Sound Affairs: Salomé

Score by Charlie Barber

A rare screening of one of the most extraordinary and bizarre silent movies to come out of Hollywood in the 1920s is given a dramatic twist. Four percussionists will perform live a score specially written for the film by Charlie Barber.

Adapted from a controversial Oscar Wilde play and costing a staggering $350,000, the film was produced by and starred the flamboyant Russian actress, Alla Nazimova. Her aim was to create a bold and experimental work that would raise the artistic level of American films. However conservative 1920s audiences simply weren’t ready for its erotically charged aura and rumours that Nazimova had insisted on an all gay and bi-sexual cast in honour of Oscar Wilde added to the film’s notoriety.

In recent years however, Salomé has increasingly been acknowledged as ahead of its time, in many ways, one of the first arthouse films.

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