By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Today, Monday, July 3rd, the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Aterro do Flamengo hosts a cine-concert at 8PM, screening Jean Epstein’s classic film, “The Fall of the House of Usher”. As it was in the old days, the movie will be accompanied by live music, which will be performed by the Soundpainting Rio orchestra.
Inspired in Edgar Allan Poe’s namesake literary story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a classic horror/thriller film from 1928, directed by French-Polish Jean Epistein.
Written in collaboration with surrealist Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel, the work is considered a benchmark in the genre.
The plot consists in the story of Sir Roderick Usher’s twin sister, Madeline, played by actress Margerite Gance, who is dying by mysterious circumstances. The answer lies in Sir Usher’s obsession with painting Madeline: the more vivid the portrays he makes are, the less alive Madeline looks.
The production stands out for Epistein’s deep knowledge on cinematographic techniques, especially for the 1920s. One can find in the film special effects like blurring, creative conjugation between sound and image, ralenti (slow camera) and overlapping. All of them were fundamental in building the movie’s dramatic structure.
Since 2012, Soundpainting Rio is a project that promotes instantaneous music creation through a specific sign language. The technique was created in 1979 by American researcher Walter Thompson. Directed by Tayo Omura, the orchestra brings over twenty singers and instrumentalists to the cine-concert tonight.
The musical performance will also include eight special guests. Participating in the event with Soundpainting Rio orchestra will be pianist and synthesizer player Alê Fonseca, Marina Mapurunga in the vocals and viola, Lucca Totti in the electric guitar, Leonardo Dias in the percussion, among others.
The event has the support of cineclub Rã Vermelha (Red Frog) and Space MOVA. It was organized by the Museum of Modern Art’s cinematheque and opens the Second Interdisciplinary Journey of Sound and Music in the Audiovisual, part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s Post-Graduation Music Program.
What: Cine-concert “The Fall of the House of Usher” with Soundpainting Rio
When: Monday, July 3rd, starting at 8PM
Where: Museum of Modern Art’s cinematheque – Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 85 – Aterro do Flamengo – Tel: (21) 2240-5743
Entrance: FREE