Media Release | City of South Pasadena
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, October 17 at the Library Community Room! The public is invited to join us for free non-alcoholic wine, provided by Burden of Proof, and live piano. Free drinks will be available on a first come, first served basis. At 7:00 p.m. we will host a screening of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) with live piano accompaniment by Michael D. Mortilla. No registration is required.
Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a classic of silent film and German Expressionist cinema. In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Dr. Caligari, a villainous hypnotist, uses his power over Cesare, a chronic sleepwalker, to commit a string of murders. Late film critic Roger Ebert once referred to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as “the first true horror film”.
Michael D. Mortilla is well known in the silent film world as a composer and accompanist. Michael has composed silent film scores for the Chicago Symphony, the Academy of Motion Pictures, the Library of Congress, the Olympics, National Film Preservation Foundation, and many others. He was the last composer to collaborate on a produced work with legendary choreographer Martha Graham. Mr. Mortilla was a faculty member at UC Santa Barbara for fourteen years, serving as resident composer and sound designer in theater and dance. Since 2000 he has resided in Burbank, working as a free-lance journeyman composer and sound designer in theater, film, silent film, animation, dance, and various other productions.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library
