Film series: Altered States in Silent Cinema
Cornell Cinema is delighted to partner with the Wharton Studio Museum and Cinemapolis to celebrate Silent Movie Month in Ithaca each October.
Throughout cinema history, audiences have expressed the feeling of being mesmerized, transfixed, and transported by the experience of the silver screen. Early filmmakers frequently earned comparisons with hypnotists and magicians for their ability to captivate and enchant audiences with their illusory, on-screen worlds. It is no surprise, then, such mysterious phenomena also became a persistent focus of film narratives in the silent era.
“Altered States in Silent Cinema” will explore the silent era’s preoccupation with hypnosis, mysticism, possession, madness, medicine and more. The series includes a dynamic selection of films from various national contexts and screenings will take place at Cornell Cinema, Cinemapolis, and in other special locations.
The series will begin with two events at Cinemapolis: a family-friendly presentation of Snow White (1916) with live score by performed by harpist Leslie McMichael on Saturday afternoon, October 3, followed by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) on Wednesday evening, October 14.
Visit cinemapolis.org for more details.
Next up, Cornell Cinema feature with a special screening of the Italian silent film Malombra (1917) on Sunday, October 18. Based on the 1881 novel by Antonio Fogazzaro, Malombra (1917) stars the silent film diva Lyda Borelli as an orphaned young woman who comes to live in a castle with her uncle and develops a profound connection with the spirit of her late aunt Cecilia, which begins to possess Marina and drive her to exact revenge. The screening will feature a live score performed by acclaimed musicians Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton!
A highlight of Silent Movie Month in Ithaca is our annual silent film with live music. This year, we are thrilled to welcome back the Invincible Czars to the spectacular Sage Chapel to celebrate 100 years of the silent masterpiece Faust (1926)!
Directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau, Faust (1926) centers on an elderly alchemist named Faust (Gösta Ekman) who makes a pact with the demon Mephisto (Emil Jannings) to gain the power to protect his village from plague, and soon succumbs to temptation of power, asking Mephisto to help him acquire all the hedonistic pleasures that earth can offer. The Invincible Czars will perform a brand-new electrifying score that brings this classic film to life for contemporary audiences.
Please note that we expect a sell-out crowd at Sage Chapel, so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment!
But the madness doesn’t stop there! On Thursday, October 29, Cornell Cinema will present Japanese director Teinosuke Kinugasa’s A Page of Madness (1926), which is among the most unsettling, visually striking, and criminally underseen films of the silent era. It centers on a man (Masao Inoue) who slowly loses his mind after taking a job as a janitor in an insane asylum where his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa) is imprisoned.
Finally, Cornell Cinema and the Wharton Studio Museum will partner with the Department of Music on a special presentation of John S. Robertson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) at Bailey Hall with a live score performed by student musicians in the Cornell Chamber Orchestra.
Additional details are forthcoming, but please save the date for Friday, November 13, 2026!
"Altered States in Silent Cinema" is presented in collaboration with the Wharton Studio Museum and Cinemapolis as part of Silent Movie Month in Ithaca.
Wharton Studio Museum is dedicated to broadening awareness — locally, regionally, and nationally — of Ithaca's and the region's unique history through programming of all kinds. Central to its mission is developing a section of the historic Wharton Studio Building in Stewart Park into the Wharton Studio & Cafe, which will feature exhibits on the studio's history and park history as well as a cafe and terraces overlooking Cayuga Lake.
