A masterpiece of German expressionism, one of the American horror classics and a brilliant comedy about feuding families from the 1920s – this is the canvas of musical improvisations in this year’s edition of the NFM Organ Cinema. The live soundtrack to the frames of Der letzte Mann, the famous Phantom of the Opera and the slapstick Our Hospitality will be improvised this time by Paul Goussot, Vincent Thévenaz and the famous Wrocław duo – Tomasz Głuchowski and Michał Macewicz.
The long-awaited, summer series will open with a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau – Der letzte Mann from 1924, considered a gem of kammerspiel. It tells the story of an elderly man employed as a porter in one of the luxury hotels. One day he loses his position and faces contemptuous attitudes of others. Having been proud of his elegant job uniform, he now experiences both material and moral loss. The screening will be accompanied by organ improvisation by Tomasz Głuchowski and music by DJ Michał Macewicz.
During the following show, we will watch The Phantom of the Opera by Rupert Julian and Edward Sedgwick. This is a classic horror film that is in fact an adaptation of the famous novel by Gaston Leroux. The action takes place in the building of Paris Opera, where Erik is hiding, a disfigured musical genius who falls in love with the charming Christine Daaé, a young artist aspiring to the title of diva. A hundred years after the premiere, the tragic story of fear and love will be enriched by the performance of the French organist Paul Goussot, valued in particular for his masterful improvisations, for which he has received numerous prizes at international competitions, including in Luxembourg, St. Albans and Haarlem. He is a professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva.
The series will end with Buster Keaton’s Our Hospitality, a comedy about a multi-generational conflict between the American Canfield and McKay families. The story begins with a letter about an inheritance, which one day William McKay receives and, happy with the prospect of wealth, decides to go to his hometown of Rockville. However, this trip turns out to be a proverbial spoonful of tar in the hero’s sweet plan, because his unfriendly relatives quickly decide to show him the true “hospitality”. Replete with great gags, full of humour, but also drama, the film is, from today’s perspective, a treasure of silent cinema directed by a versatile filmmaker and the great comedian of this genre, second only to Charlie Chaplin. The soundtrack for the film will be improvised by Vincent Thévenaz, titular organist of the Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Geneva and, like Paul Goussot, professor of organ playing and improvisation at the Haute Ecole de Musique.