Thursdays, February 13 – April 3, 2014
The Hitchcock 9 is a joint venture of the BFI, Rialto Pictures/Studiocanal, and Park Circus/ITV.
The Hitchcock 9 is generously supported by Sam Walker.
These surviving silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock will all but entirely be accompanied by live musicians — from Omaha music stalwarts like Simon Joyner, Ted Stevens, and Dan McCarthy to internationally renowned silent accompanist Donald Sosin.
The restoration of the films is miraculous. Decades of damage and wear were removed, the sharpness of images improved, new shots discovered, and intertitles and tinting restored. The BFI drew from seven international archives in the restoration process, but film materials from the BFI National Archive – including a number of original negatives – were central to the project. These refurbished films offer interesting context to Hitchcock’s later work, while also standing on their own.
We’ve drawn on mostly Omaha-based artists for the other exciting component of the series – the music. We’re pleased to welcome back Dan McCarthy, who arranged a ragtime soundtrack to the Buster Keaton classic SHERLOCK JR. for the theater in 2012, collaborating this time with James Maakestad (McCarthy Trenching, Gus and Call) on music for THE FARMER’S WIFE. Ben Brodin (Conor Oberst, Jake Bellows), an Omaha-based recording engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist will create a score for EASY VIRTUE. Ben has performed for Film Streams silent film series on several occasions, usually accompanying Todd and Orenda Fink (The Faint, Azure Ray). We’ll be joined by internationally renowned accompanist Donald Sosin for a double feature of CHAMPAGNE and PLEASURE GARDEN. Sosin has been enthralling audiences with his silent film music for over thirty years. Collaborators Joseph Knapp, Jim Schroeder, and Luke Polipnick will write and perform a score to BLACKMAIL that will feature classically trained soprano Amanda DeBoer Bartlett. Alex MacManus (The Bruces, Lambchop, So-so Sailors) and Aaron Markley (Gus and Call) will join forces on THE RING. THE LODGER will receive treatment from The Ghosts Collective, featuring Omaha music legend Simon Joyner, Michael Krassner (Boxhead Ensemble), Megan Siebe (Noah Sterba and Cocktails), and Mike Friedman (The Movies). The series will close with accompaniment by Ted Stevens Unknown Project to THE MANXMAN. The group features Stevens (Cursive, Lullabye for the Working Class), Lincoln Dickison (Chromafrost, The Monroes), Ian Aeillo (Eli Mardock, Eagle Seagull), and David Ozinga (UUVVWWZ).
