Marathon Screening with Live Musical Accompaniment!

Screening in 4 parts with 3 intermissions; total running time expected to be from 12:00pm-8:15pm

Abel Gance was a true cinematic pioneer, deploying complex camera movements and rapid-fire editing that belie the assertion that silent films lacks energy. Gance’s artistry is on full display in his rarely screened masterpiece LA ROUE (aka The Wheel). This melodrama approaches the heights of Greek tragedy as it unfolds the story of a railwayman and his son who both fall in love with the same woman—that happens to be their adopted daughter/sister. 

Presented here not only as a cinematic epic but also as a feat of human endeavor! The intrepid silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis has lobbied for the Brattle to play this nearly 7-hour long picture as a marathon (including intermissions, we’re only human) with him alone providing the soundtrack. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience this film as it was meant to be seen!