Silent film historian, accompanist and distributor Ben Model presents a combination lecture + screening about his work over the past decade uncovering, restoring and reintroducing rare films of the lesser-known luminaries of silent comedy to the public. His home-video label Undercrank Productions has released 30 Blu-ray/DVD’s over the past decade, collaborating with film archives and collectors, funding most of his projects via Kickstarter. Model will screen and live-score three rare silent comedies: Douglas MacLean in Bell Boy 13 (1923), Find the King (1927) with Edward Everett Horton, and How Stars are Made (1916) with Alice Howell.
Laughter Restored: Discovering Rare Gems of the Silent Era with Ben Model
Saturday, May 18
1:15Showtimes updated on Tuesday evenings
Partner organizations include:
The Academy Film Archive, George Eastman Museum, Hope Runs High Films, IndieCollect, Janus Films, Kino Lorber, Milestone Films, Museum of Modern Art, New York University’s Motion Image Archive and Preservation program, Rialto Pictures, The Film Foundation, Vinegar Syndrome, Women’s Film Preservation Fund part of New York Women in Film and Television, individuals such as Ben Model, and other associated partners.
Laughter Restored: Discovering Rare Gems of the Silent Era with Ben Model
Live Musical Accompaniment by Ben Model
Tickets: $11 (members), $16 (nonmembers)
"We have Model to thank for filling out the landscape of silent film history by preserving and revitalizing many of these short silent films for new generations to appreciate and enjoy."
SPECIAL EVENTS
Screening and Lecture by Ben Model
Saturday, May. 18 2024, 1:15
Ben Model is one of the nation’s leading silent film accompanists, performing on both piano and theatre organ. For more than 40 years, he has created and performed several hundred live scores for silent films on piano and theatre organ. Ben is a resident film accompanist at the Museum of Modern Art (NY) and at the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus Theatre. His recorded scores can be heard on numerous DVD/Blu-Ray releases from Kino Lorber, Milestone and his own label Undercrank Productions, as well as on Turner Classic Movies. Ben’s Undercrank Productions has released many rare undiscovered gems of the silent era, including films starring Marcel Perez, Alice Howell, Baby Peggy and Marion Davies that have been out of circulation since the 1920s, as part of a co-branding arrangement with the Library of Congress. Ben is a regular accompanist at classic film festivals around the U.S.A. and internationally, and he performs at universities, museums and historic theaters. He is also the producer and co-founder of The Silent Clowns Film Series, now celebrating it its 25th season in NYC.
Tickets: $15 (members), $20 (nonmembers)
This film is part of the Restored and Rediscovered: A Film Preservation Festival series.
Partner organizations include:
The Academy Film Archive, George Eastman Museum, Hope Runs High Films, IndieCollect, Janus Films, Kino Lorber, Milestone Films, Museum of Modern Art, New York University’s Motion Image Archive and Preservation program, Rialto Pictures, The Film Foundation, Vinegar Syndrome, Women’s Film Preservation Fund part of New York Women in Film and Television, individuals such as Ben Model, and other associated partners.
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