In the age of Dolby surround-sound and trite, overwritten dialogue, true film fanatics should jump on the chance to experience the medium as it was originally conceived—silent save for live, musical accompaniment. “Music facilitates the images on the screen and adds a dimension that we’re not accustomed to,” says pianist David Drazin. “It contributes to the suspense.” On Friday night, the Block Cinema at Northwestern will screen “The Lodger,” a silent film directed by the master of suspense, Alfred Hichcock. Drazin will provide the music. Having seen the film and acquired a strong sense of its themes, Drazin does not rely on a score—he improvises throughout the entire performance. “This is the first time Hitchcock introduces the idea of the wrong man being accused and the notion of mob justice,” Drazin says. “It’s tense and you feel that in the music.”
Film 50 2020: Chicago’s Screen Gems There are old masters with decades of experience and upstarts, too. We don’t mark ages on the list, but the profiles and portraits offer clues.
Chicago Stories: An Epic City So Real Five hours for the five stars in the Chicago flag: the city's the sometimes tarnished sometimes shining star of Steve James' Chicago story, "City So Real."
Film 50 2022: Chicago's Screen Gems Behind the scenes of what constitutes "film"—industry and community, in Chicago and the Midwest—is circle upon circle, an ecstasy of Venn diagrams.
