Following the success of the film concert organized for Nuit Blanche 2024 (over 600 spectators!), the Saint-Denis Festival is offering a repeat performance this year!
In the majestic setting of the Basilica-Cathedral of Saint-Denis, a new film concert is presented around an absolute masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema: Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang in 1927.

On the great Cavaillé-Coll organ, a jewel of 19th-century French instrumentation, Quentin Guérillot, organist of the Basilica, lends his improvisational talents to the screening of the film. With his inventive and sensitive playing, he brings this monumental cinematic fresco to life, in a striking dialogue between the black and white images on the screen and the unparalleled richness of the organ’s sound.

Metropolis immerses us in a dizzying futuristic city, dominated by imposing skyscrapers where the ruling classes live, while the workers, relegated to oppressive underground spaces, exhaust themselves trying to keep the social machine running. This dystopia, marked by an impressive architectural vision and revolutionary special effects for the time, addresses themes that are still relevant today: class struggle, the mechanization of the body, the power of the masses, but also the need for human mediation between reason and emotion, between the brain and the heart.

A visionary film, Metropolis has influenced generations of filmmakers and continues to inspire the imagination of contemporary science fiction, from cinema to video games, architecture, and popular culture. The film, which has been regularly restored, remains one of the most striking testimonies to the narrative power of silent cinema and the visual richness of the Expressionist movement. The encounter between this fascinating cinematic universe and the powerful, nuanced colors of the Cavaillé-Coll organ promises an unforgettable evening. The instrument, designed in 1841 and recognized as one of the most beautiful of its time, becomes a true playing partner here, capable of suggesting a whole palette of emotions, soundscapes, and dramatic effects on its own.

A film from the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden.

In partnership with the L’Écran cinema and the Centre des monuments nationaux.