Event

Faust

A screening of F.W. Murnau's epic 1926 silent film Faust, with Dennis James live on the E.M. Skinner organ, and Mark Goldstein, Theremin and Lightning. This version of the film is Luciano Berriatua's restored and reconstructed version for Filmoteca Española: a great treat for Halloween.

The musical texture underscores the fundamental struggle between the forces of good and evil by pairing the organ with electronic synthesis: the 1920 Soviet-era Theremin, and the Lightning (Don Buchla's wireless synthesis controller developed in 1990).

Murnau's masterpiece runs for two hours (timed without intermission), in two parts. The first, based on the folk legend, shows Faust initially agreeing to the pact with Mephisto in order to banish the plague from the town, but subordinating himself to the devil in order to find eternal youth. The second part, closely based on Goethe's drama, focuses more on the Gretchen tragedy.

Tickets $10 general admission online and at the door.