FILM

Discovery Green and KUHF-FM present KUHF Silent Film Concerts. At the Anheuser-Busch Stage and Fondren Performance Space. Houston Public Radio presents a series of silent film screenings accompanied by live music. Back by popular demand, classic silent films get a new twist thanks to Texas’ best indie classical musicians.

Friday, June 10, 8:30 pm:  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Invincible Czars perform an original score to this classic starring the great John Barrymore (1920, 67 min. NR).

“A man cannot destroy the savage in him by denying it; the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”

In Victorian England, philanthropic Dr. Jekyll (John Barrymore) experiments with a drug which changes him into the vile, hedonistic “Mr. Hyde” — but he soon finds himself unable to control his transformations, thus putting his own life in danger…

This early silent version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is regarded by many as one of the best. Robert Louis Stevenson's horror classic comes chillingly to life thanks to John Barrymore's stellar turn as virtuous Dr. Jekyll and demonic Mr. Hyde.

After the topic of human duality arises at a dinner party, Jekyll becomes fixated on trying to divide the human psyche's two sides: good and evil. Before you can say "alter ego," Jekyll concocts a potion and morphs into Hyde, who plunges into a life of depravity -- punctuated by murder.

The Invincible Czars - Austin's Invincible Czars have made their mark by creating exceptionally original music: songs and instrumental pieces that are like four-to-five minute "mini-symphonies" chock full of memorable melodies, meticulous arrangements, dynamics, and humor. Their music fuses all kinds of styles including riff rock, classical music, loungey grooves, spacey klezmer, country shuffles, and circusy polka. They draw from influences as disparate as Igor Stravinsky, Van Halen, Louis Armstrong, The Melvins and Ween. The band applies the DIY attitude of post-punk groups like NoMeansNo and Fugazi to their musical explorations.

The Invincible Czars strive to do more than the standard rock band playing in night clubs. In the past few years, they have known and lauded for their arrangements of classical works such as Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite which has become a holiday tradition. They have ventured into the realm of dance and short film. They have also created new scores for silent movies and performed them live. In the eight years of existence, the band has performed at private events, nightclubs, parks, theaters, community centers, television stations and radio studios from San Francisco to New Orleans.