Unlike modern cinema, the soundtracks for silent cinema were a mishmash of prewritten orchestral music, curated musical cues, and live musical improvisation. Some films would be accompanied by booklets of recycled popular motifs; others would release with nothing, forcing house musicians who had never seen the movie to manufacture an entire soundtrack in real time. Those of us raised on home video may treat the accompanying soundtracks for films like “Nosferatu” as the standard, but over time, the tenuous relationship between silent cinema and music has led to many new interpretations by modern artists.
Because many movies of this period do not include a canonical score, silent films offer those interested in the intersection of cinema and cinematic experiences with opportunities to bridge these two worlds in unique ways. Scroll through your local community calendar and you will no doubt find a number of silent screenings in your market accompanied by string quartets or regional orchestrals. In some cases, silent film screenings will even be accompanied by brand new scores composed by local or national artists.
For example, the New York-based band Morricone Youth is known for their original re-releases of scores to films like “Battleship Potemkin” and “The Lodger” and have even dabbled in soundtracks for more modern releases like “Mad Max” and “Night of the Living Dead.” While Morricone Youth takes the extra step of writing (and retailing) their film scores, the underlying concept is not that far off the historical standard: the music for silent films is ephemeral, and modern artists are welcome to tackle film scores as they see fit.
And while “Nosferatu” was originally complemented by a full orchestral score written by Hans Erdmann, that music has been lost to time. As such, modern repertory screenings of the film often favor original scores; rock collective The Invincible Czars toured the country for two months in 2022 to accompany screenings of “Nosferatu” for its centennial anniversary.
But both of these approaches to silent cinema — contemporary musical cues or modern compositions — still serve to make the movie itself the focus of the artistic experience. Does adding popular bands like Radiohead or R.E.M. to a silent movie improve the viewing experience? Or is it little more than a musical gimmick coasting on the coattails of Pink Floyd and the “The Wizard of Oz”?