Alloy Orchestra returning to the Cinematheque

[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

The Alloy Orchestra, a Boston band that Roger Ebert has called “the best in the world at accompanying silent films” (and whose last performance in Cleveland, a 2010 Cinematheque showing of METROPOLIS at the Capitol Theatre, sold out the house), will return to the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque on Thursday, October 4.

The ensemble’s three members will lend their distinctive mix of clarinet, accordion, electronics, and junk metal percussion to two movies that they have never before performed in Cleveland, both Soviet silents shown in rare 35mm prints.

Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg’s 1926 film version of Gogol’s THE OVERCOAT will show at 7:00 pm. And a movie recently voted the eighth best film of all time, Dziga Vertov’s MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (1929), will follow at 8:45 pm for a separate admission fee. THE OVERCOAT, the Alloy’s newest score, will be performed at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center two days before they bring it to Cleveland. MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA is frequently cited as their best score.

Both performances will take place in the Aitken Auditorium of the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle. Admission to either show is $15; Cinematheque members $12; age 25 & under $9 (with proof of age).  One can see both shows for an additional $5.  Advance tickets can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/268317. Free parking for filmgoers is available in the adjacent Cleveland Institute of Art lot. For further information or images, call (216) 421 -7450, e-mail cinema@cia.edu, or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque.

Thursday, October 4, at 7:00 pm

The Alloy Orchestra accompanies

THE OVERCOAT

SHINEL

aka THE CLOAK

USSR, 1926, Grigori Kozintsev, Leonid Trauberg

Two years after their sold-out Metropolis show at the Capitol Theatre (a Cinematheque presentation), the Alloy Orchestra returns to the Cinematheque! This time the Boston band that Roger Ebert calls “the best in the world at accompanying silent films” will lend their distinctive mix of clarinet, accordion, electronics, and junk metal percussion to two movies that they have never before performed in Cleveland, both Soviet silents shown in rare 35mm prints. First up is their newest project, The Overcoat, which the band will debut at the New York Film Festival two days before presenting it here! This fantastical film version of Gogol’s famous story focuses on a poor, unhappy clerk who becomes fixated on acquiring a new overcoat. Produced by USSR’s avant-garde FEKS (Factory of the Eccentric Actor) workshop, the visually stunning movie owes a major debt to German Expressionism. New 35mm restoration from the British Film Institute. Approx. 70 min. www.alloyorchestra.com Special admission $15, Cinematheque members $12, ages 25 & under $9 (with proof of age). Stay for tonight’s second Alloy Orchestra performance (see below) for an additional $5. Advance tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/268317.

Thursday, October 4, at 8:45 pm

The Alloy Orchestra accompanies

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA

CHELOVEK S KINO-APPARATOM

USSR, 1929, Dziga Vertov

For their second show tonight (see previous blurb), Boston’s Alloy Orchestra will present the first Cleveland performance of what is often cited as their best score. It’s for Man with a Movie Camera, a Constructivist Soviet silent that, in this year’s Sight & Sound magazine poll, was voted the eighth best movie of all time! Vertov’s dizzying city symphony is a whirling, swooping work that breathlessly employs every camera and editing trick known at the time to capture the rhythm, movement, and vitality of “modern” 1920s Soviet life (as well as demonstrate the possibilities of pure cinema). Eschewing title cards and comprised of almost 1800 individual shots, Man with a Movie Camera is one of the most radical and influential—and fun—avant-garde features ever made. The Alloy Orchestra’s addition of music, percussion, and sound effects should raise the roof! 35mm. 67 min. www.alloyorchestra.com Special admission $15, Cinematheque members $12, ages 25 & under $9 (with proof of age). Attend both of tonight’s Alloy Orchestra performances (see previous blurb) for only $5 more! Advance tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/268317.