One of our most popular events RETURNS with a silent horror double feature!

Join us as “Austin’s most adventurous band”, The Invincible Czars, return to Buffalo to present LIVE scores to both F.W. Murnau’s FAUST (1926) and THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920).

This year marks the exciting debut of their new soundtrack to FAUST, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Murnau’s legendary silent horror masterpiece.

Over the years, The Invincible Czars have taken this show to premiere venues, indie movie theaters, and Alamo Drafthouses all over the country. This showing marks their 8th appearance at the North Park Theatre.

Thursday 10/22 at 7:00 PM

Single feature and double feature tickets are now available. NOTE: “VIP” is for the double feature:

DOUBLE FEATURE VIP at 7:00 PM

“(The Invincibe Czars’) live Nosferatu silent film score is a brilliantly realized wedding of contemporary musical sensibility and technology with early 20th century cinema.”
-Chico News Review

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Hailing from Austin, Texas, The Invincible Czars have been “keeping it weird” since 2003 when they could be found playing their left-of-the-dial music in clubs like Emo’s and Stubb’s. In 2004, they stepped into the arts realm with their re-imagined version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. In 2006, they began performing live silent film soundtracks at the first Alamo Drafthouse and have since blazed their own touring circuit of cinemas, colleges and PACs across the US and Canada.

Their tastefully modern silent films soundtracks and dynamic live performances give modern day audiences a context in which to appreciate early cinema and they have earned accolades from film and music buffs alike.

With influences ranging from film composers like Bernard Herrmann and Graham Reynolds to their favorite oddball rockers like Primus and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, The Invincible Czars create an unforgettable live experience that appeals to audiences of all backgrounds.

ABOUT FAUST (1926):

An elderly alchemist named Faust (Gösta Ekman) makes a pact with the demon Mephisto (Emil Jannings) to gain the power to protect his village from plague. Faust soon succumbs to temptation and asks Mephisto to restore his youth and help him acquire all the hedonistic pleasures that earth can offer. Eventually, his love affair with a young woman named Gretchen (Camilla Horn) leads to tragic and devastating consequences for them both.

Faust has quite a history. It is the quintessential “deal with the devil” tale based on a centuries-old European legend. The legend inspired Johann Wofgang Goethe’s 1808 play which is considered Germany’s greatest literary work. The play inspired the famous opera by Charles Guonod which director FW Murnau used as a map for his 1926 film. Virtually every “sell your soul” type story from the film Crossroads to songs like “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” owes a debt to Faust whether the creators know it or not. (In fact, Faust is the opera in Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera.)

Murnau had already made a name for himself and set the standard for early horror films with Nosferatu (1922) and in 1926 he was on top of his game and found himself with a big budget for Faust with a lot of autonomy from the studio UFI. The result is silent-era German Expressionist eye candy full of amazing sets, innovative special effects and Murnau’s signature camera work. It was his last German-made film before he moved to Hollywood later that year.

For modern audiences, it’s the cast that really makes the movie entertaining. The virtually-unknown Camilla Horn is hard not to love in the role of Gretchen. (Horn had replaced the legendary Lillian Gish in the role when Gish ultimately turned it down due to the subject matter in the film.) The charismatic (if complicated) Emil Jannings was like the Jim Carrey of his day bringing all emotions with equal gusto and power. He is hilarious, hateable, terrifying and unforgettable especially when paired with Yvette Guilbert as Aunt Marthe

ABOUT THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI:

The world’s first feature-length horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920 Robert Wiene) tells the story of a group of friends who encounter the mysterious doctor and his scary, sleepwalking sidekick Cesare at a carnival. When a series of murders brings the town to its knees, Franzis sets out to prove Caligari is responsible… but is he?

The Invincible Czars perform their nightmarish-ly fun soundtrack along with the film as an immersive live experience! Their chilling, tastefully-modern score featuring an impressive blend of traditional acoustic and present-day electric instruments. From delicate passages of longing and love to menacing motifs of dissonant horror and pain, each instrument plays a critical role establishing character themes and creating an aural dreamscape for the film.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari inspired modern day filmmaker Tim Burton and musicians like David Bowie with its strikingly modern visuals. Its craggy edges, disjointed backgrounds and heavy make-up have earned this dark fairy tale a reputation as the quintessential German Expressionist film. Its twist ending is also considered the first in cinematic history (and something Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone capitalized upon in the 1960s.)

The live accompaniment experience marries the old-world charm of silent film with a contemporary electricity engaging multi-generational audiences. “We strive to create soundtracks that give modern -day audiences a context to appreciate these 100-year-old movies,” said Josh Robins, Invincible Czars founder and bandleader. The group draws upon influences from more modern film composers including. Bear McCreary, Angelo Badalmenti, David Buckley, Bernard Herrmann and Danny Elfman.

The band also hopes their show will increase awareness about independent cinemas and adventurous movie theaters that are becoming increasingly rare in the post-Covid era.

Fans, theaters, and media have consistently praised The Invincible Czars’ carefully crafted soundtracks for enhancing movie-goers’ experience. The band has performed for over a decade at hundreds of theatres and art houses across the US and Canada delighting audiences with an array of sonic twists and turns. The varied compositions and instrumentation adapt individually to each film the Czars score, capturing each thrilling moment and keeping audiences engaged scene by scene.

The Invincible Czars encourage fans and attendees to dress for the Halloween season – even when it’s not Halloween season!