Criterion Close-Up – Episode 42 – Silent Film Music with Ben Model

June 27, 2016

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:34 — 63.1MB)

Mark and Aaron welcome Ben Model, silent film historian, accompanist, distributor, and enthusiast. He gave a presentation about “undercranking” on Criterion’s release of Chaplin’s The Kid. We discuss the idea of undercranking, scoring silent music, and the state of silent media today theatrically and in the home video market.

Episode Links & Notes

Special Guest: Ben Model from Silent Film Music and Undercrank Productions. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

0:00 – Intro and Welcome Ben

1:15 – Ben’s Criterion Connection

4:00 – Discussion and explanation of undercranking

18:20 – Ben’s background

24:00 –Silent films on Criterion and other labels

27:20 – Silent Film Kickstarters

38:00 – Silent Film discussion

Episode Credits

Mark Hurne: Twitter | Letterboxd
Aaron West: Twitter | Blog | Letterboxd
Criterion Close-Up: Facebook | Twitter | Email

Next time on the podcast: The Player

Aaron West

I am a somewhat educated Criterion dork, with a History and Film Studies bachelor's degree and plenty of self-education over the years. My tastes are all over the map. Probably my favorite is 1930s French Poetic Realism, but I like everything from noir, to animation, to horror, westerns, and modern film. Usually I prefer film that challenges and requires something of the viewer.

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