For Immediate Release	Contact: Carol O'Sullivan
Feb 28, 2005	412-681-5449 x205
Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces Alloy Orchestra with 1925 Phantom of the Opera (PITTSBURGH, PA) — Pittsburgh Filmmakers announces a special music/film event on March 16 at the Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Avenue. The world-renowned Alloy Orchestra, a three-man musical ensemble, will perform their newest score to a stunning restoration of the silent classic, The Phantom of the Opera. This Pittsburgh premiere is one night only at 8:00pm. Tickets are $15.00. (Students with current ID, $12.) They can be purchased in advance beginning March 1, at 477 Melwood Avenue during business hours, or at the theaters. For more information call 412-681-5449. This three-man band from Boston has made a career of writing and performing live music to classic silent films. Roger Ebert says, "The Alloy Orchestra is the best in the world at accompanying silent films." The March 16 event marks the orchestra’s fourth visit to Pittsburgh. They have wowed audiences here previously with live scores to Nosferatu, The Black Pirate, and The General. Using an unusual combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronic synthesizers, the orchestra can create any sound imaginable. They can make the audience think it is being contacted by radio signals from Mars or swept up in the Russian revolution. Alloy Orchestra collaborates with archives and collectors to present extraordinarily beautiful prints of some of the century’s greatest films. This multimedia experience lends silent films a power and excitement not felt since the arrival of talkies. Along with film restoration expert David Shephard, the orchestra’s co-founder Ken Winokur has produced a new 35mm print of Phantom that's unlike anything available theatrically since 1925. At last, the film can be seen with its original tints and two-strip technicolor "Bal Masque" sequence intact. In that scene the Phantom arrives dressed as the Red Death to admonish revelers at the ball, leading to an electrifying image of him standing on the shoulders of a statue on the roof of the Paris Opera House, scarlet cape billowing around him. Great horror actor Lon Chaney is made all the more terrifying with Alloy Orchestra’s new live score. This Phantom of the Opera is a rare thrill. (Directed by Rupert Julian; 1925; 80 min)