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Underworld with a Live Original Score by Alloy Orchestra09:18AM / Wednesday, January 07, 2009
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Those wishing for a little action this winter season will enjoy a classic crime-filled foray on Saturday, January 31, 2009, at 8 PM in MASS MoCA's Hunter Center with a screening of silent classic Underworld, accompanied by live music. Often credited as the first gangster movie, this 1927 silent film classic will be shown in conjunction with a new and original score performed by musical innovators and MASS MoCA favorites, Alloy Orchestra.
Directed by Josef Von Sternberg, Underworld is the story of a crime kingpin and gangster, Bull Weed (George Bancroft), his moll, Feathers (Evelyn Brent), and an alcoholic lawyer on the skids turned faithful retainer, Rolls Royce (Clive Brook). Although Bull Weed runs much of what he surveys, he's also made his share of enemies along the way. The most dangerous are not the forces of law and order, but his gangland rivals such as vicious gangster Buck Mulligan, who deeply despises Weed and covets his girlfriend.
While Weed focuses his attention on bringing Mulligan down a notch, Rolls Royce and Feathers discover their attraction for each other, but choose not to act on their feelings out of loyalty to Weed. The film culminates in a shoot-out with Weed cornered by the cops in his hideout, wanted for murder and convicted to die. The All Movie Guide calls Underworld "a masterpiece of the silent era that still holds up as an exciting and engrossing movie over 70 year later," and Commentary Track adds, "It's a terrifically entertaining movie: fast-paced and exciting, with a knockout finale."
The film's unexpected success made Von Sternberg one of the most prominent directors in Hollywood and led to his work on The Blue Angel in Germany a few years later. Only his second feature film job, writer Ben Hecht won an Oscar for Underworld at the first Academy Awards and went on to write the gangster staple Scarface. Like much of his work, Underworld was informed by Hecht's colorful experiences as a newspaper crime beat writer in Chicago during the teens and twenties.
Alloy Orchestra is a three-man musical group, writing and performing live accompaniment to classic silent films. The trio is composed of Terry Donahue playing accordion, musical saw, and vocals; Ken Winokur on percussion and clarinet; and Roger C. Miller on synthesizer. An unusual combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics gives the Orchestra the ability to create any sound imaginable. Alloy Orchestra is the only group that has been at MASS MoCA every year since the museum opened in 1999. From the first summer when they provided live music to Strike they have continued a tradition of offering original scores performed live to films every year: Metropolis, Masters of Slapstick, Lost World, Speedy, The General, Phantom of the Opera, Blackmail and, most recently, Nosferatu.
To provide a soundtrack to Underworld, the always-inventive trio utilizes it's famous "rack of junk" and electronic synthesizers to generate beautiful music in a spectacular variety of styles. Neil Strauss of The New York Times describes Alloy Orchestra as "...fast becoming the country's leading avant-garde interpreter of silent films."
Tickets for Underworld are $15 in advance/ $19 day of show/ $10 students with ID. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413-662-2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org. |
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