Verlaine brings those films, all silent-era experimental works, and his scores to the Detroit Film Theatre on Friday as part of a summer program of music and movie events. A second guitarist, Jimmy Ripp, joins him in the 70-minute performance. "He's much more adept at effects," Verlaine says of Ripp, "using echoes and reverbs, the more spacey kind of things, while I play more the melodies.
" Since its 1999 New York premiere, the show has played in more than a dozen venues around the world. A DVD of the films with Verlaine's music is scheduled for release by Kino in the fall. The films, most shown in 35mm prints, come from key visual artists of the 1920s, including Man Ray, Fernand Leger and Hans Richter.
Robert Florey, who codirected "Life and Death of 9413 -- Hollywood Extra" (1927), introduced the Marx Bros. to the movies in "The Cocoanuts" two years later. Verlaine says to expect a mix of different styles, both in the films and their scores.
"On the one hand, you've got Man Ray's 'L'Etoile de Mer,' a more romantic, rhythmic piece, followed by 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' which is an early horror film with special effects. So right there, you've got different moods happening. "Anyone coming for some weird rock show will definitely be surprised," Verlaine says.
"We play while seated in the audience, with the first couple of rows roped off, or in the orchestra pit, so we're literally invisible during the show." This article does not have any comments associated with it Verlaine brings those films, all silent-era experimental works, and his scores to the Detroit Film Theatre on Friday as part of a summer program of music and movie events.
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