Bergen Community College will present its Cinema Ciccone Silent Film Series featuring Docks of New York on Tuesday, February 11th, A Santa Notte on Thursday, February 13th and The Adventurer on Thursday, February 20th. The films begin at 7:00 pm in the Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre located at the College’s main campus, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus, New Jersey and feature live musical accompaniment by silent film performers. The February 20th show will include an opening act comedy performance by “Uncle” Floyd Vivino.
Among the world’s foremost silent film musicians, Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton will perform their unique blend of keyboards, vocals and percussion for Docks of New York. Academy Award-nominated film score composer John La Barbera and Susan Aquila, an electric violin virtuoso, will perform live musical accompaniment for A Santa Notte and The Adventurer.
Each silent film brings its own unique plot to the series:
- Tuesday, February 11th: Docks of New York – Roughneck Bill Roberts (George Bancroft) falls hard for Mae (Betty Compson), a wise and weary dance-hall girl, in Josef von Sternberg’s evocative portrait of working-class waterfront folk. Fog-enshrouded cinematography by Harold Rosson (The Wizard of Oz), expressionist set design by Hans Dreier (Sunset Boulevard), and performances by Bancroft and Compson make this one of the legendary director’s finest works, and one of the most exquisitely crafted films of the era.
- Thursday, February 13th: A Santa Notte – Based on a popular Neapolitan song, ‘A santanotte’ is one of the few films directed by Elvira Notari, Italy’s earliest and most prolific female filmmaker at Dora Film. The print of the film that will be screened is made from two separate elements, a black-and-white duplicate preserved at Cineteca Nazionale and a nitrate print indicating the color processes used, found in the archives of George Eastman House.
- Thursday, February 20th: The Adventurer – An American short comedy film made in 1917 written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin plays an escaped convict on the run from prison guards. He falls into favor with a wealthy family after he saves a young lady (Edna Purviance) from drowning, but her suitor (Eric Campbell) does everything he can to have Chaplain apprehended by the officials. The Adventurer is the last of the 12 films made under contract for the Mutual Film Corporation.
Purchase tickets for Cinema Ciccone Silent Film Series here.
Looking for more Bergen County events? Visit the mybergen.com Events Calendar.
