The Oyster Princess (1919): A Film Concert Featuring Flat Earth Society

Wednesday, October 30, 2019 @ 7:00 PM
University of Calgary Rosza Centre: Eckhardt-Grammaté Hall - 206 University Court NW, Calgary, AB
$30 General | $20 Members/Seniors/Students

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Ernst Lubitsch's landmark 1919 film The Oyster Princess (Die Austernprinzessin) special screening featuring live music accompanied by the Belgian 15-piece jazz ensemble, Flat Earth Society.

Film score by composer and bandleader Peter Vermeersch. Our presentation of this recently restored film will also include the short subject, "S.S. Belgenland: World Cruise 1927".

In combination with the Best of (20 Years) concert of Flat Earth Society on Tuesday, October 29, there is a duoticket available with a $5.00 discount.

Join Calgary Cinematheque, the Department of Communication, Media, and Film, and the School for Performing and Creative Arts at the University of Calgary for a special film concert with renowned Belgian big band ensemble the Flat Earth Society. The performance will be accompanied by two unique works: Ernst Lubitsch’s sophisticated silent comedy The Oyster Princess (1919) and a reworking of rare home movie footage from of the luxury ocean liner SS Belgenland (1927).

The Oyster Princess (1919) tells a satirical story of an American oyster tycoon who attempts to marry his daughter to a bona-fide prince. But the relatively poor, marriage dis-inclined prince sends his friend in his stead, to get an idea of what the Oyster Princess is like. Displaying qualities which Hollywood would later dub “the Lubitsch touch”, The Oyster Princess represents an evolution for Lubitsch, away from his early slapstick towards the sophisticated subtleties of his later work.

S.S Belgenland World Cruise (1927) is comprised of 16mm home footage from a wealthy Chicago citizen William Olson aboard the luxury ocean liner S.S. Belgenland. Filmed from 1927-28 on a cruise around the world, this footage is one of the first examples of an amateur travelogue. Rediscovered in 2015, the footage was restored, and a new work was commissioned by the Red Star Line Museum. That work, by FES composer Peter Vermeersch, was re-edited “entirely according to his own understanding and with a healthy disinterest for the documentary and historical value of the images.”

-Written by Kevin Dong

About Calgary Cinematheque

We are a non-profit film society dedicated to presenting significant, challenging, and essential works of cinema art in Calgary. During our season, which runs from October to April, we screen films weekly, in curated programs which situate each film in a thematic and historical context. We do this because we believe cinema is an essential form of artistic, social, and political expression. Audiences should be able to engage with a wide range of cinematic expression, not only with what is commercially viable. We believe in the power of sharing these experiences with other people in a theatrical setting and we strive to cultivate a community around that experience.  

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