Tag: MoMA

  • video blog episode 2: accompanying “The Last Laugh” at MoMA

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    Ben Model

    Here’s episode 3, in which I talk about preparing for and accompanying F.W. Murnau’s “The Last Laugh” on two consecutive days. The theme song (seen briefly at the beginning) was actually shot at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, where I was guest speaker/artist (third time!) at Larry Burke and Larry Wallach’s film music course on…

  • video blog episode 1: Griffith, Gish, and instant leitmotifs

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    Ben Model

    I’m going to give video-blogging another go in 2010. Using the FlipVideo camera makes it a little more convenient, and talking-head blogging sure beats writing, and typing and correcting typos (which only seem to appear after I click on ‘publish’). I’m hoping I can be a little more consistent than the last time I tried…

  • musical theme: “An Auteurist History of Film”

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    Ben Model
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    This is a theme I came up with for the series at MoMA, which I play as the lights go down and between films (if it’s a double-bill). Gives you a look (and a listen) at the mod-looking Modus digital piano Yamaha has loaned to MoMA for the series. (I shot this quickly, before the…

  • Auteurist series at MoMA moves in the 1920s

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    Ben Model

    Well, we’re out of the woods, now (meaning films of the ‘teens), and the pictures just get better and better every week. The series screens on Wed/Thur/Fri at 1:30pm; the dates below reflect the fact that I only play on Weds and Thurs. In 2010 I will use the Miditzer for accompaniment more, as by…

  • Oct 26: Thanhouser at MoMA

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    Ben Model
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    Last April, Charles Silver, Steve Massa and I screened MoMA’s holdings of Thanhouser Films to select the titles for this program. As it turned out some of these wound up being on the latest Thanhouser DVD set, which I also scored for Ned Thanhouser. With the exception of one title, a dupey 16mm print, they…

  • Oct 4 – Dough & Dynamite for American Girl

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    Ben Model
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    Oct 4 at 9:30 am (!) found me at MoMA bright and early for a private screening for a handful of young girls, their American Girl dolls, and the girls’ moms, a Grandma and a Dad. This was another one of the promotional events linked to American Girl’s new Rebecca Rubin doll, whose historical year…

  • Oct 1 “Lesser-Known Pioneers of Cinema” (MoMA)

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    Ben Model

    La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ. 1902. France. Directed by Ferdinand Zecca, Lucien Nonguet. 30 min. La Vie du Christ. 1906. France. Directed by Alice Guy Blaché. 28 min.The Automobile Thieves (incomplete). 1906. USA. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. 10 min. Francesca di Rimini. 1908. USA. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. 10 min.At…

  • “An Auterist History of Film” at MoMA begins

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    Ben Model

    For those of you with weekday daytime availability, be sure to bookmarkthis page on MoMA Film’s website for An Auteurist History of Film: http://moma.org/visit/calendar/films/989 The first 6 or 7 months of this two-year film cycle at MoMA, curated by Charles Silver, is all silent film. A different program is shown each week on Weds, Thurs…

  • Cruel & Unusual: shows #1 – #4

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    Ben Model

    Our first four Cruel and Unusual Comedy shows at MoMA have gone extremely well. We’ve had great houses – I’d guestimate 200+ people, and lots of new (and younger!) faces – at every program. Eileen Bowser came to our first show, and will be guest speaker at our last show on June 1st. It’s the…

  • Au Bonheur Des Dames (1930) – dir Julien Duvivier

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    Ben Model

    I’ve now played for all four of the Julien Duvivier films in the series at MoMA, with two repeats to come. So far my favorite is La Vie miraculeuse de Therese Martin, perhaps because its storyline is much more simple than the other 3 pictures. All of them have stunning visuals, very nice cinematography and…