Vampyr with live score by Minima and Stephen Horne at The Cube on Sunday 3 July 2016
Posted on: 21 Jun 2016The creepy 1932 horror classic Vampyr will get a rare screening complete with a new live score performed by Minima and Stephen Horne at The Cube in Bristol on Sunday 3 July 2016.
Based on sections of supernatural stories from In a Glass Darkly by 19th century Gothic and mystery novelist J. Sheridan Le Fanu, the plot unfolds as Allan Gray arrives at a secluded riverside inn at a cursed French hamlet only to be approached by a mysterious old man who hands him a package marked 'To be opened upon my death'. When Allan later witnesses the old man brutally murdered he opens the package to unveil a tome about terrifying demons known as Vampyrs.
This was Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's first sound film, complicated by the fact it needed to be recorded in three languages although this was overcome by using minimal dialogue and driving the narrative forward through the use of silent movie-style title cards. It was also shot completely on location using a range of at-the-time innovative film techniques such as such as soft focus and washed out imagery.
Widely panned on its initial release, Vampyr is now considered a classic, a visual tone poem brimming with incredible cinematography, ingenious and evocative use of mood and sound and a hypnotic, disorienting dreamy atmosphere.
Silent film interpreters Minima and world-renowned BFI silent film pianist Stephen Horne have collaborated to create a new score which will utilize part of the film's original soundtrack combined with new instruments, making this a genuinely unique chance for the city's silent film and movie music aficionados to catch one of the greatest, most effectively chilling early horror movies ever made.
Tickets are £8 advance or £10 on the door for an 8pm screening and can be purchased from www.minimamusic.co.uk or The Cube website www.cubecinema.com, where you can also keep up-to-date with their marvelously eclectic programme of movies, music, cabaret, comedy and performance art.
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
