We had to open all doors to the irrational...
Join us Thursday October 20th at 7:00pm
VOC Silent Film Harmonic live musical accompaniment to CINEMA SURREALISM
Something beyond comprehension...
Prepare to be haunted by this brooding presentation of landmark surrealistic short films, which explore themes of obsession and madness, chillingly enhanced by the VOC's spooky score.
Featuring Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) and La Chute de la Maison Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher)
Film 1: Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog, Dir. Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, Spain, 16 min.) Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí present 16 minutes of bizarre, surreal imagery.
"Luis Bunuel described it as 'nothing other than a desperate, impassioned call for murder'. Salvador Dali wanted it to 'plunge like a dagger into the heart of Paris'. They both wanted it to be as mysterious and illogical as a dream - indeed the script emerged during a conversation each had about the other's dreams. Bunuel later wrote, 'we had to open all doors to the irrational.'" (Little White Lies, 2017)
Film 2: La Chute de la Maison Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher, Dir. Jean Epstein, 1928, France. 66 min.) An unnamed man pays a visit to the decaying, aristocratic mansion of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. He finds Usher to be demented... obsessed by death, consumed with fear that his beloved wife Madeline will die, and no less fearful that she will be buried alive. He spends his days painting an eerily lifelike portrait of Madeline, but with each brushstroke the life seems to drain from her.
"Avant-garde cinema arose in the 1920s when inspired amateurs schooled in other arts turned to film. The Fall of the House of Usher is the most renowned and technically accomplished work of these pioneers." (National Film Preservation Foundation)
One night only. Get tickets! [1]
About the VOC Silent Film Harmonic
The VOC Silent Film Harmonic, under the direction of Ted Harms, was formed in the summer of 2007 with the idea of performing live & improvised music to accompany silent films. The group takes its inspiration from how many silent movies were originally presented - taking themes and using them as the basis for improvisation. The overall goal is for the music to reflect, enhance and support the movie, not to overtake or distract.
Previous Playhouse screenings with the VOC Silent Film Harmonic:
The Phantom Carriage
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Dragnet Girl
Nosferatu
Vampyr