Film Forum

Safety Last (1923), the silent comedy masterpiece starring Harold Lloyd, will screen at Film Forum on Friday, October 28 at 6:00 PM. The screening honors the 80th birthday on this day of maestro Carl Davis, who composed and conducted the film’s orchestral soundtrack.

Composer/conductor Carl Davis (CBE) was born and raised in Brooklyn and moved to the U.K. in 1960. Davis is a true music-maker and all-round musician, as both conductor and composer. He has changed the face of concerts as we know them, making classical music both accessible and varied and is a consummate showman and entertainer. His career has spanned many genres, from silent film performances to his popular themed concerts such as ''An Evening with James Bond" and "Oscar Winners". He is perhaps most well known for his music for television including the series The World At War, BBC’s Pride & Prejudice, ITV’s Goodnight Mr. Tom, and the award-winning film The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

For over 30 years, he’s been a frequent collaborator with producer and film historian Kevin Brownlow, both as the composer of the soundtrack music for such acclaimed documentaries as Hollywood, The Unknown Chaplin, and Cinema Europe, and as the composer/conductor of such “live cinema” events as Ben-Hur, The Wind, Flesh and the Devil, and many others. He considers his five-and-a-half hour score for Abel Gance’s epic Napoleon one of his proudest achievements. Davis’ score may be the longest continuous film music ever composed and conducted.

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