THE BLUE ANGEL WILL BE SCREENED AT BARD COLLEGE ACCOMPANIED BY LIVE MUSIC OF THE BQE PROJECT March 15 program features director's cut of the classic film accompanied by eight-piece orchestra
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-The Blue Angel, the 1930 film that helped usher in the "talkies" and brought actress Marlene Dietrich to international acclaim, will be shown at Bard College on Friday, March 15. This special screening of the German director's cut, accompanied by live music performed by the BQE Project, will begin at 8:00 p.m. in Olin Hall. Admission is $8 for the general public, free for Bard students, faculty, and staff with identification.
The Blue Angel
(in German with English subtitles), directed by Josef Von Sternberg, features Dietrich in the defining role of Lola Lola, who tempts a boy's boarding school professor (actor Emil Jannings) and then ruins his career. As the audience sees her singing the film's memorable song Falling in Love Again, BQE will accompany her with a live, eight-piece orchestra. Film critic Pauline Kael notes that "Dietrich's smoldering voice and sadistic indifference suggest sex without romance, love, or sentiment." According to Allen Josey, director of student activities at Bard, "with this screening of The Blue Angel one has the chance to see the German director's cut (struck directly from the master negative), and see it enhanced with new music scored for it and performed live by the composers."The pairing of classic films and original music by BQE Project is a "marvelous pastiche," according to Seth Rogovoy of the Berkshire Eagle. He writes that BQE is "one of the best of those groups that regularly composes new scores for old films and performs them live." The BQE Project features eight classical and jazz musicians who perform individually with the American Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, and Broadway orchestras. Together they form a chamber ensemble (BQE) that has developed a loyal following for its original music scores and live performances. John Florio and Tom Nazziola, the ensemble's composers, have scored numerous film and television soundtracks including the music for Dateline NBC, the ESPN documentary Roger Maris: Reluctant Hero, Michael Hayes, This Week in Baseball, and CBS News. The ensemble, founded in 1998, performs regularly at film festivals and theaters throughout the country, including the Hamptons Film Festival, Philadelphia's Prince Theater, and MassMOCA.
This program is presented by the Offices of the President and Student Activities, the Student Film Committee, and the German Studies and Music Programs at Bard. For further information, call the Allen Josey at the Office of Student Activities at 845-758-7099, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website www.bard.edu.
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(2.12.02)