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Devil Music Ensemble
Group plays fiery score to kung fu classic
Before Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan -- and even Chuck Norris -- there was "Red Heroine," a silent Chinese "kung fu" film made in 1929.
The Capri Theatre will not only show the film Saturday, but Devil Music Ensemble will be there to perform the original modern score live. A benefit for the theater, the evening will also include pre- and post-performance receptions. This event also marks a new era for the Capri -- it will be the first time that the theater can sell beer and wine. And beverages will be available during both receptions.
Organizers decided to make this event something special because people who have attended past DME performances have said they were intrigued by it and would have enjoyed a chance to chat about it with the ensemble and other audience members, said Jamie Durham, a member of the Capri Community Film Society and event chairwoman.
"It's a totally unique performance," she said of the film that celebrates both the visual and performing arts. "We are very fortunate to have them. Their fall tour started in September and goes to November, and of their 41 dates, only four are in the Southeast."
The DME is comprised of three multi-instrumental musicians from Boston -- Brendon Wood, Tim Nylander and Jonah Rapino -- who have been making their name with live original score performances to classic silent films. With more than six U.S. and two European tours, they have established themselves as one of the primary American groups in this field. According to one critic, the trio is capable of "tightly synced genre bending hypnotic musical performances that can make an audience forget that there is a live band directing the mood, emotion and pace of the visual imagery they are immersed in."
The feature film in this case, "Red Heroine," is the only surviving extant Chinese "kung fu" film left from the silent era. Made at the height of the martial arts craze, it is a prime example of the popular Chinese swordplay genre (wuxia pian), often based on published novels or serials, and it was an early cinema export that was banned after the Cultural Revolution.
Pulling from the traditions of Chinese classical and folk music as well as from soundtracks from classic kung fu films, the DME's score is the only modern score made expressly for this film. Directed by Wen Yimin, "Red Heroine" recounts the rise of a mystical young woman warrior who exacts vengeance on the army that kidnapped and killed her grandmother.
Add DME's electric guitar, lap steel, synthesizers, electric violin, erhu (a two-string Chinese violin), vibraphone, drums and Chinese percussion, and you've got a "kung fu" movie with an extra kick.