stunning
Well-Known Member
Lambchop
Sunrise: A Song of two Humans
8pm Cork Opera House - Thurs Dec 2, 2004
Film & Music live
(Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, USA 1927 / Music: Lambchop)
German director F.W. Murnau’s first American movie, “Sunrise”, “represents the art of the wordless cinema at its zenith” (All Movie Guide). “Sunrise” tells the story of a happily married farmer from a rural village who falls under the seductive spell of an evil temptress from the city. Routinely appearing on critics’ “Ten Best” lists of the greatest films ever made, “Sunrise” is particularly celebrated for its elaborate sets through which Murnau’s camera glides to produce stunning long takes and atmospheric effects. The fable-like, poignant story, subtitled “A Song of Two Humans”, is a silent-era melodramatic masterpiece – a beautiful, lyrical and poetic work of arts with roots in the German Expressionist movement. Murnau had planned the movie in Germany, and it was the first feature film released with sound-on-film, with a synchronized Movietone musical score by Hugo Riesenfeld. Released in the first year of the Academy Awards (“Oscar”), the film was honoured with four nominations and it won all but Interior Decoration. The moving camera used at “Sunrise” was to influence future films, including John Ford’s “The Informer” (1935) and Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” (1941). A real milestone of modern cinema.
Lambchop have been asked by San Francisco Film Festival to write a new music to this singular film and they did. Their breathtaking new score to Murnau’s “Sunrise” was first performed in San Francisco in 2003 and will now hit Europe for the very first time – a fine example of “trans-continental feedback”, taking into account that the movie had been planned in Germany and then been filmed in Hollywood, whilst Lambchop’s music has been written in Nashville and will now be performed in Europe. Band will travel with a new 35mm copy of the film and will play their music live to the screening. It’s a real exclusive and most likely a one-time-only performance, seeing one of the most influential and fascinating American bands of our days doing such a special project. Lambchop brings its distinctive hybrid of country, jazz and Memphis soul sound that is as brilliantly original as the film it accompanies. Forging a bridge between country and avant-garde, Lambchop adds a layer of aural poetry to the proceedings with its expressionist lyrics and dazzling display of instrumental sounds ranging from guitars to grand-piano. In another world, perhaps Murnau and Lambchop would have teamed up themselves…
Sunrise: A Song of two Humans
8pm Cork Opera House - Thurs Dec 2, 2004
Film & Music live
(Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, USA 1927 / Music: Lambchop)
German director F.W. Murnau’s first American movie, “Sunrise”, “represents the art of the wordless cinema at its zenith” (All Movie Guide). “Sunrise” tells the story of a happily married farmer from a rural village who falls under the seductive spell of an evil temptress from the city. Routinely appearing on critics’ “Ten Best” lists of the greatest films ever made, “Sunrise” is particularly celebrated for its elaborate sets through which Murnau’s camera glides to produce stunning long takes and atmospheric effects. The fable-like, poignant story, subtitled “A Song of Two Humans”, is a silent-era melodramatic masterpiece – a beautiful, lyrical and poetic work of arts with roots in the German Expressionist movement. Murnau had planned the movie in Germany, and it was the first feature film released with sound-on-film, with a synchronized Movietone musical score by Hugo Riesenfeld. Released in the first year of the Academy Awards (“Oscar”), the film was honoured with four nominations and it won all but Interior Decoration. The moving camera used at “Sunrise” was to influence future films, including John Ford’s “The Informer” (1935) and Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” (1941). A real milestone of modern cinema.
Lambchop have been asked by San Francisco Film Festival to write a new music to this singular film and they did. Their breathtaking new score to Murnau’s “Sunrise” was first performed in San Francisco in 2003 and will now hit Europe for the very first time – a fine example of “trans-continental feedback”, taking into account that the movie had been planned in Germany and then been filmed in Hollywood, whilst Lambchop’s music has been written in Nashville and will now be performed in Europe. Band will travel with a new 35mm copy of the film and will play their music live to the screening. It’s a real exclusive and most likely a one-time-only performance, seeing one of the most influential and fascinating American bands of our days doing such a special project. Lambchop brings its distinctive hybrid of country, jazz and Memphis soul sound that is as brilliantly original as the film it accompanies. Forging a bridge between country and avant-garde, Lambchop adds a layer of aural poetry to the proceedings with its expressionist lyrics and dazzling display of instrumental sounds ranging from guitars to grand-piano. In another world, perhaps Murnau and Lambchop would have teamed up themselves…