At the very last minute I scored a couple of tickets to see “Love Actually” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall here in Portland. While the movie played on a big screen, all the music was played by a live orchestra right below the screen, and it sounded terrific! What are your experiences with this kind of set-up?
Last month I saw E.T.: The Extraterrestrial accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv. Needless to say, it was amazing.
Moved to Cafe society.
The Phoenix Symphony does this.
I’ve seen them do Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s lots of fun - everyone clapped when they perfectly synced Jack tapping the ornaments.
The only one I can think of is seeing Metropolis with a live organ accompaniment.
About a decade ago, I saw The Fellowship of the Ring done this way, at Ravinia (an outdoor music venue park in suburban Chicago), where most of the seating is on the lawn. They showed the film on a bunch of large screens throughout the park, while the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the score. We were there with some friends, and we’d brought a picnic dinner and drinks. It was an awesome experience, and the audience cheered for all of the heroic moments.
Got dragged to a “Sound of Music” sing-along that did this.
As a side-note, a 98 year old woman can really pack a punch.
Both of the major orchestras in this area (NSO and BSO) do this once or twice a year. So far, I’ve only gone to one: in 2019 I took my then-18-year-old nephew to the NSO’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in concert, because (a) we both love those movies and (b) how could that score not sound amazing when played live? It was great! Nothing since then has come up that I’m interested enough in, but I’d definitely do it again with the right movie/score combo.
I don’t think movie sing-alongs – which also pop up around here from time to time – are the same thing at all. I wouldn’t want to go to one of those. 
Huh. That’s really neat! We live a few hours away from Portland. Do you think it’s worth driving over to see a performance sometime?
It’s a movie with an orchestra so why not?
Because at the event I went to the orchestra played and the audience was quiet.
So is the movie shown completely silently? Or is the dialog but not the music heard from it?
They got a special cut of the movie where all the musical (not vocal, though) accompaniment was cut out, then performed instead while the movie was shown with a live orchestra.
Not a silent movie, and not a sing-along.
Ok, thanks. Though watching that cut would be interesting, to understand the impact of the score on the mood and emotion of the film.
That was my experience, as well, with the LotR movie. The original dialog and sound effects were all intact, but the soundtrack music had apparently been removed from the film, and replaced with the live orchestra performance.
I was able to see the conductor, and he uses a very interesting display to help him synchronize the orchestra. A graphic metronome on his monitor that must give him timing information.
The Cleveland Orchestra does a few of these every summer at Blossom Music Center, the local outdoor concert venue. I’ve seen The Empire Strikes Back and the first Harry Potter that way. Both were a lot of fun.
Same with the event I went to last night.
I saw the Reno Phil do this with Back to the Future. Nothing particularly memorable about the score, but it was a very enjoyable experience.
On the other hand I’d give my eye teeth to experience this with any of the Lord of the Rings.
“And Rohan will answer!”