One of the most ambitious and technically impressive films of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s The General, is being shown at Rye Community Centre on Monday 10 November at 3pm, with musician Mike Hatchard accompanying on piano.
Based on the true story from the American Civil War, the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, the film is the story of an engineer whose beloved railroad engine is stolen by the Union army, and tells of his daring pursuit to get it back along with his fiancée, who is on the train.
There is comedy, action, pathos and stunning scenery with breath-taking stunts by Keaton requiring flawless timing and athleticism. Many people will have seen excerpts of the film – spectacular train crashes from wooden bridges, and Keaton balancing, jumping, and running across tracks and trains. But it will be a real treat to see the whole film on the big screen with live music adding to the drama.
Mike Hatchard has been playing piano to silent movies for several years and has found it an inspiring process. “At first, I watched the film, made notes, and prepared but by about the third time I was unable to see the film before, so the performance was a spontaneous response to what was happening on screen. I prefer to be spontaneous as each time I play it is different. The audiences’ reactions change the way I play. I respond to them – if they are laughing or quiet or clapping.”
The hardest part at first, he said, was playing in the dark and this has taught him to play without looking at his fingers. Although the film was made in the 1920s, Mike does not keep to the music of the period but may include classical, boogie-woogie, rock ‘n roll, and has been surprised at the audiences’ response to his playing. “It is a lot of piano music to listen to throughout the film, but it is like playing a concert rather than in a club or bar. At one film at the Kino Teatr in St Leonards there was a standing ovation at the end which took me by surprise!”
Tickets cost £10 and can be booked here.
Image Credits: Picryl Public Domain CC https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.