were
the pop culture of their day, and retain their ability to hold an
audience and deliver a great time at the movies."
It's the 13th
year of the popular silent film series, which gives residents and
visitors a chance to see great movies from the pioneering days of cinema
as they were meant to be shown—on the big screen, with an audience, and
accompanied by live music.
Screenings are held once a month,
generally on Saturday nights starting in May and running through
November. Admission is free; donations are encouraged, with proceeds to
benefit the Town Hall's ongoing restoration.
Over the years,
silent film donations have helped support projects including handicapped
access to the 19th century building; renovating the bathrooms; and
restoring the structure's original slate roof.
The screening of 'The Gold Rush' is sponsored by
Bill and Kathy Mathis in memory of Maxine Thurston
Other films in this year's Brandon Town Hall silent film series include:
See Charlie Chaplin in the 'The Gold Rush' (1925) with live music on Saturday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt. All are welcome to this family-friendly event. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations.
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