As so often, I am going to have to ask a certain purist contingent to do their breathing exercises and locate the nearest fainting couch. Everyone else, buckle up!
I have not one but two cases of pop silents to report. And as ever, I remain optimistic for both. First up is one that may be familiar to many already. The Pet Shop Boys, one of the truly great pop bands of the 80s and 90s, wrote an electronic-orchestral score for Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) several years back. There was a special outdoor screening in Trafalgar Square, where the band performed the score with the Dresdner Sinfoniker, orchestrated by Torsten Rasch, back in 2004. I missed that occasion, but I heard that it was pretty epic, despite the rain. Talk about Eastern Bloc sailors and West End, um, squares.
Now this Pet Shop Boys x Potemkin collab is dropping in cinemas as of this Friday. Nationwide – I already have my tickets. And there will be a Blu-ray, loaded with extras, on 5 September. Here’s the lineup of supplements.
- Hochhaussinfonie (2017, 68 mins): as the Dresdner Sinfoniker and Pet Shop Boys prepare for a unique musical production, utilising a prefabricated building in what was once East Germany, this documentary explores not only the complexities of the concert, but also the residents and their lived experiences of a very different time
- Trafalgar Square highlights (2004, 4 mins): an impressionistic short film capturing the build-up and performance as Pet Shop Boys premiered their newly composed score for Battleship Potemkin with the Dresdner Sinfoniker in London
- CD featuring the score by Pet Shop Boys and Dresdner Sinfoniker
- Trailer (2025)
- **LIMITED EDITION** Illustrated booklet featuring new writing by Chris Heath, Sarah Cleary, and Neil Tennant, plus a previously published essay by Michael Brooke; notes on the special features and credits
And still to come is an endeavour called Silents Synced, which similarly may be playing in a cinema near you soon, as this American project is hitting our shores. The idea is syncing up classic silents with classic albums of nearly a century later: alternative rock from the 90s and 00s basically.
So first up is Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922) with Radiohead’s Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). That’s on release this October. And in the new year, Sherlock, Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924) with R.E.M.’s Monster (1994) and New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996). OK, OK, I see how this could work, and yet again, I already have tickets. I like the films, I like the bands, let the good times roll.
Apparently, the next iteration will be the Pola Negri comedy A Woman of the World (Mal St. Clair, 1925) with… Pearl Jam? Colour me intrigued, at least.
