The Jane Pickens Theater & Event Center will host two classic silent films with live musical scores this winter, offering audiences a chance to experience cinema as it was nearly a century ago.
Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will perform live improvised synth-piano scores for both screenings: Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. and Frank Borzage’s “7th Heaven” on Feb. 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Both films originally screened at the Washington Square theater in the 1920s, making the upcoming presentations a return engagement nearly 99 years later.
“Metropolis,” a 1927 science-fiction landmark, will be shown in its 2010 restoration featuring more than 25 minutes of rediscovered footage. The film, set in a futuristic city divided between wealthy elites and exploited workers, influenced generations of filmmakers and movies from “Blade Runner” to “Star Wars.”
“7th Heaven,” also from 1927, swept the first Academy Awards, winning best director for Borzage, best actress for Janet Gaynor and best adapted screenplay for Benjamin Glazer. The romantic drama follows a Parisian sewer worker and a woman fleeing abuse whose pretend marriage becomes real love against the backdrop of World War I. Director Damien Chazelle has cited the film’s ending as an influence on “La La Land.”
Rapsis, described as a JPT audience favorite and one of the country’s leading silent-film musicians and historians, will introduce each film and lead post-screening Q&A sessions.
For tickets and more information, visit janepickens.com.