Silent Films are Musical at the Library
This month’s Silent Film Spectacular! features classic silent films accompanied by original film scores written and performed live by local musicians. The film series offers a unique viewing and listening experience for the audience, with iconic black and white film images on the screen audibly illustrated by evocative scores performed by gifted local musicians.
The Silent Film Spectacular! takes place on three consecutive Wednesdays—Oct. 14, 21, and 28—at 7 p.m. in the large auditorium at the Main Library on 161 Washington Avenue. The films are free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at 427-4313.
The scheduled films and musicians are:
Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., The Lost World with live, original music by Beware! The Other Head of Science
This 1925 silent film is an adaption of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book about a land where prehistoric creatures roam. Beware! The Other Head of Science, named Metroland’s “best electropop band of 2009,” wrote a fittingly unusual score to this dinosaur movie classic.
Oct. 21 at 7 p.m., Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans with live, original music by Todd Is New Each Moment and Dead Friend
This triple Oscar-winning 1927 silent film follows the twisted tale of a married farmer who falls under the spell of a woman from the city who tries to convince him to kill his wife. Todd Is New Each Moment members Bryan Hamill and Thomas Wilk plan a unique score on guitar and keyboard to accompany this dramatic film.
Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., The Unknown with live, original music by Eric Halder
This 1927 silent film stars Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford as circus performers in a bizarre, macabre, twisted love story. Eric Halder, a classically trained guitarist who has won awards for scoring movies in Albany’s Ed Wood Film Festival, will use baritone guitar and analog effects to musically illustrate the sinister tone of The Unknown.