SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our HALLOWEEN-O-THON 2023/ SILENT CLASSICS WITH ORIGINAL LIVE SCORES Series, Saturday, October 21, 2023
LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021
*Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the 1917 Bay St building. Our entrance is NOT on Bay Street. You access our entrance from Wilson Street by turning into the street art alleyway/corridor in the back of the building. Look for our signs which are always posted on Wilson and in the corridor to guide the audience.
7:30pm FAUST (1926, dir. FW Murnau, Germany, 116mns) DCP
IMPORTANT NOTE (PLEASE READ): This screening will be accompanied by a live score by the band The Silent Light (who blew minds and eardrums at our Summer 2023 METROPOLIS screening) that veers from dark ambient to doom metal and was recently performed at CalArts. In other words, this screening is going to melt your face off your face. We’ll be handing out ear plugs for folks who don’t want the full “metal” experience. But please be aware. DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU DON’T LIKE INTENSE MUSIC.
We're excited to partner again with dark ambient metal magicians THE SILENT LIGHT for a live soul melting score to another intense German Expressionist classic: F.W. Murnau's FAUST.
Although Murnau is mostly known for his international silent all-timers NOSFERATU, THE LAST LAUGH, and SUNRISE, he directed a number of other silent film masterworks that will blow your mind at the same intensity.
Chief among them is his 1926 adaptation of Goethe's FAUST. Here elderly alchemist/philosopher Faust, frustrated at his impotence to help people in the face of a raging plague, foolishly signs his soul over to the devil Mephisto(wonderfully played by a 200% committed Emil Jannings) in order to have youth and all worldly power.
However, when young Faust falls in love with the good hearted Gretchen, he finds he cannot get out of his binding agreement and anguish and existential angst follows.
Murnau directed his FAUST with all the cinematic and visual creativity that would be on full display in THE LAST LAUGH and SUNRISE. From the expressionistic set design to the inventive special effects to unique font treatments even on the intertitles, Murnau shows he understood that every element of cinema must be put to use to produce a movie masterpiece.
But like all great directors, every decision is based on what's best for the power and emotion of the story. The finale, rightfully known to millions all over the world, is devastating, emotional, and transcendent.
Join us as the Silent Light blows your mind and your soul with their live score and we sit down at the otherworldly mass that is Murnau's FAUST!
Best always,
Craig Hammill
Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer
About the Composer/Performers THE SILENT LIGHT: The Silent Light performs live metal scores to silent films. Headed by guitarist / synth player Mike Formanski and drummer Matt Hardy, the group combines music from metal, fantasy, and cyberpunk styles to breathe new life into classic films from the silent era.
The Silent Light’s rendition of the Metropolis score crosses dark ambient with crushing metal instrumentals. During its runtime it takes its audience from hell to heaven, then all the way back again. Come for the beauty, stay for the horror.
*Please note that though we strive to always show titles on 35mm film if advertised, we may have to screen digitally if the print we receive is in such bad shape or if we don't receive the print in time because of a shipping delay. We will do our best to alert the audience. When this does occur, we will offer each ticket holder who chooses not to attend a complimentary ticket to a future event in exchange. (Disclaimer: Good for 90 days – Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REFUNDS:
We can offer refunds up to 24 hours before showtime. Please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process ASAP. After that, no refunds. Sorry.
However if something last minute comes up and you can’t make the screening, for whatever reason, just write to us before showtime: community@secretmovieclub.com and we’ll offer you complimentary tickets to a future screening, good for 90 days. (Disclaimer: Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
HELPFUL SECRET MOVIE CLUB (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, LA, CA 90021) THEATER PARKING TIPS:
We recommend that you park just outside our theater. Remember our theater is actually in a beautiful street art alleyway in the back of the 1917 Bay Street building. You get to our entrance by taking a right on Wilson, then a right behind the building. We are the first set of black steps on the right after the big gate.
There is also a parking lot at the corner of Mateo and Violet Street, just 2 blocks from our theater, which costs $7 per car.
HOW CAN WE STAY ON TOP OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED 35MM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, ETC?
You can follow us on Instagram/Twitter: @secretmovieclub or Facebook: @secretmovieclub35mm
You can also subscribe to our weekly email newsletter at secretmovieclub.com or by writing to us at community@secretmovieclub.com and using the header “SUBSCRIBE ME TO NEWSLETTER”.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
You can always email us at community@secretmovieclub.com with any other questions, concerns, thoughts, recommendations.