Off to Cleveland to accompany 'The Lost World' at Case Western Reserve's 50th annual sci-fi marathon; then 'Way Down East' in Wilton, N.H.

Original poster art for 'The Lost World' (1925).

This weekend takes me to the fair city of Cleveland, Ohio, where I'll accompany 'The Lost World' (1925) at this year's annual Sci-Fi Marathon at Case Western Reserve University.

It's the 50th annual edition of the Case Western Film Society's marathon, at which diehard movie buffs spend a mid-winter weekend watching sci-fi films of all types 30 to 36 hours non-stop.

And next month, I get to do music for a silent film at a similar event: the Boston Sci-Fi Marathon, also celebrating its 50th year on Presidents Day Weekend at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Mass.

The Boston folks have programmed an unusual title this time around: 'Algol: A Tragedy of Power' (1921), a German silent that I've never accompanied before.

I've done films at earlier editions of both marathons. What I love about them is that the audience is always so engaged. They may get into a "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" groove sometimes, but overall you won't find a more enthusiastic crowd than the sci-fi marathon audience.

If you're in the Cleveland area this weekend, I understand the Case Western marathon lets you buy tickets for individual screenings. 

Although I encourage you to take in the experience in its entirety, if you'd like to attend just 'The Lost World,' it's scheduled to run on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. (Start time subject to change due to the ebb and flow of the marathon schedule.)

For more information about attending, check out the marathon's webpage. 

Looking ahead: after a quiet start to 2025, things perk up with a cluster of screenings in late January and early February. 

I'm accompanying 'Way Down East' (1920) on Sunday, Jan. 26 in Wilton, N.H.; 'Wild Orchids' (1929) on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Manchester, N.H.; 'Straight is the Way (1921) in Campton, N.H.; 'The Flying Ace' (1921) on Sunday, Feb. 2 in Somerville, Mass.; and 'Nanook of the North' (1922) on Monday, Feb. 3 in Greenfield, Mass.

Hoping for a good turnout for 'Way Down East,' as I've found a crowded theater always helps the Griffith films "click" with modern audiences.

Seen in isolation, the early pioneering features directed by D.W. Griffith really seem to drag. But shown with an audience, they spring to life. 

I think this has something to do with what Griffith did prior to the movies. For many years, he staged and directed melodramas for theatrical troupes that toured through small towns.

Back then, if you didn't entertain people, they'd throw things at you—or worse. So Griffith got very skilled at telling stories that would grab an audience early and then not let go. 

I believe that more than anything else, this was Griffith's superpower: to be able tell a story in such a way that an audience can't stop watching. 

Find out for yourself by being part of the experience when I accompany 'Way Down East' later this month at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. More details in the press release pasted in below.

*    *    *

Original promotional art for 'Way Down East' (1920).

MONDAY, JAN. 6, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Silent film classic 'Way Down East' at Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, Jan. 26

D.W. Griffith blockbuster starring Lillian Gish, filmed partly in New England, to be screened with live music

WILTON, N.H. — The iconic image of actress Lillian Gish trapped on an ice floe and headed straight for a waterfall will once again fill the big screen when 'Way Down East' (1920) is revived on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Live musical scoring will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses.

The movie, a blockbuster melodrama directed by D.W. Griffith, is set in old-time rural New England, and was partly filmed on location in New Hampshire and Vermont. It stars Gish in an acclaimed performance as a wronged woman trying to make her way in an unforgiving world. Can she find love and redemption, or will she ride to her doom on the raging river's ice floes?

In 'Way Down East,' Gish stars as a poor New England country girl who travels to Boston to visit her rich relatives in the hopes of getting financial help. While there, she's dazzled by upper class society and romanced by a rich womanizer (Lowell Sherman) who takes advantage of her innocence by tricking her into bed with a fake marriage ceremony.

Lillian Gish on the ice-bound Connecticut River in 'Way Down East' (1920).

Convinced she's found the husband of her dreams, Gish returns home to the country, only to be abandoned. She informs her faux husband she's pregnant; he orders her to get an abortion. Instead, Gish goes into exile to have the baby, finds herself persecuted for giving birth out of wedlock, and flees into the rural countryside to seek refuge. The film was noteworthy in its time for addressing such topics as abortion and women's rights.

Modern critics hail 'Way Down East' for Gish's performance, which continues to mesmerize audiences nearly a century after the film's release. "Gish provides an abject lesson in screen acting and brings home the importance and effectiveness of seeing a film in a theater with a crowd," wrote Paul Brenner on www.filmcritic.com in 2007. "If you are not moved at the scene of Gish baptizing her dead baby, then you should check the obituaries of your local paper to see if you are listed."

The film also stars silent era heartthrob Richard Barthelmess. In the film's climax, Barthelmess must dash to rescue Gish from being carried away on the ice floes.

Lillian Gish on location near White River Junction, Vt.

Much of the acclaimed ice floe sequence was filmed in March 1920 on location on the Connecticut River in New Hampshire and the White River in Vermont, as the winter pack ice was breaking up. No process shots or post-production special effects were available to filmmakers at the time, so Griffith and his crew had no choice but to stage and shoot it all on a real river, with the players out on the ice. To get the floes to break up and float down the river, Griffith's crew dynamited pack ice upstream.

Gish later said that she suffered frostbite by following director Griffith's command to always keep one hand in the water during the shooting.

Despite such hardships, 'Way Down East' cemented Gish's reputation as one of the silent era's major stars. Gish would continue to work in films and, later, television, until the 1980s. She died in 1993 at age 99.

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis specializes in creating music that bridges the gap between an older film and the expectations of today's audiences. Using a digital synthesizer that recreates the texture of a full orchestra, he improvises scores in real time as a movie unfolds, so that the music for no two screenings is the same.

"It's kind of a high wire act, but it helps create an emotional energy that's part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "It's easier to follow the emotional line of the movie and the audience's reaction when I'm able to follow what's on screen, rather than be buried in sheet music," he said.

Because silent films were designed to be shown to large audiences in theaters with live music, the best way to experience them is to recreate the conditions in which they were first shown, Rapsis said.

"Films such as 'Way Down East' were created to be shown on the big screen to large audiences as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, silent films come to life in the way their makers intended. Not only are they entertaining, but they give today's audiences a chance to understand what caused people to first fall in love with the movies."

D.W. Griffith (in bowler hat) directs the cast of his blockbuster melodrama 'Way Down East' (1920).

'Way Down East' was based on a popular stage drama, for which director Griffith paid the then-astounding sum of $175,000 to turn into a movie. The picture proved to be a huge moneymaker, taking in $4.5 million, making it the fourth-highest grossing movie of the silent film era. 

'Way Down East' would be the last of Griffith's great blockbusters; tastes changed as the 1920s rolled on and Griffith's Victorian style fell out of favor. Receipts from 'Way Down East' kept Griffith's studio afloat during a subsequent series of box office flops.

"This picture was a monster hit when it was released," Rapsis said, "and it still holds up well today. As a melodrama, it's a great film for an audience to cheer on the good folks and boo and hiss the bad guys. But there's an additional level of interest now because the film captured a way of life that's long since disappeared."

'Way Down East' will be shown with live music on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. For more information, call the theater at (603) 654-3456.

Thoughts about silent film music and life in 2025: Back to the start in more ways than one

Harry Langdon is over a barrel (actually, several of them) in 'The Strong Man' (1926).

The New Year in silent film accompaniment starts for me on Monday, Jan. 6, when I'll do music for Harry Langdon's great comedy 'The Strong Man' (1926) at the Garden Cinema in Greenfield, Mass. 

Details and more info about the screening are in the press release pasted below.

But before we plunge headlong into 2025, I'd like to pause to round up a few thoughts about where I am and where I'm going.

First: I didn't realize it until just now, but 2025 will mark the 20th year that I've been regularly accompanying silent film screenings.

After all this time and effort, I feel like I'm finally beginning to really know how to do it consistently and effectively. No joke!

One reason for this is that I've been devoting time to improving my keyboard technique. I've done this by regularly running through the old Hanon piano exercises, and then seriously working on actual concert pieces. 

So now, for the first time in my life, I can play (or rather plow through) all of Chopin's 'Heroic' Polonaise in A flat. It's a thrill to actually be able to play music I've loved all my life, and get to know it that much more thoroughly.

Although some sections are still pretty rough and slow going, and I've memorized only about 60 percent of it, I hope to have the whole thing under my fingers in the near future.

This helps with silent film accompaniment by giving me a more robust technique to call on when needed. It trains the hands to do more during improvisation, which is how I do music for most silent films.

Also, after 20 years and more than 1,500 screenings, I feel I've developed a fluency in the art of silent film accompaniment---a sense of what works, when to hold back, when to come on strong, and so many other elements that go into effective scoring.

In addition, I've forged my own personal musical language. I feel this enables me to bring a vintage film to life for today's audiences with music that's respectful of the films and the period, but still feels fresh and reflects today's notions of effective film scoring.

It's also an exciting time in general. I feel my life has been divided into separate but overlapping phases, and I feel I'm on the cusp of entering a new period in which I'll finally be able to devote time and energy to several writing projects I've had in mind for many years now.

Yes, writing. I was trained as a journalist, and that's what I did for a time after graduating from Fordham University in 1986. I thought that writing for newspapers would be a great way for me to get started on my own long-term writing ambitions. 

To write and get paid for it while learning about life---what could be better?

But after a few years of in-the-trenches reporting (which is very different from literary writing), I took an opportunity to jump into newspaper management, which eventually led to me getting an MBA and co-founding a publishing company. 

So I was doing as much writing as ever, but it was nearly all business-related. My own personal writing projects went into hibernation due to day-to-day priorities that seemed more immediate, and also perhaps because felt I wasn't quite ready.

So nothing happened, and for a long time it seemed like life had other plans for me. Just as the publishing company was becoming established, I also became caregiver for my mother as her health declined. This turned into pretty much another full-time job for the 10 years prior to her death in 2018.

During this time, the only writing-related activity on my part was to threaten to publish a pamphlet intended for caregivers of elderly parents. I would joke about the title: "Don't Expect A Thank You!" (Sorry, Mom. Just going for the laugh again.)

Following her death, I took on a new challenge---the management of a non-profit aviation museum that over the past six years has been yet another all-consuming crusade, as it had to be. 

Couldn't I do writing in my spare time? Not really, as that was filled with music.

All during this time, music was my off-the-clock release, therapy, salvation, and primal scream.

Going back to the beginning, I very serious about music at a young age. But I pretty much gave it up when I went into the word business, first as an English major at Fordham and then as a journalist.

But music didn't give up on me. Starting in 2000, I began singing in the chorus of a professional opera company based in New Hampshire, which was hugely rewarding and allowed me to get familiar with some of the classics of the genre.

I also began playing keyboard in pit orchestras for musicals such as 'Ragtime' and 'Titanic,' both performed at the time by a local community theater group. 

And then, after working with local filmmaker Bill Millios to create music for 'Dangerous Crosswinds' (2005), a drama he made here in New Hampshire, I began the silent film accompaniment activities that continue to this day.

In the process of all this frenetic activity, I've recently blown past age 60. (I'll actually hit 61 the week after next!)

And guess what? In the past year or so, I've felt a growing sense of finally being ready to go back to the start and do what I originally hoped to do a long time ago now. Write!

And that's good, as over the years I've accumulated ideas or premises or outlines for at least a dozen books I hope to eventually tackle. 

Really! So in 2025 I hope to begin pulling together material to shape into a book-length manuscript, and then do it again and again as I ransack the idea cupboard.

And I think all the experience in business and music has helped me get to this point. It's served to sharpen my sense of self and also how I view the world we inhabit. It's given me something to write about.

One reason for this transformation, I think, was a project I helped with this past year. Last summer, I had the privilege of reading a book-length manuscript about silent film by my accompanist colleague Ben Model. 

It was a great read, by the way, and I encourage you to pick up the book when it's published, which I believe will happen later this year. 

But it also opened my eyes to the idea of writing about silent film from my own perspective. There's so much that I want to say! It would be a way to answer the questions I often get asked at screenings. (And it would be totally different from what Ben did with his own book.)

Also in 2024, I worked on another manuscript for a local history book commissioned by the Aviation Museum of N.H., where I'm executive director. I collaborated with author Leah Dearborn on the book's overall organization as well as line-by-line editing as each section was drafted.

(The book, 'Grenier Air Base: A Beacon on the Home Front,' has since been published and has been very well received so far.)

So with all this book-related activity, it seemed like something was telling me that it was time to move ahead with my own writing.

And so I shall.

In the meantime, I invite you to join me on Monday, Jan. 6 at the Garden Cinemas in Greenfield, Mass. for Harry Langdon's 'The Strong Man' (1926)---the very first film directed by a very young Frank Capra.

Press release below. See you at the movies!

*     *     *

A trade ad promoting Harry Langdon in 'The Strong Man' (1926).

MONDAY, DEC. 16. 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Frank Capra's very first movie highlights Garden Cinema silent film program on Monday, Jan. 6

Screening features Harry Langdon's classic comedy 'The Strong Man' shown with live music; fun family activity suitable for all ages

GREENFIELD, Mass. — Silent film with live music returns to the Greenfield Garden Cinemas in January with the showing of an uproarious comedy starring Harry Langdon.

The screening of 'The Strong Man' on Monday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m., gives families a chance to enjoy a fun activity suitable for all ages. The Garden Cinemas are located at 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass..

Admission is $10.50 adults, $8:50 for children, seniors, and students. Tickets are available online or at the door.

The screening, the latest in the Garden Cinemas' silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating scores for silent films.

Directing 'The Strong Man' was young first-timer Frank Capra, who would later go on to create such Hollywood classics as 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' (1939) and 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946).

'The Strong Man' tells the story of a World War I soldier (Langdon) who, following his discharge, finds work as assistant to a circus strong man. As the act travels the country, Langdon continually searches for a girl he corresponded with while stationed overseas in the military.

The search leads to a town controlled by Prohibition-era gangsters, which forces Harry to test the limits of his own inner strength even as he looks for his dream girl. Can Harry triumph over the bad guys? And is love more powerful than brute strength?

The feature-length film showcases the unique child-like personality of Langdon, who is largely forgotten today. For a brief time in the 1920s, however, he rivaled Charlie Chaplin as Hollywood's top movie clown.

Langdon's popularity, which grew quickly in the last years of the silent era, fizzled as the movie business abruptly switched to talkies starting in 1929.

'The Strong Man' was selected in 2007 for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

In recent years, 'The Strong Man' has been recognized as a major achievement of the silent film era—a satisfying and timeless balance of emotion and comedy.

"A little tragedy and a lot of laughs can be seen in 1926's The Strong Man," wrote critic Richard von Busack in 2007. "Director Frank Capra's energy and sturdy plot sense counterpoint Langdon's wonderful strangeness."

'The Strong Man' will be accompanied by live music by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs at venues across the region and beyond.

"These films 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 in the way their makers intended them to.

"The silent film screenings at the Garden Cinemas are a great chance for people to experience films that first caused people to first fall in love with the movies," he said.

Silent films with live music are screened at the Garden Cinemas the first Monday of each month. Upcoming titles include:

• Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: "Nanook of the North" (1922), directed by Robert Flaherty. Classic documentary tells the story of Inuit hunter struggling to survive in far-north Canada. Breakthrough film that used the motion picture camera to take audiences to far-away places ordinarily unreachable.

• Monday, March 3, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: "The Sheik" (1921) starring Rudolph Valentino. Paris-educated Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino) provides brides for wealthy Arabs. The high-spirited Lady Diana Mayo (Agnes Ayres), learning that the sheik will be in the city of Biskra, Algeria, playfully decides to disguise herself as a dancing girl to become one of the prospective brides, leading to a torrid story of forbidden love.

• Monday, April 7, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery. First-ever movie adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary tale of British explorers who discover pre-historic creatures still thriving atop a remote South American plateau. Great entertainment; ground-breaking special effects by the same team that later created 'King Kong' mesmerized early movie audiences and remain impressive today.

Frank Capra's 'The Strong Man' will be screened with live music on Monday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenfield Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., Greenfield, Mass.

Admission is $10.50 adults, $8.50 for children, seniors, and students. Tickets available at the door; advance tickets are available at www.gardencinemas.net. For more information, call the box office at (413) 774-4881.

Up next: back to the future with 'Metropolis' on Sunday, Dec. 8 at Natick Center for the Arts

Who has time for holiday shopping when you can take in a screening of 'Metropolis'?

This weekend brings a chance to see the great futuristic fantasy 'Metropolis' (1927) on the big screen and with live music.

The screening takes place on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Natick Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., in Natick, Mass. 

More information about the film and the screening is in the press release pasted in below. 

Year after year, 'Metropolis' remains one of the most-requested silent film titles, at least in my experience. 

I guess even if an audience isn't into silent film, 'Metropolis' has such a novelty appeal (a silent film about the future!) that people want to experience it, which is great.

If given a chance, I try to explain that the film really needs to be seen in the context of the era that produced it.

Director Fritz Lang and screenwriter Thea von Harbou weren't just spinning a futuristic tale. They were attempting to address big questions faced by Germans in the Wiemar Republic.

What kind of a society did Germans want to create? With Bolshevism and collectivism to the east, and Gilded Age capitalism to the west, what direction should the German people take?

What role should religion and spirituality take? Both are important elements of the German culture. Lang and Harbou knew this—hence the film's final climax takes place on the roof of a cathedral, of all places.

Essentially, their message was specific to the times, but also happens to be timeless: that choices we make today will have important consequences for tomorrow.

We all know now that Germany chose abysmally in the ensuring years. 

In the century since 'Metropolis' was filmed, political systems have come and gone. But the film's power endures and has a lot to say to us today.

See for yourself at our screening on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Natick Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass. More details below!

*     *     *

Mad scientist gesture 101: a scene from 'Metropolis' (1927).

MONDAY, DEC. 2, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info, contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Restored classic sci-fi epic 'Metropolis' to screen in Natick on Sunday, Dec. 8

Landmark early futuristic fantasy, with half-hour of rediscovered footage, to be shown with live music at Center for the Arts

NATICK, Mass.—A silent film hailed as the grandfather of all science fiction fantasy movies will be screened with live music at the Center for the Arts in Natick, Mass.

'Metropolis' (1927), an epic adventure set in a futuristic world, will be shown on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at the TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass.

The screening, the latest in the Center for the Art's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Admission is $12 per person for members; $14 for non-members. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door.

'Metropolis' (1927), regarded as German director Fritz Lang's masterpiece, is set in a society where a privileged elite pursue lives of leisure while the masses toil on vast machines and live in poverty.

The film, with its visions of futuristic factories and underground cities, set new standards for visual design and inspired generations of dystopian fantasies from Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' to Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil.'

In reviving 'Metropolis' and other great films of cinema's early years, the Center for the Arts aims to show silent movies as they were meant to be seen—in high quality prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will improvise an original live score for 'Metropolis' on the spot. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early cinema leap back to life."

Oh my god! Did I forget to set my clock back last month?

In 'Metropolis,' the story centers on an upper class young man who falls in love with a woman who works with the poor. The tale encompasses mad scientists, human-like robots, underground spiritual movements, and industrial espionage, all set in a society divided between haves and have-nots.

The version of 'Metropolis' to be screened at the Center for the Arts is a newly restored edition that includes nearly a half-hour of missing footage cut following the film's premiere in 1927. The lost footage, discovered in 2008 in an archive in Argentina, has since been added to the existing 'Metropolis,' allowing plot threads and characters to be developed more fully.

When first screened in Berlin, Germany on Jan. 10, 1927, the sci-fi epic ran an estimated 153 minutes. After its premiere, the film's distributors (including Paramount in the U.S.) drastically shortened 'Metropolis' to maximize the film's commercial potential. By the time it debuted in the U.S. later that year, the film was only about 90 minutes long.

Even in its shortened form, 'Metropolis' became a cornerstone of science fiction cinema. Due to its enduring popularity, the film has undergone numerous restorations in the intervening decades in attempts to recover Lang's original vision.

Restoration work continues to this day. In 2008, the curator of the Buenos Aires Museo del Cine discovered a 16mm dupe negative of 'Metropolis' that was considerably longer than any existing print.

It included not merely a few additional snippets, but 25 minutes of "lost" footage, about a fifth of the film, that had not been seen since its Berlin debut.

The discovery of such a significant amount of material called for yet another restoration, a 2½-hour version that debuted in 2010 to widespread acclaim. It's this fully restored edition that will be screened at the Center for the Arts.

" 'Metropolis' stands as an stunning example of the power of silent film to tell a compelling story without words, and reach across the generations to touch movie-goers from the real future, which means us," said accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who provides live music for silent film screenings throughout New England and beyond.

To accompany a silent film, Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra. The score is created live in real time as the movie is screened. Rather than focus exclusively on authentic music of the period, Rapsis creates new music for silent films that draws from movie scoring techniques that today's audiences expect from the cinema.

The restored 'Metropolis' will be shown on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. at the TCAN Center for the Arts, 14 Summer St., Natick, Mass. Admission is $12 per person for members; $14 for non-members. Tickets are available online at www.natickarts.org or at the door.

CRITIC'S COMMENTS on ‘METROPOLIS’

“'Metropolis' does what many great films do, creating a time, place and characters so striking that they become part of our arsenal of images for imagining the world.”
—Roger Ebert, 2010, The Chicago Sun-Times

“If it comes anywhere near your town, go see it and thank the movie Gods that it even exists. There’s no star rating high enough.”
—Brian Tallerico, Movieretriever.com

Post Turkey Day screening: W.C. Fields in 'So's Your Old Man' on Sunday, Dec. 1 in Wilton, N.H.

Outside the Coolidge Corner's marquee prior to 'Thief of Bagdad.'

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, among the many things I have to be thankful for is making it through 'The Thief of Bagdad' last Tuesday night. I accompanied the film just hours after having a stent removed following last week's kidney stone surgery.

'Bagdad' had been scheduled for the Coolidge Corner's 'Sounds of Silents' series long before the kidney stone decided to make an appearance. It just worked out that the stent removal (a follow-up to the surgery itself) wound up getting scheduled for the same day as the film.

But the show must go on! So driving into Boston, I was already thinking ahead to places in the film where I could set up an atmospheric loop on the synthesizer, which would enable me to quickly escape to the men's room if needed.

Well, turns out I had no problems. Actually, I think getting absorbed in doing music for this sprawling, ambitious picture helped minimize any distracting pain or lingering discomfort, which is a phenomenon I've noticed before.

If I'm suffering, say, a bad cold, whatever symptoms I have seem to recede or disappear entirely when I'm accompanying a film. They'll return afterwards, but during the time I'm at the keyboard it's like a reprieve.

Some say laughter is the best medicine. I say it's creating live music for a silent film screening!

And I'll get to do it again on Sunday, Dec. 1 when I accompany 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton, N.H. More info is in the press release pasted in below.

It's a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields, so lucky me: I'll get the therapeutic benefits of both laughter and silent film accompaniment.

Happy Thanksgiving and see you at the movies!

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An original lobby card for 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) starring W.C. Fields.

MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Town Hall Theatre to screen rare silent film starring comic icon W.C. Fields

'So's Your Old Man' shows legendary performer as younger man; program on Sunday, Dec. 1 accompanied by live music

WILTON, N.H.—He was a performer who could be recognized by just the nasal twang of his voice.

But prior to reaching iconic fame in talking pictures, W.C. Fields successfully starred in a popular series of silent feature films for Paramount Pictures and other studios in the 1920s.

Rediscover the non-talking W.C. Fields in 'So's Your Old Man' (1926) one of his best silent pictures, in a Thanksgiving Day weekend screening on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Live musical scoring will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. 

In 'So's Your Old Man' (1926), Fields plays Sam Bisbee, inventor of a new shatter-proof windshield glass and regarded as a crackpot by the townsfolk.

After a demonstration of his glass to auto executives goes awry, he faces ridicule and shame. On the way home, Bisbee encounters a woman he thinks is trying to commit suicide, and so prevents her.

 

W.C. Fields (right) in a scene from 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

The woman is really Princess Lescaboura, member of a family of European royalty, who later arrives in Bisbee's home town to thank him, upending Bisbee's life and setting the small town aflame with gossip. The film includes a version of Fields' famous "golf" routine.

The film was remade as a talkie in 1934, with W.C. Fields again starring, under the title 'You're Telling Me!' In 2008, 'So's Your Old Man' was added to the U.S. National Film Registry.

W.C. Fields remains famous today for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist with a snarling contempt for dogs, children and women.

Although Fields achieved lasting fame as a movie star in talking pictures of the 1930s, his long career encompassed decades on the vaudeville stage as well as a series of silent film roles in the 1920s.

"People find it hard to think of W.C. Fields in silent films, but he was actually quite successful," Rapsis said. "As a vaudeville performer and juggler, Fields cultivated a form of visual comedy and pantomime that transferred well to the silent screen.

"Also, as a middle-aged man during the silent film era, he was able to play a family father figure—the kind of role that wasn't open to younger comic stars such as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton," Rapsis said.

In all, Fields starred in 10 silent features in the mid-1920s. Several are lost; in those that survive, Fields sports a thick mustache, part of his vaudeville costume as a "vagabond juggler" which he dropped in later years.

W.C. Fields (at right) includes his legendary golf routine in 'So's Your Old Man' (1926).

The film was made not in Hollywood, but at the Paramount studios in Astoria, Queens, a popular production facility for New York-based stage performers who also appeared in film.

For the music, Rapsis improvises in real time, while the film is running, using a digital synthesizer that allow him to recreate the "movie score" texture of a full orchestra.

"Improvising a score live is a bit of a high-wire act, but it allows me to follow and support the film a lot more effectively than if I was buried in sheet music," Rapsis said.

"Instead, I'm free to follow the film right in the moment. Each time it's different, which lends a certain energy and immediacy and excitement to the experience."

'So's Your Old Man,' a silent comedy starring W.C. Fields, will be screened with live music on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.

Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses. For more information, call the theater at (603) 654-3456.

Pre-Thanksgiving cinematic feast: Creating music for 'The Thief of Bagdad' 100th anniversary screening on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Mass.

A poster promoting 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924).

Is Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for abundance?

If so, I can't think of a better silent film to prepare one for the upcoming holiday than 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924), an epic adventure/fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

I'll accompany a 100th anniversary screening of 'Thief' on Tuesday, Nov. 26 (two days prior to Turkey Day) at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Mass.

More about the film and screening in the press release below.

But wait—how does a film set in a mythical Bagdad (resplendent in Art Deco design accents, no less) and based on exotic tales from long ago have anything to do with Thanksgiving?

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. plays the title role in 'Thief of Bagdad' (1924).

I think the key is abundance. 'The Thief of Bagdad' contains more of everything that almost any picture made up until then.

More scenery! More thrills! More intrigue! More eye-popping visuals! 

More Douglas Fairbanks, who dances through the film in a performance that's more—well, Fairbanksian than ever before!

But chiefly it's an abundance of ambition that drives 'Thief' to heights never quite achieved until then. 

Fairbanks, at the top of his game, was ready to put everything he knew, and everything the movies could then do, into something truly grand—a motion picture to transport audiences to another realm in the same way the film's flying carpet transports characters in the story.

It all paid off with one of the greatest fantasies produced in the silent era: a picture that captivated audiences when first released, and which still has that effect today.

And that, I think, is something to be thankful for!

So don't be a turkey! Come join us on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at the Coolidge for a 100th anniversary screening of 'The Thief of Bagdad.'  Details in the press release below.

*     *     *

 

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Julanne Johnston in 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924).

MONDAY, NOV. 11, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Flying carpets, fire-breathing dragons, underwater palaces, and more!

Classic epic 'Thief of Bagdad' to screen Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Coolidge Corner Theatre

Adventure/fantasy starring Douglas Fairbanks presented with live music in celebration of film's 100th anniversary

BROOKLINE, Mass.—It ranks among the first Hollywood epics to show the full potential for movies to depict entire worlds of fantasy. It was also one of the top grossing films of 1924.

It was 'The Thief of Bagdad,' a celebrated triumph for actor/director Douglas Fairbanks that stands as one of greatest achievements of cinema's silent era.

It's a film filled with images of flying carpets, exotic cities, underwater palaces, winged horses, fire-breathing dragons, and more!

See if for yourself with live music on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre,  290 Harvard St., Brookline, Mass.

Vintage handbill promoting the original release of 'Thief of Bagdad.'

This 100th anniversary screening of 'The Thief of Bagdad' , the latest in the Coolidge's 'Sounds of Silents' series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Tickets $23 per person general admission; students $21.

Douglas Fairbanks, star of 'The Thief of Bagdad,' was the Harrison Ford of his time—a pioneering action hero who was among the first to entertain movie audiences with thrilling adventures.

'The Thief of Bagdad' stands among his best work. A timeless fable on a grand scale, it boasts a great story, spectacular sets, and magical special effects.

A bare-chested Fairbanks plays a crafty street-smart rogue who can easily steal anything his heart desires—except the love of a beautiful princess, daughter of the powerful Caliph of Bagdad.

To win her hand, he must not only change his ways, but also show his worthiness over many other highly placed suitors.

In making the film, Fairbanks spared no expense for what some critics still regard as the most lavish fantasy movie ever made, a show-stopping adaptation of the traditional "A Thousand and One Nights" Arabian legend.

The result is an epic in which a flying carpet is just one of many eye-popping sights designed to astound movie audiences.

 

Fairbanks, swaggering through massive marketplace sets and cavernous throne rooms as an incorrigible pickpocket, scales towering walls (with the help of a magic rope) and leads merry chases through crowded bazaars in his pursuit of loot.

The jaunty opening is a preamble to the film's spectacular second half, in which the repentant thief embarks on an odyssey through caverns of fire, underwater palaces, and even outer space.

Special effects range from a giant smoke-belching dragon to a magical flying horse, and still glow with a timeless sense of wonder from the early days of movies.

William Cameron Menzies's sets were among the largest ever created for a motion picture. Especially noteworthy is his design for a mythical Bagdad, a unique combination of Art Deco and Islamic elements—a dream city inspired by illustrations from story books.

Fairbanks, among the most popular stars of the 1920s, was the inspiration for the character of George Valentin in the Oscar-winning Best Picture 'The Artist' (2011).

Fairbanks was known for films that used the then-new medium of motion pictures to transport audiences to historical time periods for grand adventures and athletic stunts.

He's often referred to as "Douglas Fairbanks Sr." to avoid confusion with his son, the actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

A century after its premiere, 'The Thief of Bagdad' remains highly regarded. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Live music for 'The Thief of Bagdad' will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to create a traditional full orchestra "movie score" sound.

"Seeing a Fairbanks picture in a theater with live music and an audience is a classic movie experience," Rapsis said.

Rapsis emphasized the unique value of seeing early cinema as it was originally presented.

"These films were designed for the big screen, live music, and large audiences. If you put it all together again, you get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.

See Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in the 'The Thief of Bagdad' (1924) with live music on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre,  290 Harvard St., Brookline, Mass.

Tickets $23 per person general admission; students $21. For more information, call the box office at (617) 734-2501 or visit www.coolidge.org. 

A fresh take on silent spookiness: 'The Bat' (1926) on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Somerville Theatre

A lobby card promoting 'The Bat' (1926) in its original release.

Something new—well, sort of—is flying into the Somerville Theatre  this Halloween season.

On Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m., I'll accompany the silent thriller 'The Bat' (1926) at the Somerville as part of the venue's 'Silents, Please!' series.

Based on a popular stage play, 'The Bat' was very successful in its original release at the height of the silent era.

But since then, it's rarely been screened or seen anywhere. That's surprising, in part because it's a good film that holds up well, but also because it had a lot of influence on the creation of an iconic superhero character: Batman!

Why has 'The Bat' been so elusive?

Well, it's not one of the silent era's many "lost" films. A circulating 35mm print of it has been available from the UCLA Film & Television Library for a long time, but has almost never been booked.

It might be that the film has no "star" performers with names still recognizable today. There's no Clara Bow or Rudolph Valentino in it. It does have Louise Fazenda and Jack Pickford in it, but they're not exactly household names anymore.

Also, the film was produced independently and released through United Artists. So it was not part of the output of a major studio such as MGM or Paramount, so after its original release it kind of got lost in the shuffle.

Another reason is that 'The Bat' has never been released on home video—that is, until now.

This Halloween season, 'The Bat' is getting a new attention thanks to a home video release of the film (on Blu-ray dis)c thanks to Ben Model, my friend and fellow silent film accompanist.

Cover art for the home video release of 'The Bat' (1926) by Undercrank Productions.

Ben accompanied the film at a screening some time ago, and was so impressed he organized a Kickstarter campaign to release the film through his label, Undercrank Productions.

The home video version of 'The Bat' came out just recently, and looks great! (I was a Kickstarter backer, so received a copy when the project was completed.) You can buy it online: for more information, visit the Undercrank website.

Or you can see it as it was intended: on the big screen at the Somerville Theater, with live music, on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. We'll be showing the new digital restoration from Underground/UCLA in DCP format. (Earlier references to using the 35mm print were my mistake!)

For more about 'The Bat' and Sunday's screening, check out the press release below. And happy Halloween!

*    *    *

A trade ad promoting the original release of 'The Bat' (1926) to movie theater bookers.

MONDAY, OCT. 21, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Halloween treat! Rarely screened thriller 'The Bat' (1926) to fly at Somerville Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 27

Calling all Batman fans! Early silent comedy/mystery to be shown with live music; inspired Bob Kane to create Batman superhero

SOMERVILLE, MASS.—It's a rarely screened movie credited with inspiring comic book artist Bob Kane to create the iconic 'Batman' character.

It's 'The Bat' (1926), a silent comedy/mystery directed by Roland West.

See 'The Bat' via a new digital restoration on Sunday, Oct. 27 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 music for silent films.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. Tickets are available at somervilletheatre.com or at the door.

The show will allow audiences to experience 'The Bat' the way its makers originally intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

 

The film recently underwent a digital restoration and release by Undercrank Productions. The new restoration will be show in DCP format. 

The story: throughout the city a mysterious thief known only as The Bat is looting the wealthy. The Bat, who wears a full-head bat mask and cape, enjoys toying with his prey by sending notes telling where he is going to strike next. 

As the seearch intensifies, at the country estate of the recently deceased bank owner, Courtleigh Fleming, a disparate group assembles, each with their own agenda.

When Courtleigh Fleming’s nephew is shot to death on the mansion’s grand staircase, the race is on to unmask the killer, stop The Bat, and find a fortune in stolen money hidden within the house.

'The Bat' was originally a popular stage play by Mary Roberts Rinehart before being transformed into a movie during Hollywood's silent film era.

The cast, which includes period favorites Louise Fazenda, Arthur Housman, Jack Pickford, and Jewel Carmen, supports the ominous mood while providing plenty of amusement.

Director Roland West was a master visual stylist with a penchant for the macabre. In 'The Bat,' he expertly manipulated light and shadow.

West also assembled a top notch production crew that included art direction by William Cameron Menzies and photography by Gregg Toland, who would later shoot 'Citizen Kane' (1941) with Orson Welles. 

'The Bat' was a hit when first released, and was also influential, as the masked figure of 'The Bat' had a profound effect on young artist Bob Kane, who cited the film as one of his main inspirations for the creation of Batman.

Rapsis, a composer who specializes in film music, will create a score for 'The Bat' on the spot, improvising the music as the movie unfolds to enhance the on-screen action as well as respond to audience reactions. 

Rapsis performs the music on a digital synthesizer, which is capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.

"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "At the time, most films weren't released with sheet music or scores. Studios relied on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.

‘The Bat’ (1926) will be shown with live music on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass.

Admission $17 adults; $13 members; $12 seniors/children. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.somervilletheatre.com or call the box office at (617) 625-5700.

Let the spooky steeplechase begin! Accompanying 11 films in the 12 days before Halloween

Me looking spooked prior to a screening of 'Sherlock Holmes' (1916) earlier this month in Greenfield, Mass.

Let's see. It's three 'Phantoms,' two 'Nosferatus,' and a 'Golem,' a 'Bat,' a 'Lost World,' a Dracula,' and a Lon Chaney double bill.

That's the line-up for this year's pre-Halloween schedule, which tends to be the busiest time of the year for this silent film accompanist.

Altogether, I'll accompany 11 silent films in the 12 days prior to Halloween.

That may seem to be a lot, but it's actually a lighter schedule than in years past. This time around, for example, no "two shows in one day" bookings. 

A couple of years ago on the Saturday before Halloween, I actually accompanied three shows in three different states: afternoon in Jaffrey, N.H.; evening in Ogunquit, Maine, and then a midnight screening at the Coolidge in Boston. 

Still, 11 films in 12 days is a lot. But this is the time of year when general audiences seems most willing to sample a silent film with live music. So it's Business 101: Go where there's a market. 

 Perhaps it's the "otherworldliness" of the silent film experience. I do get a lot of knowing laughs when I say I collaborate with dead people. (That's me looking alarmed prior to a screening of Metropolis last week in Keene, N.H.)

Whatever the reason, the Halloween season is a great chance to get a few newbies curious about the art form and perhaps let it in, which can lead to attendance at future screenings.

That's a phrase I've been using a lot lately, especially since accompanying a marathon seven-hour screening of Able Gance's 'La Roue' (1923) last month: "Let it in."

Really. It seems to capture what a person needs to do today, at the most basic level, for the magic and wonder of early cinema to be experienced. So let it in. 

I could go on about this, and perhaps I will someday. (That's me still looking spooked prior to a screening of 'Cat and the Canary' (1927) last Sunday in Natick, Mass. Notice a theme here?)

But right now it's time to check the list of upcoming screenings and make sure I'll be in the right place at the right time. Hmm, if it's Tuesday, it must be 'Nosferatu.'

Below is the Cliff's Notes version of my schedule. For full film descriptions and more details, check the 'Upcoming Film Screenings' page. 

And after that, it's off to San Francisco to accompany a program at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum.

But for now, I hope you'll join me for some spooky cinema. And remember: in silent film, no one can hear you scream!

• Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; First Congregational Church of Reading United Church of Christ, 25 Woburn St., Reading, Mass. Suggested donation $10 per person.

• Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Main Street/Route 7, Brandon, Vt.; http://www.brandontownhall.com. Admission free, donations accepted, with proceeds to help continuing preservation work.

• Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, 2 p.m.: "Der Golem" (1920); Wilton Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Wilton, N.H.; (603) 654-3456. Admission free, donations of $10 per person encouraged. 

• Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: "The Lost World" (1925) starring Wallace Beery; The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, 39 South Main St., Plymouth, N.H.; (603) 536-2551. Admission $10 per person.

• Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Nosferatu" (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau; West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington St., West Newton, Mass.; (617) 964-8074. Admission price $15 per person.

• Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Nosferatu" (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau; Derry Opera House, 29 W. Broadway, Derry; sponsored by Derry Public Library.  Free admission! For more information, contact the Derry Public Library at (603) 432-6140. 

• Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, 2 p.m.: "The Bat" (1927), directed by Roland West; Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. For more info, call the theater box office at (617) 625-5700.  Tickets $17.

• Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, 7 p.m.: "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) starring Lon Chaney; Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St. Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine; (207) 646-3123. Tickets $15 general admission.  

• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, 7:30 p.m.: "Dracula" (1931) starring Bela Lugosi; The Jane Pickens Theatre, 49 Touro St., Newport, R.I.; (401) 846-5474; https://janepickens.com/. Tickets $17 per person.

• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: Lon Chaney Halloween Creepfest! "The Unknown" (1927) and "West of Zanzibar" (1928), both starring Lon Chaney and directed by Todd Browning; The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, N.H.; (603) 574-4826. Tickets $10 per person.

Hope everyone likes trains: Improvising music to support 'La Roue,' a silent film seven hours long

Where I spent most of the day last Saturday: the Brattle prior to showtime.

Last weekend, I did something I've never done before. 

No, I didn't clean the fridge. Rather, I played music for a silent movie that's just under seven hours long.

The film: Abel Gance's 'La Roue' (1923), which the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. screened as part of its programming to celebrate Silent Movie Day, which this year fell on Sunday, Sept. 29.

'La Roue' really is just under seven hours long—412 minutes, to be exact. And I played for all of it, shown in four parts, starting at noon and ending at about 8:30 p.m.

The screening included two brief intermissions, during which I remained at the keyboard and played music, and one longer pause of about 40 minutes about half-way through, which the Brattle generously termed a "dinner break."

Although rarely screened, 'La Roue' is known for influencing many directors by how it demonstrated the possibilities of cinema, at the time a new art form. French poet and playwright Jean Cocteau said: “There is cinema before and after La roue the way there is painting before and after Picasso.”

Only recently restored to its full length, 'La Roue' can now be seen as intended. And I think the most important thing to report from this experience is that Gance's rarely shown film really does hold the screen, at least as I experienced it last Saturday at the Brattle.

The melodramatic story centers on a locomotive engineer, Sisif, and his adopted daughter. Gance filmed 'La Roue' on location among the grimy railyards of Nice and along a narrow-gauge cog railway high in the French Alps. A lot of the film's symbolic power derives from images of wheels and track and signals and switches and other railway hardware.

About 60 people paid $25 each to experience 'La Roue' last Saturday—a bigger audience than I expected. Before the screening, after being introduced by the Brattle's Ned Hinkle, the first thing I said was: "I hope everyone here likes trains." Har!

Intrepid audience members settle in prior to 'La Roue' (1923). 

I then expressed what I feel is the one essential idea that a modern audience need to keep in mind when viewing a film such as 'La Roue.' You need to let it in. 'La Roue,' like a lot of silent films, is about big emotions that have been part of the human experience for centuries. As melodrama, it tells its story in a way that may seem unfamiliar and alien to us. Even so, let it in.

Okay, about the music. Just as Gance was pushing the boundaries of film, so does 'La Roue' push the limits of film accompaniment. I've never tried to do music for a film of such length all in one go. And as I work largely by improvisation, I was curious to see how it would go.

Over time, would the music get better and better? Or lousier and lousier?

Although the score was improvised, I did prepare. I was able to view the entire film online to get an idea  of the content and what kind of soundscape might help support it.

I also developed a suite of material to use in weaving together a score in real time. 

Because a lot of the film is about pain and suffering, the music was based largely on this set of notes:

So: a minor triad with an added fourth. To my ears, this sounds like pain, or at least lingering discomfort, in the sense that it's not easily resolved.

Often the notes showed up in arpeggiated form, to provide a sense of forward motion when needed, such as like this:

Because 'La Roue' is not the fastest-moving film, there's room to develop the material as the sequences unfold.

So over time, I was able to work with the four notes to create accompaniment that supported a wide range of emotions, but which I felt also held together musically.

Over seven hours, a lot of other melodic and harmonic material was employed, much of it made up on the spot. Little scraps of tunes got employed to underscore a scene, and would be brought back in different form when the time seemed right.

Throughout the screening, I kept the synthesizer on the basic orchestral texture I use for most films, except for a few key sections where a solo violin gets played, for which I switched to strings alone in an attempt to create an effective contrast.

What about the length? How did it affect my playing?

When I accompany a film, it takes about 10 or 15 minutes to enter what I call "the silent film zone." It's a state of mind where, if all goes well, my capacity for self-criticism subsides and the music comes freely for the duration of the film.

Once in this state, I often have no conception of the passing of time. 'The End' will come up on the screen, and I'll have no sense that I've been accompanying a film for 2½ hours. It seems like we just started!

So given this, what would happen over a much longer time? 'La Roue' was an opportunity to find out.

That's why I sat at the keyboard and continued to play during the two shorter internissions. I didn't want to break the spell, because sometimes when that happens, you don't get back to the same place you were before.

And I have to say, it wasn't tiring at all, either physically or mentally. It was a little daunting to sit down at noon to begin playing, knowing I'd be doing so well into the evening. But once the film kicked in, the clock stopped as it often does, and I was able to keep going and do justice to the film. 

Me speaking after the screening as the lengthy credits continued to roll. 

Was it easy? No. But it was easier than expected. Facing the longest film I'd ever attempted to score live all in one gulp, I discovered I could do it. In fact, I wouldn't mind doing it again. So I've started reaching out to venues to gauge interest in running 'La Roue' as a once-in-a-lifetime only-in-a-theater experience.

I'll travel anywhere to do it—even by train!

And if I'm in the mood for a real ground-breaking adventure, I'll clean the fridge.

And now...a train-related film of more normal length. Next up: Keaton's 'The General' (1926) on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the public library in Moultonborough, N.H. 

If you're in the state's Lakes Region getting in some leaf-peeping, stop by and peep at one of Buster's best. More info in the press release below.

*    *    *

Yes, another train-related film: a scene from Buster Keaton's 'The General' (1926).

MONDAY, SEPT. 16, 2024 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton's 'The General' with live music at Moultonborough Library on Thursday, Oct. 3

Civil War railroading comedy/adventure film lauded as stone-faced comic moviemaker's masterpiece

MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H.— He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s.

See for yourself with a screening of 'The General' (1926), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland St, Moultonborough, N.H.

The screening will feature live music for the movie by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. The screening is free and open to the public; attendees are asked to register online at moultonboroughlibrary.org under the 'Events' area.

The show is intended to give Lakes Region movie-goers the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.

'The General,' set during the U.S. Civil War, tells the story of a southern locomotive engineer (Keaton) whose engine (named 'The General') is hijacked by Northern spies with his girlfriend on board.

Keaton, commandeering another train, races north in pursuit behind enemy lines. Can he rescue his girl? And can he recapture his locomotive and make it back to warn of a coming Northern attack?

Critics call 'The General' Keaton's masterpiece, praising its authentic period detail, ambitious action and battle sequences, and its overall integration of story, drama, and comedy.

It's also regarded as one of Hollywood's great railroad films, with much of the action occurring on or around moving steam locomotives.

Buster Keaton and co-star in 'The General' (1927).

Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will improvise an original musical score for 'The General' live as the movie is shown, as was typically done during the silent film era.

"When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that's an important part of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment.

With the Moultonborough Library's screening of 'The General,' audiences will get a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—in a high quality print, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today."

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts.

Critics review 'The General':

"The most insistently moving picture ever made, its climax is the most stunning visual event ever arranged for a film comedy."
—Walter Kerr, author of 'The Silent Clowns'

"An almost perfect entertainment!"
—Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

"What makes the film so special is the way the timing, audacity and elegant choreography of its sight gags, acrobatics, pratfalls and dramatic incidents is matched by Buster's directorial artistry, his acute observational skills working alongside the physical élan and sweet subtlety of his own performance."
—Time Out (London)

The Keaton films are a great introduction to silent films for modern audiences, accompanist Rapsis said.

"Keaton's comedy is as fresh today as it was a hundred years ago — maybe more so, because his kind of visual humor is a lost art," Rapsis said.

‘The General’ (1926) starring Buster Keaton will be shown with live music on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Moultonborough Public Library, 4 Holland St, Moultonborough, N.H.

 

The screening is free and open to the public; attendees are asked to register online at moultonboroughlibrary.org under the 'Events' area. For more info, visit the website or call (603) 476-8895.