Announcing three silent film accompaniment projects for the summer of 2017

'Safety Last' (1923), which a local Dixieland jazz ensemble will help me accompany on Sunday, July 9 at the Somerville Theatre.

Pleased to post about a trio of special silent film events in the coming months.

• Starting on Sunday, June 18, I'm contributing live music to an extensive summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch at the Harvard Film Archive.

• On Sunday, July 9, at a 35mm screening of the great Harold Lloyd comedy 'Safety Last' (1923), I'll be collaborating on the accompaniment with a local Dixieland group, "Sammy and the Late Risers."

• And this weekend marks the first of two visits to Toronto, Ontario for silent film music. First up is Cecil B. DeMille's early shocker 'The Cheat' (1915) at the Revue Cinema.

Then, on Saturday, Aug. 19, it's music for 'Snow White' (1916) at the Toronto International Film Festival Cinematheque.

I'll details of these adventures as they come up. But the nice thing is that each of these projects shows an awareness of the importance of live music in the silent film experience.

In the case of the Harvard Film Archive, the Lubitsch "That Certain Feeling" series includes something like 20 silent titles. Programmer David Pendleton has arranged for live music for all of them, using pianists Martin Marks and Robert Humphreville in addition to me.

And if that weren't enough, the Archive is also running a Jean Renoir retrospective this summer that includes about a half-dozen silent titles, with accompaniment duties handled by Bertrand Laurence.

It's quite a heavy load, but David and his colleagues are committed to including live music as an integral part of the silent cinema experience. And it's great that they make use of a variety of musicians with different accompanying styles. Hoping to get down to Cambridge for a few screenings I'm not accompanying so I can take in how others do it.

It's one thing for a university-affiliated archive to program silents with live music. But it's a whole other kettle of fish for a first-run commercial moviehouse to run silent film with live music.

But that's been the case for some years now at the Somerville Theatre, where manage Ian Judge, projectionista David Kornfeld, and the rest of the team program centry-old classics alongside the current season's blockbusters.

I can't imagine it's a huge money-maker for the theater, which isn't part of any chain. But it's a truly distinctive element of its programming, and over the years the "Silent, Please!" series has been running, we've built up something of an audience.

Still, I was gratified to find the Somerville completely in support taking things to a new level, musically, by working with an actual Dixieland Band to do music for 'Safety Last' in July.

Ian Judge didn't even hesitate. The response: Absolutely, with the extra expense not looming as any big concern.

And I'm also indebted to Alicia Fletcher, a great fan of silent cinema who organizes a lot of programming in the Toronto area.

Thanks to her, I've had the chance to accompany films in this terrific city. And I'm looking forward to this summer's visits!

And in the "Small World" department, I first met Alicia when she was visiting Boston and attended a screening of the Able Gance film 'J'Accuse' that I was accompanying...at the Harvard Film Archive!

More updates as it happens. But if you're interest in the Lubitsch films, the complete schedule is online at the Harvard Film Archive's Web site.

And here's a round-up of the screenings I'm accompanying during the series, which runs from June through September.

• Sunday, June 18, 2017, 7 p.m.: "Shoe-Palace Pinkus" (1916) and "Meyer from Berlin" (1919), directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. "Meyer From Berlin": one of a series of popular “Jewish comedies” starring Lubitsch himself as a go-getting schlemiel.

• Monday, June 19, 2017, 7 p.m.: "Madame Dubarry" (1919) directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. The romance of Emil Jannings’ Louis XV with coquettish commoner Pola Negri leads to the French Revolution in the equally revolutionary epic that launched Lubitsch’s international fame and led to his exodus in Hollywood.

• Monday, June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.: "Kohlhiesel's Daughter" (1920) directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. Dual-roled Henny Porten and Emil Jannings replay The Taming of the Shrew in the Bavarian Alps.

• Sunday, July 9, 2017, 7 p.m.: "So This Is Paris" (1926) directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. Hilariously over-the-top Modern Dancers Lilyan Tashman and André Beranger are already looking for extracurricular action when in barges jealous, cane-wielding married doctor Monte Blue and the four-way complications begin, resolved in “an astounding Charleston sequence – a kind of cubist nightmare of what 20s people thought they were really like (John Gillett).”

• Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, 7 p.m.: "Anna Boleyn" (1920) directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. Emil Jannings’ tour-de-force as Henry VIII highlights the most impressive of Lubitsch’s spectacles, with Henny Porten as the eponymous Anna.

• Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, 7 p.m.: "Die Bergkatze/The Wildcat" or "The Mountain Cat" (1921), directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass. (617) 496-3211. Admission $9 per person, $7 for non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens; free for Harvard students. Part of a summer-long retrospective of the work of director Ernst Lubitsch. Amidst delightfully bizarre décor—framed by altering screen shapes—a stalwart bandit chaser falls for bandit’s daughter Pola Negri. Lubitsch’s German comedy masterpiece is "both an anti-militarist satire and a wonderful fairy tale" (John Gillett).

And during all this, I'm juggling several composition projects that I've promised people for performance in the near future. So I'm buckling in for a fast summer!

Men are from Mars—especially Harry Langdon...'Tramp Tramp Tramp' in 35mm on Sunday, 10/4

Harry Langdon arrives in a town about to be destroyed by a cyclone in 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' (1926).

This weekend brings the new Ridley Scott film, 'The Martian' (2015), which has drawn more attention than usual because of NASA's coincidental announcement this week that water's been found on the red planet.

In my little silent film bubble, this weekend also brings Harry Langdon's comedy 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' (1926) with its amazing cyclone climax, giving this picture a vital current events connection as well.

How? Because we're screening 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' (via a 35mm print) on Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Somerville Theatre—just as Hurricane Joaquin threatens to arrive here on the New England coast.

Take that for topicality, Matt Damon!

The two films are distant cousins, actually, if only because Harry Langdon sometimes acts like he's a resident of Mars. So we're in for a weekend of alienation no matter what.

But that's the beauty of Langdon, I think—he's so different from what people expect from silent film comedy that he comes across as refreshing even today.

Another attraction of 'Tramp Tramp Tramp,' which helped rocket Langdon to worldwide fame for a brief time late in the silent era, is his co-star: a very young Joan Crawford.

Harry Langdon and Joan Crawford in 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' (1926).

Incredibly, she plays Harry's love interest. How that all works, and what eventually results, you'll have to see to believe.

But whether (weather?) or not Hurricane Joaquin hits or misses us, 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' is a film well worth seeing for its great gags, and especially for its extensive outdoorsy location shooting that feels very much like a Buster Keaton picture.

And the cyclone sequence, said to partly inspire the better-known climax of Keaton's later masterpiece 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), is played out on a grand scale, with Langdon looking like a cross between Emmett Kelley and a street person.

Also, among those collaborating on the picture was a young scenario writer named Frank Capra, who would be promoted to first-time director on Langdon's very next feature, 'The Strong Man' (1926).

And finally, the film's opening scenes take place in...Massachusetts! How's that for a local connection?

So come in from the weather this Sunday and enjoy Langdon's 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' in 35mm: a rare chance to see the film in its original film format and with live music and an audience, as intended.

Showtime is 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. Admission is $15 per person, or $12 for seniors/students.

For more info, check out the press release below:

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'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp' (1926): Six reels of Long Langdon Laughs!

FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 2015 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Somerville Theatre to screen rare Harry Langdon film with live music on Sunday, Oct. 4

Comedian's debut silent feature 'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp' (1926) co-stars a very young Joan Crawford

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — A silent film comedy written by Frank Capra will highlight the next installment of 'Silents, Please!' at the Somerville Theatre.

'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp' (1926), the first feature film of silent clown Harry Langdon, will be shown in 35mm and with live music on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. General admission is $15; seniors/students $12.

Silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will provide live music for the screening.

The comedy follows Langdon's misadventures in a cross-country walking race that starts in Massachusetts.

Langdon, who rocketed to fame near the end of the silent film era, enters the contest to win prize money to save his father's shoe business.

Along the way, he tangles animals, criminals, railroad trains, and a spectacular cyclone that destroys an entire town.

One of the iconic images of silent film comedy: Langdon on a chain gang in 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' (1926).

Harry also encounters romance, in the form of a very young Joan Crawford in one of her first major motion picture roles.

Also working on the film was Frank Capra, then a young scenario writer. Capra would be promoted to the director's chair for Langdon's next picture, 'The Strong Man' (1926), and then go on to one of Hollywood's most storied careers.

"The Langdon program continues our commitment to screening movies using real film whenever possible, and with live music for any silent films" said Ian Judge, the Somerville's general manager. "This is how these pictures were designed to be shown, and as time goes by, finding good prints and a theater with the know-how to handle them is getting harder to do."

Rapsis will improvise a musical score for 'Tramp Tramp Tramp' as the film is screened. In creating accompaniment for the Langdon feature and other vintage classics, Rapsis tries to bridge the gap between silent film and modern audiences.

"Creating the music on the spot is a bit of a high-wire act, but it contributes a level of energy that's really crucial to the silent film experience," Rapsis said.

Other upcoming features in the Somerville's "Silents, Please" series include:

• Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m.: 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' (1921) starring Rudolph Valentino. Sweeping drama of a divided family with members caught up on opposites sides during World War I. Breakthrough film for Rudolph Valentino, introducing the sultry tango and launching him to stardom.

All entries in the Somerville's silent movie series are shown using actual film, the native format for cinema that few theaters are now equipped to run following Hollywood's transition to digital formats.

'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp' (1926), a silent film comedy feature starring Harry Langdon and Joan Crawford, will be shown with live music on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission to the screening is $15 or $12 seniors/students; general admission seating. For more info, call (617) 625-5700 or visit www.somervilletheatreonline.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Looking back at a RR double feature; looking ahead to 'The Crowd' on Sunday, 10/5

Must be a screening coming up because here's the poster!

A much-anticipated screening (by me, and others, I hope) of 'The Crowd' (1928) in 35mm is coming up on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass.

I do hope 'The Crowd' draws a crowd. But before getting into that, first let me tip my engineer's cap to two great silent train melodramas I accompanied this past Sunday at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H.

Both films were bottom-of-the-bill programmers intended to play theaters for maybe a week, and then be forgotten.

But the folks who put together this pictures knew what they were doing. Their work holds up today, judging by the huge reaction each got from our audience.

'The West-Bound Limited' (1923), released by Joseph P. Kennedy's company FBO, focused on a rivalry for the affections of the daughter of the railroad's president.

Opening with a dramatic action sequence, this hour-long flick played like a house afire, with one intense scene after another.

'Transcontinental Limited' (1926), from second-tier studio Chadwick Pictures, focused more on the human side of things, and had a lot more humor in it.

But it too came through with a rip-roaring railroad climax that sent our audience (and me) home breathless and smiling.

Both these pictures are great examples, I think, of how the value of a particular silent film is hard to know unless you show it before an audience in a theater with live music.

Time and time again, I've encountered films that seem like nothing special when viewed on my own, but which sprang to life when screened as originally intended.

In addition, both train pictures were of interest because they focused on an aspect of American life that's completely different from today.

Gone are the days when the nation's cities and towns were connected by a dense network of passenger rail services. So it's fascinating to see society arranged and functioning in such a different way.

One issue with accompanying 'Transcontinental Limited' was the prominent role played by a then-popular novelty song, "Mademoiselle from Armentières," better known as "Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous."

I took a snatch of the melody, and also the rhythm of the song (which I didn't otherwise know) and used it extensively as the score emerged.

But that wasn't enough for about a half-dozen people in the audience, who came up afterwards to sing the whole thing in an impromptu recital right there in the theater.

Sliding into 'The Crowd,' with cast members on location at Coney Island.

About 'The Crowd': this was one of the first films I attempted to score. At the time I only had access to a blurry digital transfer, but the power of King Vidor's vision still came through.

I haven't done it since, due mostly to the inability to get a decent-looking edition. Also, I wanted to make sure my technique was up to what this film required.

Well, the "good-looking edition" question was solved earlier this year when Ian Judge, manager of the Somerville Theatre, got access to a 35mm print of the film, and scheduled it as part of the theater's monthly 'Silents Please!' series.

So I'm really excited to see this film on the big screen as originally intended. Why? Plenty of reasons are found in the press release below, which has all the details.

And as for technique—well, I don't know. I'm planning on doing an "all strings" score, using material that will grow out of open fifths with a kind of "Fanfare for the Common Man" kind of feel.

I think one of the keys to having music help tie the film together is to have some specific and easily recognizable music for scenes with clowns in them.

I won't say why, because I don't want to spoil the picture if you haven't seen it. And also, there's one specific tune (played by record on a Victrola) that I need to have ready.

Still, no matter how much experience I get, when I sit down to accompany a film, it's like stepping into the batter's box. Anything could happen, from a home run to a strikeout.

But my confidence is growing. Just today (Tuesday, Sept. 30), I'm headed down to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. to accompany a program of Chaplin films for a silent cinema course.

Harvard! As I've been joking lately, I might not have received that acceptance letter 32 years ago—but I knew if I waited long enough, I'd eventually get the call!

Hope to see you in the crowd at 'The Crowd' on Sunday, Oct. 5. More info in the press release below...

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Tension is on the breakfast menu for James Murray and Eleanor Boardman in 'The Crowd' (1928).

MONDAY, SEPT. 29, 2014 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent film masterpiece 'The Crowd' to be screened in Somerville

Program on Sunday, Oct. 5 features 35mm film print, live musical accompaniment

SOMERVILLE, Mass.—One of the first major Hollywood films to use the life of an average family to create intense and moving drama will highlight the next installment of the Somerville Theatre's "Silents Please!" series.

'The Crowd' (1928), an MGM silent film that probed the dark side of the American dream, expanded the language of cinema and earned two nominations at the first-ever Academy Awards.

'The Crowd' will be screened on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square in Somerville, Mass. Admission $15 for adults; $12 for students/seniors.

The movie will be accompanied live by silent film musician Jeff Rapsis. 'The Crowd' will be shown in the Somerville Theatre's main theater using a 35mm print.

'The Crowd' follows one man's story from birth through young adulthood, marriage, and family life. Although a drama, the film embraces a wide range of emotions from comedy to tragedy. Above all, it used the then-new art form of motion pictures to transform an ordinary life into a powerful narrative and universal story that even today maintains its power to move audiences.

In addition, director King Vidor insisted on giving 'The Crowd' an unprecedented realism, shooting scenes on location on New York City streets. Unusual for a big studio production at the time, the film featured scenes shot in a small apartment's cramped and unglamorous bathroom, including Hollywood's first-ever on-screen flush toilet.

Irony Department: An New York apartment meant to be a cramped walk-up actually looks kinda spacious by today's standards.

"This is the one first pictures that compelled audience members to think hard about their own lives—where they were going, and what it was all about," said Ian Judge, manager of the Somerville Theatre. "It connected powerfully with audiences, and showed the power of the movies to really move people in ways that no art form had done before in the same way."

The film stars James Murray in the lead role as John Sims and Eleanor Boardman as his wife, Mary.

'The Crowd' mixes striking visual styles and moving camera cinematography, influenced by 1920s German cinema and F.W. Murnau in particular, with intense, intimate scenes of the family's poignant struggle. Vidor avoided casting big-name stars in the film to attain greater authenticity; Murray was a studio extra, and Boardman was a minor actress and Vidor's second wife.

Vidor's great financial success as a director at MGM in the 1920s allowed him to sell the unusual scenario to production head Irving Thalberg as an experimental film as the silent era was ending. MGM chief Louis B. Mayer reportedly disliked the film for its bleak subject matter and lack of a happy ending. In fact, several alternate upbeat endings were filmed and previewed at the studio's insistence, but Vidor persevered and the film was released with the original, logical conclusion.

At the first-ever Academy Awards in 1929, 'The Crowd' was honored with a nomination for "Unique and Artistic Picture" and Vidor nominated for Best Director.

James Murray in 'The Crowd.' After an amazing performance, Murray sank back into obscurity and died young in the 1930s.

With then-new talking pictures capturing the public's attention, 'The Crowd' was only a modest box office success upon its initial release. Since then, it has been consistently hailed as one of the greatest and most enduring American silent films.

In 1989, this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Although 'The Crowd' was recognized as a brilliant achievement, few directors followed in Vidor's footsteps right away. Depression-era audiences sought escapist entertainment over the stark realism of 'The Crowd,' which filmmakers would not embrace again until after the end of World War II.

Director Jean-Luc Godard was asked in the 1960s why more films were not made about ordinary people, and his response was "Why remake 'The Crowd?' It has already been done."

Recent reviewers have found 'The Crowd' as compelling and timeless as ever.

"Certainly one of Vidor's best films, a silent masterpiece which turns a realistically caustic eye on the illusionism of the American dream. ... The performances are absolutely flawless, and astonishing location work in the busy New York streets lends a gritty ring of truth."
—Tom Milne, Time Out

"Perhaps the best silent film ever made and undoubtedly the most existential. If you don’t like the silent era, think again — and take a peek at The Crowd."
—AMC Movie Guide

'The Crowd' will be shown using a 35mm black-and-white print on the theater's big screen with correct lighting, speed, and aspect ratio. Although the Somerville, like most movie houses, recently installed digital projection for first-run pictures, the theater remains committed to keeping alive the experience of film in the 35mm format.

"For more than a century, movies were shot and edited and watched using 35mm film," said Rapsis, who will create live music to accompany the film. "Today, the chance to see a vintage film in its original format and in a theater is increasingly rare. The Somerville's screening of 'The Crowd' is a chance to experience this movie in the format and setting it was designed for."

The screening is the latest in a series of silent film events celebrating the recent 100th birthday of the Somerville Theatre, where movies have been shown since 1914. Upcoming screenings in the 'Silents, Please!' series include:

• Sunday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m.: 'The Strong Man' (1926) starring Harry Langdon. With World War I over, baby-faced soldier Harry Langdon searches for the girl who sent such moving letters to him in the trenches. Directed by a very young Frank Capra, 'The Strong Man' is today hailed as Langdon's best feature, and also one of the great comedies of the silent film era.

'The Crowd' will be screened in 35mm with live music on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. Admission $15 adults, $12 students/seniors. For more information, call (617) 625-5700 or visit http://www.somervilletheatreonline.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Creepy stuff coming up: 'Hands of Orlac,' 'Cabinet,' plus two more 'Phantoms'

A view of Somerville Theatre's "House 1" from the projection booth. It took 400 feet of cabling to reach from the stage to here.

Ten days to go before Halloween and the silent film calendar is as packed as a trick-or-treater's bag after two hours of ringing doorbells.

Today (Sunday, Oct. 21) marked my return to the wonderful Somerville Theatre in Davis Square in Somerville, Mass., just outside Boston and really part of the city. We ran 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925), and it was a memorable experience on several counts...

1. Sound: With the help of projectionist David Kornfeld, 400 feet of XLR cable, and a roll of gaffer's tape, we were able to patch my keyboard into the Somerville's booming house sound system. What a step up from my 2011 appearances, when we had to make do with my relatively small Roland speakers.

2. Picture: The tinted 35mm print, on loan from preservation guru David Shepard, was a real treat to see on the big screen. Projectionist David Kornfeld pushes his lamps higher than spec, and I think that helped 'Phantom' pop off the screen.

3. Audience: About 160 people were on hand for the screening, a healthy turnout considering that the Patriots were playing the Jets this afternoon. And they reacted quite energetically to the on-screen action, which is one of the great rewards of doing this.

The local media in Boston are very film-friendly, and so the screening was listed all over, which was great. One amusing twist came from the Boston Phoenix, the local alterative weekly publication, which described the film in this week's issue as "starring Lon Chaney as the tragic bell ringer." Oh, well!

The screening was a hoot, as it's a real thrill to do my stuff in the big city. It was also something of a challenge, as I'm not used to the house and so wasn't confident on volume levels and so on. As I said to David afterwards, it usually takes three screenings for me to settle in with a sound system.

Another unexpected thing (for me) was that the print included footage from the opening that was added for the 1929 sound reissue. However, it was shown silently, which rendered it pretty useless and puzzling. Not exactly the way to start off strong, and I have to say it kinda threw me.

Also, the print had to be run at 24 frames per second, which seemed a little fast to me. The "masked ball" scenes in particular seemed to rush right by, with barely enough time to develop a musical idea or phrase before something else was demanded. Well, such are the perils of live accompaniment.

But the audience seemed to like it, and manager Ian Judge has already okayed another silent film/live music program at the Somerville—on Thursday, Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day!), we'll be running a 35mm print of 'Girl Shy' (1924), the wonderful romantic comedy starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. I'm really looking forward to it—especially Harold's wonderfully cinematic race-to-the-church-on-time finale.

Doing Phantom again on Thursday, Oct. 25 at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, N.H., and then once more on Wednesday, Oct. 31 (Halloween night!) at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. See the Upcoming Screenings page for more details.

Also coming up: On Sunday, Oct. 28, we're showing a rarely screened German film 'The Hands of Orlac' (1924) at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. And on Tuesday, Oct. 30, I'm tackling 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) at the Manchester (N.H.) City Library. Again, more info on the Upcoming Screenings page.

'Phantom of the Opera' (1925) in Boston on real honest-to-God 35mm film!

Coming up: 'The Phantom' on real film!

Yes—the original Lon Chaney version of 'Phantom of the Opera' will be shown in actual 35mm with live music on a big screen in a real theatre. Specifically, it's the wonderful Somerville Theatre, where we'll screen a collector print of this great flick on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. Admission is $15 per person—a bargain for the great (and increasingly rare) experience of seeing a film as it was intended to be shown.

I'm thrilled to be returning to the Somerville, where I did music for several screenings in 2010: a 1916 version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" for a science fiction marathon, and then three programs of Buster Keaton features, all in 35mm. It's a pleasure to work with people so committed to maintaining the authentic movie-going experience, even as the industry demands conversion to digital.

I especially want to single out two people there who have really gone out of their way to keep the movie-going experience intact. Ian Judge, the theater's manager, is that rare kind of person who can operate a complex business entity (he actually manages more than one theater) but do it while also understanding the value of things that don't immediately translate to the bottom line. (Silent film as a whole fits into the latter category.)

Even before the industry began the transition to digital, Ian worked tirelessly for years to transform the Somerville from a second-run house to a place where the movie-going experience could be celebrated. It took a lot of polishing, and work continues even today, but the place is a real gem.

And then there's projectionist David Kornfeld, whose fanatical devotion to his craft is unlike anything I've seen anywhere. Projecting a film properly involves a great many technical variables, especially when handling older prints in all the various formats that have been used over the years.

David cares so much and so deeply about the art of getting a movie on the big screen, and is so knowledgeable about how it ought to be done, that he's capable of getting really, really angry when things don't measure up to his high standards. And I love that. I think the world would be a much better place if more people were as passionate about things as David is about what he does.

(For more on David, I recommend this excellent in-depth profile that ran recently in The Boston Phoenix.)

So, even when given dreck to work with, David does his best to make it look as good as possible on the Somerville's big screen. He has some issues, for example, with the 35mm print of 'Phantom' that we've obtained, but I'm sure he'll make it look great at showtime.

And showtime? Again, it's Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. For more details, I've pasted in copy from the press release that went out awhile back. Hope to see you there!

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SUNDAY, OCT. 7, 2012 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

'Phantom of the Opera'
at Somerville on Sunday, Oct. 21

Classic silent horror film starring Lon Chaney to screen in 35mm with live music

SOMERVILLE, Mass.—It was cinema's first real shocker—a movie so frightening that its original audiences would shriek in terror and even faint. It was 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925), the silent horror film starring legendary actor Lon Chaney. The classic tale of the mad musician who lurks in the shadows of the Paris Opera House will be revived with live music on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

The screening will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating live scores for silent films. Admission is $15 per person.

For this screening of 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the Somerville has obtained use of a collector's 35mm print widely regarded to be among the best in existence.

Adapted from a 19th century novel by French author Gaston Leroux, the film features Lon Chaney as the deformed Phantom, a mysterious figure who haunts the depths of the opera house. Seen only in shadows, the Phantom creates terror when he attempts to force the opera's management to make the woman he loves into a star.

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, giving a skull-like impression to them. 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 caused audiences to shriek in terror.

"No one had ever seen anything like this before," said Rapsis, who will accompany the film. "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.

Despite its reputation for scariness, 'The Phantom of the Opera' proved so popular in its original release and again in a 1930 reissue that it led Universal Studios to embark on 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, 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.

The original silent 'Phantom' featured lavish production values, including a large theater set the Paris Opera House scenes. The set was never torn down and continues in use today as part of Universal's Stage 28; it was seen most recently in 2011's 'The Muppet Movie' as the abandoned Muppet Show theater.

The Somerville Theatre’s commitment to 35mm film presentation in both contemporary and classic movies means a rare chance to see 'Phantom' in its original format.

“This is a great opportunity to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown -- on the big screen, in high-quality prints, with live music and with an audience,” said Ian Judge, the Somerville Theatre’s general manager. “With theaters converting to digital for first-run movies, we’re pleased to continue to present films in 35mm, the standard format for more than a century. There’s nothing like it, and that’s especially true for films of the silent era.”

Music will be performed by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based musician who accompanies silent film screenings at venues across New England. Rapsis works without sheet music, instead creating an improvised score on the spot. He uses a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra, creating a traditional "movie score" sound and helping link today’s audiences to films of the silent era.

“These films were not meant to be seen by people alone or at home,” Rapsis said. “They were created to be experienced by large crowds in a theater like the Somerville, and getting swept up in the audience reaction is one of the great things about silent film. When it happens, either in a comedy or drama or any kind of film, it can be almost cathartic.”

Organizers say the original silent film version of 'The Phantom of the Opera' is a great way for families to get into the Halloween spirit.

"Remember—in silent film, no one can hear you scream," Rapsis said.

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1925), the classic silent horror film starring Lon Chaney, will be shown on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. Admission is $15 adults, general admission seating. For more information, call (617) 625-5700 or visit http://www.somervilletheatreonline.com. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.