(New member here, hope this is the right place to post this?)
"Wings" (1927) entered the public domain in 2023 but there doesn't seem to be any soundtrack accompanying the public domain version. So, to correct this situation I decided to edit together a new soundtrack from modern Creative Commons music. My aim is to make it easier for new people to discover the film online and so help it reach a wider audience. The original production on "Wings" was so high quality, and everyone involved was so dedicated to doing things for real (with actors actually flying!), that I think it could still impress people today and possibly get more people interested in silent film.
Just to temper your expectations I am not a professional editor! However, I've tried to do my best at curation and tweaking the music to fit the scenes, and hopefully this is at least better than watching the film in silence.
With all that said, you can watch at https://fedi.video/w/mnxJLqxaS9yejUAnZPNYcH
(Technically the creative commons music means this is not a public domain version, but the licence on the music is "creative commons attribution non-commercial". So, you're free to watch and copy it as long as the new music's end credits are included intact and as long as any copying/distribution is non-commercial.)
Wings (1927) with modern music
Re: Wings (1927) with modern music
Awesome, FediVideo! Thank you so much for the post. Welcome to our forum. It's nice to have you here. Feel free to post in any section; if it's in the wrong place, I'll move it and let you know!
You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Re: Wings (1927) with modern music
I saw a screening of Murnau's "Der letzte Mann" ("The Last Laugh") in a cinema without any score, it was so painful to watch! The film itself is great, but there was no warning given to the audience, and you could feel everyone just tensing up as we realised we would have to sit in silence together for an hour and a bit.
It's bizarre that some cinemas do this. We had all bought tickets for this, you would think it would cover rights costs of some kind of score?
Re: Wings (1927) with modern music
Yikes! It's bad enough to watch them in dead silence on YouTube, but I can't imagine what it would be like in a theatre with an audience.
I'm just a stickler about having a score. I always remember King Vidor's statement on the importance of the score in the Hollywood series; he said the music was 40%, maybe 50%, of the value of the film—and that was coming from a great director!
Re: Wings (1927) with modern music
To be fair it was an archive screening, but even the nerdiest of film buffs and academics do ultimately want to enjoy the films they are watching!
Yeah, sound is definitely the secret weapon of any film, silents or talkies. On talkies especially, poor sound can make a film unwatchable in a way that poor picture doesn't.
Yeah, sound is definitely the secret weapon of any film, silents or talkies. On talkies especially, poor sound can make a film unwatchable in a way that poor picture doesn't.