As I feared, I slept in too late and missed the early comedic shorts program. This program is often filled with children, and it's so fun to sit in a theater filled with an appreciative audience unconcerned with expressing their laughter. Like many of the attendees of the festival, some children are dressed up in period clothing. I'm sad I missed it this year.
I did hoof it to catch the panel discussion Variations on a Theme, in which the musical accompanists for the festival demonstrated and talked about their art. They identified four styles: improvisation, using original scores, combining various complementary pieces, and scoring an original piece. A question from the audience about the use of rock music received a uniform answer NO! It was pointed out that rock'n'roll is of one time period only and takes the audience out of the picture. I also find that standard 4/4 time is just too simple to compliment the complex rhythms and quick changes that good silent film embraces. It was nice to hear that response from the panel.
The Flying Ace
A brand new print, struck Wednesday and rushed from the Library of Congress to the Castro Theater. Read the program description for more information, but I was surprised to learn that this race film was produced by a white filmmaker in order to counter negative racial stereotypes. Not only that but the female lead wore pants and did a few stunts. I was hoping for a few shots of Jacksonville where this was made, but there were just a few of flat, undeveloped landscapes.
The Strong Man
Oooh, Harry Langdon! His face is priceless. The look when he really didn't want to do something, and the subtle indications of his thought process during long scenes of madness had me laughing so loud, I was thankful the film was silent and I wasn't missing anything audible. This more than made up for missing the earlier comedies.
I skipped Diary of a Lost Girl and Haxan in order to catch most of Sunday's programs.
Full line-up here:
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