THIS WEEKEND: Special Alloy Orchestra Program at DFT

The DFT is one of my favorite places in the city, and I haven't been there since they had their new bigger-badder-awesomer screen installed this summer. However, I have seen the Alloy Orchestra play there before, and they could perform in front of a 12" B&W TV and still be a better time than most. If you want to sample some of their soundtracks, check 'em out on Blip.TV.  The DFT is hosting them all weekend for a full series of performances.

The Alloy Orchestra
September 24, 25, 26
Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202

On September 24th, 25th and 26th, Boston’s world renowned Alloy Orchestra – which Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Roger Ebert has called “the best in the world at accompanying silent films” – will pay a return visit to the Detroit Film Theatre.

PURCHASE TICKETS



Sept. 24 @ 9:30 p.m.
MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA
Russia/1929—directed by Dziga Vertov (70 min.)
Legendary Russian director Dziga Vertov’s classic experimental feature The Man With a Movie Camera (1929), a minute-by-minute portrait of a day in the life of a great city. Boasting innovative visual techniques that were decades ahead of their time, this amazingly powerful cinematic experience is enhanced brilliantly by the Alloy Orchestra’s stunningly vibrant score – widely praised as one of their very best – culminating in a veritable orgy of sight and sound that leaves viewers breathless.

Sept. 25 @ 7:30 p.m.
THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS
Germany/1927—directed by Fritz Lang (153 min.)
The newly – and fully – restored version of Fritz Lang’s visionary science fiction “super-production” with its thousands of extras, monstrous sets, and eye-popping special effects, including a cataclysmic, multitude-engulfing flood will be accompanied live by the Alloy Orchestra’s acclaimed original score. This astounding new version — after considerable restoration work on the well-worn archival print — has been combined with the visually superb 2002 restoration to create an overwhelming experience. Seeing it with the Alloy Orchestra in person makes it one of this year’s must-see cinematic events.

Sept. 26 @ 3:00
MASTERS OF SLAPSTICK
The Alloy Orchestra will accompany a specially selected, family-friendly program of short films featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. (approx 60 min.)

Sept. 26 @ 6:00 p.m.
BLACKMAIL
UK/1929—directed by Alfred Hitchcock (83 min.)
The widely-seen sound version of Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail is considered the first English talking picture; far more rare is this simultaneously-shot (and subtly different) silent version, which may well be Hitch’s greatest achievement of the silent era. The gripping story of a young British woman and her detective boyfriend begins conventionally, but quickly – and horrifyingly – spirals into an unpredictable tale of terror and suspense, accentuated brilliantly by the Alloy Orchestra’s intense and powerful score. Presented in a 35mm print, newly restored by the British Film Institute.