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Silent movie buffs are in for a treat when the music documentary film festival Sounds on Screen shows Sherlock Jr at the Warkworth Town Hall on Sunday morning, June 3.
The 1924 classic, which features Buster Keaton as both lead actor and director, will be given a modern day twist.
Matakana musician Bern Green will accompany the 44-minute long movie, using a banjo and harmonica to provide an original set of sound effects.
“It’s not really a sound track – more like mood music,” he says.
Bern has been working on the music for a few hours a day for the past month or so, which means viewing the movie over and over again.
“The more I watch it, the more respect I have for the cinematography – it was pioneering stuff. There was no trick photography, so you realise that those stunts they were doing were real. It’s crazy stuff.”
Sherlock Jnr is a clever and charming story of a young movie theatre projectionist and janitor who gets into a tangle when he falls in love with a pretty girl and then finds he has a rival in a devious sheik.
Bern, whose day job is a lawnmower contractor, learned to play the old time claw hammer banjo style five or six years ago by watching online videos. He also plays the guitar, mandolin and ukulele.
“Working with the movie has been a challenge, which is right out of my comfort zone, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The movie – one of 10 films that will be screened over the three-day festival – starts at 10.30am. For programme details visit soundsonscreen.nz
