Film Details

Roger Ebert called Boston’s Alloy Orchestra “the best in the world at accompanying silent films.” Tonight this internationally known trio—Terry Donahue, Roger Miller (Mission of Burma), Ken Winokur—perform their signature score for Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi spectacle Metropolis. Though the band has accompanied Metropolis at the Cinematheque before, tonight (for the first time on Cleveland’s East Side) they will lend their distinctive mix of clarinet, accordion, electronics, and junk metal percussion to the 2010 restoration of Lang’s futuristic epic, 25 minutes (and 25%) longer than all previous restored versions. Finally Lang’s exciting and visually stunning tale—set in a gleaming futuristic city where the wealthy lead lives of luxury above ground while worker drones toil on machinery underground, and where a robot-led revolt threatens both classes—makes total sense!