old film review
louise_brooksFAN
BYLINE: Larry Kelp
Staff Writer
Published on May 5, 1995
Sex and betrayal were the explosive themes at work in the classic 1929
German silent film ``Pandora's Box.''
Live music is the exciting new element added for the San Francisco
Film Festival screenings, as Club Foot Orchestra plays its original
score to accompany the movie, today through Monday at San Francisco's
Castro Theater.
The Bay Area-based 10-piece orchestra is famous for composing and
performing its original scores to such silent films as ``Cabinet of
Dr. Caligari'' and ``Metropolis,'' from San Francisco to the
Smithsonian Institution. The world premiere of its new work marks Club
Foot's first appearance as part of the San Francisco Film Festival.
``It's such a powerful and mature film compared with most silents,''
said Club Foot founder-director Richard Marriott. ``As Lulu, Louise
Brooks is about the hottest thing on any screen, and I include Marilyn
Monroe in my assessment.''
Brooks' uncanny ability to seem simultaneously innocent and an
irresistible vamp comes through clearly as she plays Lulu, the
showgirl mistress of a rich newspaper publisher whose obsession for
her leads to his tragic end. The same happens to his son. And, amidst
a whirl of circus characters, backstage intrigue, gambling joints and
continental escapades, everyone who comes close to Lulu falls victim
to her enigmatic presence.
The film's subject also inspired composer Alban Berg's opera,
``Lulu.''
After tackling film subjects from vampires (``Nosferatu'') to
slapstick (Buster Keaton's ``Sherlock Jr.''), Marriott had no trouble
leading his ensemble to compose music for this one.
``It's also the longest film we've tackled, at 110 minutes,'' he said.
``It allows us to state themes and develop them. Where I once wrote
the complete scores, there are eight composers from the band involved
in this one (including Dave Brubeck's youngest son Matt Brubeck on
cello), and it's a delight to hear how they pick up common themes and
use them to express Lulu's allure in different scenes. Some are soft
and surrendering, others are genuinely erotic.''
Because of the era the film is drawn from, Club Foot is working in
familiar territory, mixing elements from Kurt Weill and German cabaret
music to with Duke Ellington, Viennese operettas, Alban Berg's serial
techniques, and Frank Zappaesque musical quick-cuts.
Marriott has made a career of setting music to moving visual images.
By day he works for TimeWarner in Palo Alto writing music for
interactive games and arcade games.
But at night since 1983 the keyboardist-trombonist-trumpeter and flute
player has led Club Foot Orchestra (most of whose members are
multi-instrumentalists), at first playing jazz and period-style band
music, then discovering the joy of setting its own music to silent
films. Over the past decade Club Foot has earned its reputation as a
pioneer in the form.
In recent years other artists, from the atmospheric Alloy Orchestra to
jazz guitarist Bill Frisell have plunged into the medium. Frisell just
issued two CDs of his music to Buster Keaton films. Composer Philip
Glass' Ensemble will perform his new ``opera'' score to accompany the
1946 Jean Cocteau film ``La Belle et la Bete'' (``Beauty and the
Beast'') at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall on Nov. 3-4.
``Putting your musical creations together with visual imagery adds a
level of communication that music alone sometimes lacks,'' Marriott
said, ``and provides a richer experience. That's why so many people
are getting into this medium.''
PHOTO: b&w, no ID
The Club Foot Orchestra has won renown for its original scores for
silent films.
Infobox: Sounds just like Lulu
The event: ``Pandora's Box'' film with Club Foot Orchestra performing
score
Dates and times: Today through Monday at 8 p.m., plus Saturday and
Sunday 2 p.m. matinees
Location: Castro Theater, 429 Castro St., San Francisco