Femininity in Silent Film
Thu 23.05.2013   20:00

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Villa Sträuli  |  Museumstrasse 60  |  Winterthur
20:00The Mystery of the Leaping Fish  (USA 1916, 25'), Christy Cabanne / John Emerson
20:45The Unknown  (USA 1927, 50'), Tod Browning
Los Dos Monos (Vocals, Guitar, Drums)

Tod Browning's Dark Carnival of Desires

Before turning to the young medium of cinema, Tod Browning had been at home in the world of vaudeville, circus and Luna parks as an actor, magician and dancer. This is the world of ‘The Unknown’, which tells the story of the unhappy hope love between the armless knife thrower Alonzo and the mortally timid Estrellita. Unlike his rival, the strongman of the circus, Alonzo manages to get closer to his beloved and build up a certain trust. But their familiarity bears the risk of Estrellita noticing that Alonzo’s armlessness is only pretended and that he is by no means as harmless as he seems.

Los Dos Monos consist of Limmat-Trash-Delta-Blues-guitarist and singer Han Sue Lee Tischhauser and drummer Andreas Wettstein. Their live accompaniment of this tragic love story mesmerised the audience already at the ‘Marathon of Femininity’ in November 2012. The opening programme features a performance of Los Dos Monos to a short, early comedy Tod Browning wrote jointly with D.W. Griffith and Anita Loos: ‘The Mystery of the Leaping Fish’ (1916).

 

Open-air in the Park
Thu 04.07.2013 – Fri 05.07.2013

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Villa Sträuli  |  Museumstrasse 60  |  Winterthur
Thu×
22:00The Temptress  (USA 1926, 117'), Fred Niblo
Evelinn Trouble (Voice, Synthesizer, Guitar, Bass, Drums)

Greta Garbo: Temptation and Sadness

Much has been written about Greta Garbo's beauty. Gazing at her face was said to be like marvelling at a master piece. Her second US-film again skilfully highlights the unfathomable fascination that would drive countless men to their doom. Before the audience first sees her face, we follow how protagonist Antonio Moreno perceives her for the first time and utters the words: “You are – beautiful!”  But this first encounter turns into bitter disappointment when they next meet...

‘The Temptress’ will be accompanied live by Evelinn Trouble. The 24 year-old Zurich singer with Swedish roots is an exceptional talent within the Swiss music scene and living proof that pop and rock do not necessarily exclude depth. The extremely gifted bass player Flo Götte and experienced drummer Tobi Schramm provide the fertile ground from  which her uncompromising search for a characteristic musical identity can unfold. Plenty of reason to be excited about these three musicians’ encounter with the film!

Fri×
22:00Häxan  (Denmark 1922, 104'), Benjamin Christensen
LILA (Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Wurlitzer, Bass Synthesizer, Live Electronics, Guitar, Drums)

Häxan: Whitchcraft through the Ages

‘Häxan’ is a hybrid creature. Benjamin Christensen’s film tells the story of the history of witchcraft both as a documentary and through dramatised scenes. At the same time, the film is a study of how superstition and the misinterpretation of diseases could lead to hysteria and witch hunts. Because of the graphic portrayal of torture, nudity and perversion, the film was shortened, censured or even banned in many countries. Nowadays it fascinates above all on account of it expressionist settings and the sombre-burlesque horror visions.

‘Häxan’ has been set to a variety of new music since the 1960s, especially by jazz and experimental musicians. This time, there will be a live performance by the LILA quartet surrounding Lucerne-based saxophonist and bass clarinettist Christoph Erb alongside Flo Stoffner, Hans-Peter Pfammatter and Julian Sartorius on guitar, electronics and drums. Their music lies somewhere in the field between free jazz, indie rock and dubstep and contains all the necessary ingredients to do acoustic justice to this visual orgy.