The Adventures of Prince Achmed with live score by Phillip Johnston
The world’s first animated feature is given a new, electronic-infused jazz score by Phillip Johnston and his quartet.
When a mysterious sorcerer attempts to arrange a marriage with a young princess, her brother, Prince Achmed, is quick to intervene. However, the prince is tricked into mounting a flying horse and is soon whisked away to a faraway land.
Drawing on a long history of shadow puppetry and based on stories from Arabian Nights, Lotte Reiniger’s beautifully handcrafted silhouette animation is the world’s oldest surviving animated feature – and perhaps the world’s first. Ninety-four years young, this early work of silent cinema is complemented with a new, electronic-infused jazz score by Phillip Johnston and his quartet.
This special, outdoor performance is co-presented by ACMI and Goethe-Institut
Format: Digital
Language: Silent with English intertitles
Courtesy: Agentur fĂĽr Pimrose Film Productions
Duration: 65 mins
Phillip Johnston is an American-born saxophonist and composer whose extensive work includes jazz and contemporary composition, and music for film, theatre, and a variety of ensembles. Johnston has composed scores for some classic films from the silent era including Faust (1926), Page of Madness (1926) and short films by Georges Méliès.