The San Francisco Silent Film Festival opened last night at the Castro Theater for the next five days.
The festival is one of the cultural treasures of this city, with musicians specializing in live music to accompany silent films arriving from all over the globe.
The opening night film was
The Iron Mask, a conglomeration of Alexander Dumas's
Three Musketeers novels that ends with all our heroes dying while rescuing King Louis XIV from treachery. (They are rewarded with an arm-in-arm walk to heaven together at the end.) It was also the 45-year-old Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s swan song to silent films as a producer and swashbuckling actor. The production was lavish, with legions of extras on hand, and beautifully shot. Plus, the restored print was exquisite.
The theater was almost full with an attentive, appreciative crowd who gave a huge ovation to the Gunter Buchwald Ensemble. Their propulsive score for piano, percussion, and one musician on various wind instruments fit the movie well.
One of the great joys of seeing a silent film at the Castro Theater is being transported directly back in time. The theater was built for silent films (it opened with
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse starring Valentino) and now the great old cinema palace is about to be turned into a concert venue for Another Planet Entertainment. The situation is a civic disgrace, and everyone involved in making that happen should be ashamed of themselves, but time and change are inexorable. You might want to check out a film this weekend before the festival is forced to go elsewhere.
Click here for a schedule.
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