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3epkano Performing Live Accompaniment to Metropolis, National Concert Hall, 17th July 2014!

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Darren

Irish post-rock band 3epkano are ten years old this year. To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the band performing a live musical accompaniment to Fritz Lang’s iconic 1927 science-fiction classic Metropolis. A movie that helped to shape an entire genre, Metropolis will be screened in its original format, set to an original score composed and performed by 3epkano. It’s a staggeringly ambitious concert, and a fantastic way to celebrate ten years of music-making.

metropolis1

A classic of German expressionist cinema, a triumph of silent movie-making and a reminder of just how iconic and influential Fritz Lang was, Metropolis is an epic that really deserves to be seen on a large screen. It looks to be one of the cinematic highlights of the summer, and well worth checking out for anybody with even a passing interest in the history of cinema.

The concert will take place in the National Concert Hall at 8pm on Thursday, 17th July 2014. It’s a wonderful excuse to see a classic through fresh eyes, with Lang’s work on Metropolis looking as impressive today as it did almost ninety years ago. Tickets are available via the National Concert Hall website.

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February 2013 (Jameson Dublin International Film Festival) In Review

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Darren

Man. That was exhausting. 29 events spread across 11 days, including classic films. It was a hell of a festival, with quite an impressive programme put together. In fact, by any measure, it was actually a stronger festival than last year’s, even if I didn’t catch a film that was quite as good as The Raid this time around. Using the 4-point audience award scale, the numbers stack in this year’s favour. Indeed, I gave one more “4” than last year and – most impressively – I actually managed to avoid giving out the lowest grade at all, the dreaded “1.” Maybe I’m getting a bit softer as I get older, but I think that’s an indication that I had a pretty good Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

thesummit5

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Dario Marianelli at the National Concert Hall (Jameson Dublin International Film Festival)

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Darren

This event was part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

I’ve argued it before, but one of the best parts of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is the way that it isn’t just confined to the cinemas. The feast of fine Irish and international cinema is something that any film fan can celebrate, but the capital city itself becomes a hotbed for the celebration of film as an artform. So there’s all manner of wonderful extras going on – from classes in film criticism to workshops with Robert Towne, to the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of L.A. Confidential. The National Concert Hall typical does a nice job of getting into the mood, hosting celebrations of the sound of cinema. In the past, for example, they hosted the newly-written live musical accompanyment to The Four Horseman and a tribute to Danny Elfman.

This year, they invited composer Dario Marianelli over to showcase and introduce several selections of music from his distinguished career. It’s always a fantastic time to recognise and to celebrate Marianelli’s work, but to host the composer in Dublin less than a week before the Oscars is a very rare pleasure indeed.

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February 2012 (Jameson Dublin International Film Festival) In Review

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Darren

Well, it’s been a fun month. I’ve been blogging from Dublin’s annual movie festival, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, which ran for the eleven days leading up to the Oscars. I saw twenty-five films in the festival, two films outside it, and took part in two of the special movie-related events. It was quite a month of high-intensity movie-going experiences, and I think that the entire group responsible for organising the festival deserve considerable credit for pulling off. I thought it might be handy to centralise all my reviews and articles relating to the festival in one place, just for ease of reference. Some of these might be opening near you soon, some may get more limited releases, and some are already out, but these are the films I saw as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

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Batman: Danny Elfman Film Music at the National Concert Hall (Review)

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Darren

This event was held as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

One of the best aspects of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is the way that it extends beyond the cinema, into a wider appreciation of film and cinema all around Dublin. From the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of Reservoir Dogs through to the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle awards and even the Untitled screenwriting competition, the eleven-day celebration of cinema seems to encompass all the city and all walks of life. The wonderful folks at the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the National Concert Hall have a long history of getting into the spirit of the festival, offering high-profile tributes to cinema. Last year, for example, they held a screening of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with a live orchestral accompaniment. This year, they took the penultimate evening of the festival to host a tribute to Danny Elfman, undoubtedly one of the most iconic and influential composers working today. And it was an absolutely brilliant evening.

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Guests of the Nation at the National Concert Hall (Review)

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Darren

I was very kindly invited along by the wonderful folks at the National Concert Hall.

I have to admit, I’m always in awe of the effort that the National Concert Hall make in presenting classic film. It really is something to see a classic movie projected on to a big screen, as it was intended, but with a full orchestral accompaniment. They recently hosted a celebration of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse complete with RTÉ Concert Orchestra performing a live soundtrack. This time, it was arguably something even more special, a premier of the remastered version of Guests of the Nation with a brand new score by Niall Byrne. It’s clear that a lot of love went into the project, and there was something genuinely touching about the introduction from Irish actor Stephen Rea. It’s really a wonderful celebration of Irish cultural heritage, and proof that our cinema legacy stretches back a lot earlier than most would give it credit for.

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Jack L at the National Concert Hall

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Darren

If ever there was a natural-born showman, Jack Lukeman (aka Jack L) is he. Taking to the stage in the National Concert Hall to perform any number of classics, forgotten album tracks and even some new material, the performer managed a two-and-a-half hour set list which even included an impromptu version of The Stranglers’ Golden Brown performed during the intermission. Yes, that’s right, Jack L sang his way through his own intermission.

For those foreign visitors who might not be familiar with the artist, I’ve embedded a version of Georgie Boy below, the crowd-pleaser that he used as the final song in his encore last night. It’s powerful stuff, even when not backed by an orchestra.

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the National Concert Hall

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

I was lucky enough to be in attendance for a gala performance of Rex Ingram’s 1921 classic The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the National Concert Hall, complete with live accompaniment by the RTE Concert Orchestra – featuring a new soundtrack composed by Carl Davies. While the film is one of those classics I respect more than I enjoy, I have to give credit to the National Concert Hall for hosting the gala event.

An artist at work...

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Ludovico Einaudi at the National Concert Hall

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Darren

I had the great pleasure of catching Ludovico Einaudi, the contemporary composer, at the National Concert Hall last night. Being honest, I hadn’t heard the name until the better half suggested that the show might be worth a look. Interestingly enough, doing a bit of research, I discovered I’d actually heard a decent selection of his music without ever being aware that is was him – I suppose that’s one of the great things about composing the sort of wonderful ambient music, there’s always a film or television soundtrack in need of a bit of atmosphere.

Classic(al)...

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HMS Pinafore at the National Concert Hall

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Darren

Myself and the better half had a very… theatrical evening last night. First we stopped by Trinity to check out the up-and-coming talent during their “directors’ debut” season (running for the next three weeks, if you feel like taking a chance with your theatre-going) and then we went on to catch a performance of the HMS Pinafore playing at the National Concert Hall from the Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society (the people behind The Producers at the The Gaiety earlier this year). It’s rare that we get a Gilbert & Sullivan musical performed in full, so was it worth it?

Yes, this is the only photo we have...

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