Silent Film With Live Score: The Man Who Laughs
Northern Silents Presents
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS
A silent film with live music
A cruel king has a young boy stolen away in the dead of night and has his face carved into a permanent grin, as a punishment for his father’s misdeeds. Cast out from society, Gwynplaine grows up to work as a carnival sideshow performer, his disfigurement drawing crowds who come to gawp at his unsettling appearance.
Based on Victor Hugo’s novel, The Man Who Laughs blends gruesome horror, dark romance and swashbuckling adventure. Conrad Veidt brings the same magnetic intensity to the screen that he displayed in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari eight years earlier – and his performance went on to inspire the striking look of the Joker, Batman’s arch-enemy.
Pianist Jonny Best and cellist Liz Hanks will improvise a live score.
Two of the UK’s leading silent-film scorers, Liz performs regularly with a wide range of artists, from Richard Hawley and Pulp to Thea Gilmore and Jasdeep Singh Degun. Her debut solo album, Land, has been featured on Unclassified, Late Junction and Breakfast on BBC Radio 3, as well as The Folk Show on BBC Radio 2.
Jonny is one of the UK’s foremost silent-film pianists and the founder of Northern Silents.
Together, they’ll weave a new soundscape and bring this striking film vividly to life.
The Man Who Laughs, 1928, USA, directed by Paul Leni
Running time: 125 minutes + interval
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