A classic silent movie, accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia, makes for an exciting night out, writes LINDSAY AMOS.
French novelist Victor Hugo has had a pretty good run in popular culture. Even without the phenomenal success of the stage musical Les Miserables, the 11 movie versions of his earlier Notre Dame
de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) would have made him internationally renowned.
This year, the Auckland Philharmonia's classic silent film presentation is the 1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a peak achievement in American cinema.
As in past years, the Philharmonia's live accompaniment will be a drawcard in attracting new audiences to see a silent movie.
The score is a modern arrangement of the 1923 musical "setting" - the original term for such music - incorporating many of the original cues.
The compiler and arranger for Hunchback is the American conductor-composer, Donald Hunsberger.
The Auckland Philharmonia is a leading exponent in the demanding task of accompanying live silent film presentations. Last year, as the orchestra rehearsed (without the film) the music for the Ben Hur chariot race, the exuberant playing painted a vivid sound picture. Seeing the film and orchestra together was doubly exciting.
This week, filmgoers can expect similar musical fireworks. The rather different score will be conducted by Marc Taddei, who has conducted all of New Zealand's major orchestras, including the Philharmonia.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame was, in its time, a huge undertaking. It cost $1.25 million, big bucks in 1923. Hollywood's most experienced craftsmen recreated a Paris - the centrepiece being the Notre Dame cathedral - that sprawled over almost 8ha of Universal's backlot. Ingeniously, only the cathedral base was built full scale, the rest was an integrated miniature.
The star is Lon Chaney, the actor who specialised in complex make-up and in portraying physically and emotionally tortured characters. His most famous role, as the deformed and mistreated cathedral bell-ringer Quasimodo, was one of an astonishing 150 characters he played in silent movies from 1913 to 1930.
Set in the late 15th century, the story unfolds from Quasimodo's viewpoint on the cathedral parapets. Like him, the audience observes the swirling movements of beggars, gypsies, aristocrats and Louis XI's guards in the square below.
This screenplay shifts the emphasis of Hugo's story from an overt attack on the priesthood and even contrives a happy ending, alterations which met with critical and public approval on the film's initial release.
This short season provides not only a screening of a timeless melodrama, but a recreation of the historical presentation under the best possible conditions.
What: The Hunchback of Notre Dame with the Auckland Philharmonia
Where: St James Theatre
When: Friday to Sunday
A classic silent movie, accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia, makes for an exciting night out, writes LINDSAY AMOS.
French novelist Victor Hugo has had a pretty good run in popular culture. Even without the phenomenal success of the stage musical Les Miserables, the 11 movie versions of his earlier Notre Dame
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.