Come join us at the DRWM if you can-can!
Baz Lurhmann's version was opulent and glamorous. Starring Nicole Kidman, as the femme fatale, Moulin Rouge! brought the story of the hedonistic days of the infamous Parisian den of iniquities back to the fore. The National Library's DRWM cinema on Tuesday 24th November, audiences will again be given a chance to enter this sinner's paradise as The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales presents a screening of an original 1928 silent classic by the same title as Lurhamm's latter day homage to the famous windmill of Montmartre.Indeed the 1928 version of Moulin Rouge is the first of six films over the last century dedicated to the cancan club and has been described as Britain's first super film. The film stars Olga Chekhova, the niece of Russian playwright Anton Chekov. Her life in itself is worthy of a film release. Chekhova left behind her starved and deprived life in her native Russia in 1920 for the heady heights of Germany. Here she became a starlet of the Nazis and a personal favourite of Hitler, however she subversively worked as a Soviet spy!
The movie's plot revolves around a tale of a singer/dancer at the Moulin Rouge (Chekhova), who meets her daughter's fiancée, only to have him fall obsessively in love with her and she with him. Alienation, betrayal and near tragedy result. Olga Chekhova, virtually unknown prior to this film, went on to make an incredible 122 feature films stretching nearly six decades from 1917 to 1974.
The silent film will be shown to live accompaniment and new soundtrack provided by Sound Affairs, a Cardiff based musical charity dedicated to the production and promotion of new styles of music, currently on tour across the UK. The company formed in 1991 and led by composer Charlie Barber consists of award winning DJ Jaffa, violinist Thoby Davis, bass player Steven Moss and percussionist Matt West. The aim of the tour is to inject creative new energy and a different style and sound of musical accompaniment to this classic film from the silent era.
According to Charlie Barber " The Moulin Rogue is the timeless story of an eternal love triangle. I was inspired to write a musical score to accompany the film which reflects both the vivacious rhythms of Parisian cabaret and contemporary urban culture".
On November 24th the DRWM will host this visual and audio extravaganza as the seductive silent classic merges with music influenced by a mix of contemporary urban culture and the boisterous rhythms of Parisian cabaret. As DJ Jaffe concludes, "I'm really looking forward to bringing a piece of urban culture to such a ground breaking and timeless project".
Notes:
Moulin Rouge (1928) 24/11/04 7.30pm
Tickets:£5 01970 632 548
Press Contact: Llinos Medi Jones lmj@llgc.org.uk 01970 632 534