Cinema presents silent films, some with live musical accompaniment

Cornell Cinema's Silent Films series kicks off in April with a gorgeous restoration of E.A. Dupont's "Piccadilly," starring Anna May Wong. The April 10 screening, at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre, will feature live piano accompaniment by Ithaca favorite Philip Carli. Courtesy of Cornell Cinema

Cornell Cinema presents four special silent film programs in April, each one offering a unique cinematic/musical experience.

The British Film Institute's gorgeous restoration of E.A. Dupont's "Piccadilly" (1929) was selected to screen at the 2003 New York Film Festival and stars the sultry Anna May Wong -- arguably the first Asian film actress to gain worldwide fame -- in her greatest role. The film will screen twice: April 10 at 7:15 p.m. with live piano accompaniment by Ithaca favorite Philip Carli and April 13 at 7 p.m. with a musical soundtrack. Tickets for the two shows are $6 general; $5 students and seniors; and $4 Cornell graduate students; no discount cards, passes or comps will be accepted. For information call 255-3522 or visit http://cinema.cornell.edu. The screenings of "Piccadilly" are co-sponsored with the Asian American Studies Program.

Next up is a new print of "October: Ten Days That Shook the World" (1927), Sergei Eisenstein's depiction of the 1917 Russian Revolution set to a magnificent score by Dmitri Shostakovich. The film screens April 12 and 13.

On April 21 Boston-based Devil Music Ensemble, which explores all facets of music from rock to electronic, orchestral to folk and improvisational to incidental, will present its score of an unknown silent western comedy gem called "Big Stakes," directed by Clifford S. Ellfelt and released in 1922. Tickets for the "Big Stakes" screening are $8 and will be available for advance purchase at the Willard Straight ticket desk (255-3430) and Ithaca Guitar Works (272-2602).

And finally, pianist Carli will return April 26 to perform with D.W. Griffith's "Orphans of the Storm" (1921), starring Lillian and Dorothy Gish as two orphans who are entangled in the machinations of the French Revolution.