The Hands of Orlac: Film with Live Music
The Hands of Orlac: Film with Live Music at The Stoller Hall, Manchester
About the show
A silent film with live score by Frame Ensemble
A dark, stormy night. Two crowded passenger trains collide head‑on in a devastating accident. Among the injured is celebrated concert pianist Paul Orlac, left without the hands that shaped his life and career. In a desperate attempt to save him, surgeons graft onto Orlac the hands of a recently executed murderer. When he learns the truth, Orlac becomes haunted by visions and convinced he is possessed by the dead murderer.
This unsettling 1924 psychological thriller reunites director Robert Wiene and the magnetic Conrad Veidt, following their landmark collaboration on The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
Silent‑film improvisors Frame Ensemble bring the film vividly to life with music created entirely in the moment. No two Frame performances are alike: each score unfolds spontaneously as the musicians respond to the images on screen and the atmosphere in the room. The result is a singular experience in which sound and image are vividly alive.
Jonny Best piano
Susannah Simmons violin
Liz Hanks cello
Trevor Bartlett percussion
The Hands of Orlac, 1924, Germany, 1 hour 33 minutes + interval
Screened by permission of Filmarchiv Austria.
Film rated PG.