Whatever your preconceptions about silent cinema, Maximo Park at the Star and Shadow Cinema ought to blow them right out of the water.

The film, The Man Who Laughs, is a complete masterpiece of the late silent era, expressionistic, with great, characteristic, dynamic camera work. It's unashamedly emotional and melodramatic. The story takes place amidst medieval horror, gaudy bawdy circus folk and the high, ghoulishly extravagant royal court. The characters are fantastic: Conrad Veidt's performance is amazing becasue he's in impossibly tradgic situations all the way though yet bears his creepy 'Chelsea smile' throughout and the female leads: Mary Philbin and Olga Bachlanova are jawdropping examples of heart stopping silent sex appeal, the former through virtue and pure love the later by filthy vampish ambition. We have the best available 35mm print from an archive in italy. It will be shown correctly, that is to say in full apeture at 22fps. The Band Maximo Park are streaching their wings inbetween record contracts, having fulfilled their three album duties with Warp, each one performing better than the last. They have always been adept at squeezing something that's actually quite experimental and interesting into pulse quicken pop music. This is a unique chance to see them solely experimental, and intrumental. They have been using the rehearsals for this show to tinker with themes which will be some of the musical ideas at the core of their next album.

tickets available from skiddle. here

Thanks you: http://www.nlff.co.uk/2010/thank-yous/