Pure Awesomeness

This weekend I had the amazing experience of seeing one of my all time favorite silent films accompanied by the symphony orchestra. I have probably seen Metropolis at least five or six times before, in several different versions, but it never fails to awe me. This version is the most complete one I've ever seen. A 16mm print was discovered in Brazil a few years back, and it has been used to try and reconstruct the original film. There are still some big chunks missing, but at 150 minutes, it's pretty comprehensive.

The orchestra played the original score, and it was beautiful. There is something so incredibly powerful about an orchestra. Each individual instrument has its own part to play to make up the whole. It was difficult sometimes to decide whether to watch the screen or the players. Especially in the dramatic scenes where the percussionists were darting from instrument to instrument to make the various sounds. Who knew how a xylophone could carry over all those other instruments?

It was an incredible experience and one I will never forget. Have you ever seen a silent film with a full orchestra?