"THE MAN WHO LAUGHS" with live soundtrack performed on the historic Estey Pipe Organ at Epsilon Spires by Ben Model, celebrated silent film accompanist for MoMA and Library of Congress

HEADLINE: The film masterpiece that inspired "The Joker" comes to Epsilon Spires with a live musical score performed on the historic Estey organ by Ben Model, celebrated silent film accompanist for MoMA and Library of Congress. 

BRATTLEBORO — On Friday, September 22 at 8 PM, the downtown non-profit arts center Epsilon Spires,190 Main Street will present Ben Model performing a live musical score on their historic Estey organ to the silent film "The Man Who Laughs" The 1928 German-Expressionist masterpiece is based on Victor Hugo's tragic tale of wrongful persecution and wrathful anger and features the riveting original performance that inspired "The Joker." 

Before the character appeared in the Batman comic book series there was "The Man Who Laughs", a thrilling, dreamlike and visually striking historical melodrama, packed with political intrigue and emotionally-complicated characters. The unsettling appearance and exceptional acting performance by Conrad Veidt (famous for Cabinet of Dr Calagari) later inspired the DC comics character "The Joker." 

Ben Model is a phenomenal organist who regularly performs musical accompaniment to silent films at MOMA and Library of Congress. He is one of the top twenty most celebrated silent film accompanists in the United States and Epsilon Spires is so honored to have him return for his 4th appearance. He was recently featured in a video piece in The New Yorker and has previously written about playing our exceptional Estey organ, which was built here in Brattleboro, in his blog.

Conrad Veidt (Cabinet of Dr Calagari) stars as Gwynplaine, who as a child was disfigured with a 'permanent smile' at the cruel command of King James II - a punishment carved onto the boy's face by the royal surgeon as punishment for his Scottish father's political dissidence from the British crown. Ostracized, Gwynplaine joins a carnival sideshow and rescues and befriends Dea, an innocent blind girl who is not aware of his scarred features but loves him for who he is. 

However their lives of contentment living at the fringes of society become threatened by an unexpected confrontation with Gwynplaine's troubled past, forcing him to confront his urge for revenge.

Gwynplaine's grotesque grin was achieved with prosthesis. Veidt was fitted with a set of dentures that had metal hooks to painfully pull back the corners of his mouth, and he couldn't speak when the dentures were in. The distinctive tortured 'look' and the pathos and suffering behind the antihero's backstory are cited as a major influence for the American comic book creators of Batman's grinning nemesis "The Joker''. Veidt's extraordinary performance, and the film overall however, deserve to be celebrated for far more, and as a work of art in itself. The darkly gripping story is propelled by director Paul Leni's masterful visual style, and whose pacing rewards us with intrigue and excitement at every surprising turn. 

Ben Model works full-time, carrying on a tradition he learned from the silent film organist Lee Erwin (1919-2000). He presents silent films, is a resident film accompanist at the Museum of Modern Art (NY), at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theatre, and performs at a wide variety of theaters, museums, schools and other venues around the USA and internationally.
Over the past 4 decades he has created and performed thousands of live scores for several hundred silent films and has performed at classic film festivals around the USA and internationally, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival, the Kansas Silent Film Festival, Stumfilmdager (Silent Film Days) inTromsø Norway, now in its 25th season in NYC holding its shows at the NYPL Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center. He has composed film scores for both orchestra and concert band for accompaniment to films by Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy and more. These scores are performed around the U.S. every year by professional and school ensembles. Tickets available by Sliding-Scale at: epsilonspires.org

Event Info

Nov 25, 2024, 6:30 PM

Dec 1, 2024, 8 to 9:30 AM

Dec 1, 2024, 11 AM to 2 PM