Bill Morrison: A Modern Master of Silent Film
World Financial Center; 2/3 at 7:30 p.m.; West St. at Vesey St.; 212-945-0505
The series pairing Bill Morrison’s experimental silent films with music by living composers ends with a screening of Morrison’s much-lauded Decasia, with a score by Michael Gordon performed live by the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble.
“Raucous Rarities”
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; 2/4 at 2:30 p.m.; 40 Lincoln Center Plz., at 64th St.; 212-870-1630
Since 1997, the Silent Clowns Film Series has been screening regular silent films with music by accompanist extraordinaire Ben Model. This Saturday’s “Raucous Rarities” lineup includes films like Ben Turpin’s 1926 A Blonde’s Revenge and Stan Laurel’s 1923 When Knights Were Cold.
Zammuto/Achantè: Live Music and Film
92YTribeca; 2/4 at 8 p.m.; 200 Hudson St., nr. Canal St.; 212-601-1000
Okay, technically not a silent film event but still, music and film together, so it sort of counts. The evening starts with a screening of the 35-minute film Achantè, a rhythmic portrait of Haitian Vodou for which musician Michael Zammuto—co-founder of the Books—wrote the score. Following the screening, there will be a performance by his new four-piece band, complete with video integration and bonus cuts.
Quiet Please! Silent Films
The Celeste Bartos Theater, The Museum of Modern Art; 2/11 at noon; 11 W. 53rd St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-708-9400
This one’s recommended for kids, but you could probably find one of those somewhere, or just beg your way in. The program includes silent live-action and animated short films with live accompaniment, as well as a discussion with a museum educator. This week’s lineup includes 1920’s One Week, directed by Buster Keaton and F. Edward Klein, and 1911’s The Lonedale Operator, directed by D. W. Griffith.
Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights
Nitehawk; 2/12 at 12:30 p.m. and 2/14 at 7:30 p.m.; 136 Metropolitan Ave., nr. Berry St., Williamsburg; 718-384-3980
For the next installment of their Live Music and Moving Pictures series, Nitehawk serves up something romantic: Charlie Chaplain’s heartfelt City Lights, in which the little tramp plays—you guessed it—a tramp. This time around, he’s in love with a poor and blind flower girl who mistakes him for rich owing to his generosity. Will he get the girl? There are two chances to find out, one, appropriately enough, on Valentine’s Day.