19th-century conference invites public to watch silent horror films
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two cinema classics, including the first horror film ever made, will be shown on Sept. 1 as part of a Purdue University conference celebrating the 19th century.Thomas Edison's 1910 "Frankenstein" and F.W. Murnau's 1922 "Nosferatu," a version of "Dracula," will be shown at 8 p.m. at the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette.
"I don't think any other film has inspired more sequels than 'Nosferatu,'" says Lance Duerfahrd, assistant professor of English who studies film history. "This film is really the cornerstone — and tombstone — of cinema. It is horrifying and yet has a beauty that is difficult to match even with today's modern technologies. And watching the movie with live musical accompaniment is a rarity."
Ken Double, an organist from Texas who use to play for the Long Center, will accompany both silent films. Joss Marsh, associate professor of English at Indiana University, will introduce the films and discuss their historical importance. Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $5 for students and retirees, can be ordered by calling (765) 494-2758 or (765) 742-5664.
The film night is part of a conference of the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism and the North American Victorian Studies Association. About 550 scholars are expected to attend the Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 conference, which focuses on themes in 19th-century science and technology. The conference also will address many other forms of art and culture.
"The Victorian age was the age of industry and technology, during which the technological world we live in today was conceived," says Emily Allen, associate professor of English and one of the conference organizers. "Many of the same issues related to the possibilities and ethics of new technologies are still pressing today."
More information about the conference is available online.
Support for this event is provided by Purdue's Department of English, Office of the Provost, the College of Liberal Arts, Purdue Libraries, Department of History, the German and French sections in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the theater section of the Patti and Rusty Rueff Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the Comparative Literature Program and the Philosophy and Literature Program.
External sources of funding include departments and colleges from Butler University, Indiana University, the University of Notre Dame, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, University of Iowa and Michigan State University.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Emily Allen, (765) 494-1478, elallen@purdue.edu
Lance Duerfahrd, (765) 494-3765, lduerfah@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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