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IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD, SILENT MOVIES
ARE BACK. WITH FILM FESTIVALS POPPING UP across the nation devoted to this format, regular
screenings of silents at revival houses and one venue devoted exclusively
to showing movies made before 1927 (Los Angeles’ Silent Movie Theatre),
cinematic works from the days of the medium’s infancy are now more popular
than they have been in decades. One reason for this revival is due to
small groups of avant-garde musicians who have taken recognized classics
of the silent era and written original, contemporary scores to accompany
them. The Devil Music Ensemble from Boston have taken their place next to
the Alloy Orchestra as leaders in this area of performance art, touring
and performing their progressive music to appreciative fans of classic
cinema, as well as filmgoers who discover silent movies, thanks to their
efforts.
Area film fans
will have the unique opportunity to witness the DME in action, as The
Castle Theater in Bloomington will play host to them on October 22, with
the group performing their newest work, an original score to the classic
horror film Nosferatu.
There are very few
films that could be called timeless, works that no matter when they were
made, still resonate with the audience and are as effective today as when
they were released. F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu is one of them; the first
screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which some contend is still
the best, was made in 1922.
Murnau created a
palpable sense of dread in the film that’s still effective today, as he
plunges the viewer into a nightmarish world of Count Orlok, a vampire who
seeks to leave his antiquated castle in the Carpathian Mountains and seek
new blood in a more densely-populated urban setting. Effectively using
light and shadow to create an atmosphere that teems with the horror of
the unknown, especially during the opening sequences that take place in
Orlok’s castle, and using a condensed version of Stoker’s novel, which
helps speed the action along and sustain the eerie pall that surrounds
the film, Murnau created a masterpiece that is indicative of the German
Expressionist film movement of the 1920s and served as a template for all
horror films to come.
Because of its
distinctive style and theme, Nosferatu is the perfect vehicle for the DME
to tackle, as it is similar to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, another
German feature that’s often regarded as the first horror film ever made,
which happens to be one of the other movies the group has written
original music for. Featuring Brendon Wood, Jonah Rapino and Tim
Nylander, this trio combines a wide variety of instruments, from banjos,
drums, accordions and clarinets to electric violins, synthesizers and a
vibraphone to create not only a distinctive sound, but also the ability
to produce various sound effects used to accentuate key moments in each
film they accompany. Since forming in 1999, the DME has prided itself in
experimenting with various musical formats and pushing the boundaries of
what they and their instruments are capable of. As a result, they have
successfully fostered a distinctivecontemporary sound that one would
think would clash with the archaic images they accompany. However, the
result is one of rejuvenation as the DME’s progressive scores gives new
life to these films, creating a fresh perspective through which to view
them.
While the group
takes pride in their original compositions, the DME has been known to
improvise during their performances, an echo to those who originally
accompanied silent films when they were first released. While standard
sheet music was sent with every movie during the early days of cinema, it
was not uncommon for the piano or organ players at any given venue to add
their own distinctive musical flourishes. In keeping with this tradition,
the DME not only keeps their performances fresh, but are able to offer
their audiences a distinctive experience each time they hear them play.
Also affecting the musical performance is the fact that the speed with
which film traveled through projectors during the 1920s differed from
those of today, and in transferring them to modern film stock, a uniform
speed is not always adhered to. As a result, one print of Nosferatu may
be a bit faster or slower than the last the DME accompanied, so they have
to be mindful that their tempo matches the images of the screen.
Combining live,
cutting-edge music with classic cinema produces a sense of immediacy with
the audience for both mediums that has to be experienced to be truly
appreciated. With dates on their tour that take them to as far west as
Seattle, Washington and as far east as Providence, Rhode Island, booking the
Devil Music Ensemble for a performance at Bloomington’s Castle Theatre is
a coup for the management there. This is a rare opportunity for cinema
and music lovers, as well as those curious about silent film, to
experience this unique trio who are at the forefront of making some of
the cinema’s oldest films seem new again.
The Devil Music Ensemble will perform their original score to the
film Nosferatu at the Castle Theatre in Bloomington on October 22. Doors
open at 10:30 p.m., and the performance begins at 11 p.m. Admission is
$10. For more information,go to their Web site,
www.thecastletheater.com.
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