Shadow Visionaries Film Series: The Fall of the House of Usher, with New Live Score

Auditorium

Inspired by the Shadow Visionaries exhibition, the Clark presents a series of twentieth-century French films that echo with meditations on memory and longing. Prepare yourself for fantastical allegories and crumbling, ruined cityscapes.

Adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” director Jean Epstein conjures an atmospheric masterpiece. The hero, having indirectly caused the death of his beloved, stubbornly tries to resurrect her spirit by devoting himself to painting and sculpture. Epstein conveys the twilight zone between life and death through lingering dissolves and a brilliant use of slow motion. This 1928 film shows how the initial obsession with Poe, captured in the Shadow Visionaries exhibition, continues into the twentieth century. (Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes)

This screening is accompanied by a newly composed score by Paul de Jong and Matthew Gold, performed live. The event is jointly presented by the Williams College Department of Music and the Clark.

Tickets $10 ($8 members, $7 college students, $5 children 17 and under).

Accessibile seats available. Call 413 458 0524 with any questions.

Image: The Fall of the House of Usher, Jean Epstein, 1928