In honor of the 100th anniversary of the 1922 film Nosferatu, Maiden Alley Cinema presents a special screening of the film with a live score performed by Paducah's Sarsen Circle. Austin Carter speaks to event organizer John Null ahead of the screening.
"Nosferatu is Dracula," Null explains. "They did not have the rights to Bram Stoker's Dracula, so all the names are changed. Dracula becomes Orlok; the Harkers become Hutters. So, they didn't spend too much time transposing those names. The images from the movie, the German expressionist cinematography, and the look of Max Schreck as the vampire, Orlok, have definitely endured. I think it still holds up as a pretty good horror movie."
True to its silent film origins, Maiden Alley's special screening of Nosferatu will feature a live band score with Paducah's Sarsen Circle. "They're a two-piece instrumental horror-inspired progressive rock band. They're coming up with all original music for this, as I understand it. But I do expect a combination of maybe John Carpenter's film scores and also a sort of psychedelic thing you'd hear in a movie like Suspiria."
"The lights will go down, the movie will start, and then the band will play along," Null continues. "They'll be on stage, maybe some sort of light show, too. It will be an experience."
Maiden Alley Cinema presents Nosferatu on Thursday, October 27th. Doors will open at 7 pm, and a reel of vampire-related trailers, music videos, and clips will begin at 7:30. The screening and live band performance will start at 8 pm.
Tickets to the special screening can be purchased online or at the door. For more information about the nonprofit arthouse cinema, visit the Maiden Alley Cinema website.
