“Hello Yank, welcome to a very merry little war. And now how about a wee drop for the King and Uncle Sam?”
The 1927 silent classic WINGS will screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood) April 14th at 7:30pm. WINGS will be accompanied by an original score by the Prima Vista Quartet. Tickets are $10.00
Ticket information can be found HERE
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2844369
In 1927, the first Best Picture Oscar went to WINGS, a thrilling silent WW1 drama from director William S. Wellman. WINGS told the story of poor boy Jack (Charles Rogers) and rich boy David (Richard Arlen) who are in love with the same woman, which causes the two to become bitter enemies. When WW1 breaks out the two are thrown together and quickly become friends, although David is too nice to let Jack know that the girl back home doesn’t love him. Clara Bow plays the girl who is madly in love with Jack but he’s too blind to see it. It’s rather sad that this film is basically only remembered for winning the first Best Picture Oscar because it’s an incredible film from start to finish. The action stunts are incredible to watch and the scenes in the sky are just as thrilling. The majority of the 139-minute running time is all the action and there’s never a dull moment. One has to imagine what it was like making a film like this in 1926-27. Cameras were massive, heavy and hand-cranked. Consider this when viewing this amazing film’s flying sequences. Both Rogers and Arlen are terrific in their roles and never miss a beat. Bow steals the film as the playful girl in love with Jack. The way Bow moves has enough sexual energy that you can’t help but be fixated on everything she does. Her “nude” scene in front of the mirror is certainly among the highlights of the film. Henry B. Walthall appears briefly as David’s father and Gary Cooper has a very impressive, if short, role. Also worth mentioning is the greatly comical scene involving the champagne bubbles. In the end this is another shining example of the mastery of silent cinema and just more proof that you don’t need a computer to make great action scenes. Now lucky St. Louis silent film fans will have the opportunity to see WINGS on the big screen accompanied by live organ music.
Wings is accompanied by the Prima Vista Quartet, which during its 15-year existence has become a benchmark in the world of cine-concerts. Varietys Lisa Nesselson declared that the quartet offered the best silent film accompaniment Ive heard. For this special performance, the group composer and violist Baudime Jam, violinists Elzbieta Gladys and Amélie Paradis, and cellist Frédéric Deville is supplemented by Matthias Champon on trumpet and Cédric Barbier on percussion.With over 2000 performances to its credit, the Prima Vista Quartet has become a benchmark in the world of film concerts (silent films musical accompaniment) of which it explores repertoires as diverse as slapstick, expressionism, social realism, historical melodrama, swashbuckler, cartoon, and documentary, while visiting horizons as different as French, American, German, Russian and Chinese films.
This event is sponsored by the Jane M. & Bruce P. Robert Charitable Foundation, Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Chicago & New York, and Centre Francophone at Webster University
