Besides being a successful solo artist, the mastermind behind San Francisco’s celebrated indie recording studio Tiny Telephone, and the former leader of the Bay Area cult band MK Ultra, John Vanderslice is a bona fide film nut.
His fans know this from his songs like “Promising Actress” (a rock take on David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive) and “When It Hits My Blood” (inspired by Requiem for a Dream). But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To talk to the man about movies is to commune with an encyclopedic knowledge not just of films across a range of genres and decades, but also of the minds behind them and the music, as well.
So when John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats called Vanderslice and asked him if he wanted to be involved in the San Francisco Film Society’s screening of the 1919 silent film Sir Arne’s Treasure on December 14 at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, for which Darnielle was planning live musical accompaniment, it wasn’t a tough call.
Or, as Vanderslice, says, “How can you possibly not do that?”
Darnielle and Vanderslice have been friends for quite some time, with Vanderslice having produced two of the Mountain Goats’ best albums, Heretic Pride and the shamefully underrated We Shall All Be Healed. Vanderslice usually guests for a song or two with the band when they play in San Francisco, even singing lead vocals on the Goats’ “Your Belgian Things” a few years back when Darnielle was having some scary medical troubles with his vocal cords during a Bay Area appearance. The two released an EP together last year, Moon Colony Bloodbath—which, with its theme of organ harvesting on the lunar surface, has got to be one of the more out-there concept records ever.
Vanderslice has seen a lot of films, but if there’s one truth that every film freak will encounter in his or her lifetime, it’s that you can’t see ’em all. (Thus inevitably leading to someone else saying “I can’t believe you haven’t seen that!”) And the Swedish Sir Arne’s Treasure is considered a bit of a lost classic. Directed by Mauritz Stiller—best known in this country for discovering Greta Garbo—Sir Arne’s Treasure tells the story of a jailbreak by Scottish mercenaries in 16th century Sweden. Acclaimed for its epic use of coastal Swedish landscapes, it co-stars Sweden’s early acting great, Richard Lund. Though known now more by reputation due to its limited accessibility, it’s finally been restored.
“I was really in the dark about it, but watching it, I was stunned,” says Vanderslice.
“In some ways, this is a huge challenge. The film is so visually beautiful you just hope you’re going to rise up to the level of visual information.”
Darnielle was planning his approach right up to the wire, as they headed into what Vanderslice described as “massive rehearsals.” But after years of working together, Vanderslice has learned to trust Darnielle’s instincts, and can’t wait to be part of the results. “It’s really fun to be in his world,” he says. “I’ve been there for a long time, and I really value his friendship.”
SIR ARNE’S TREASURE will be screened with live musical accompaniment by the MOUNTAIN GOATS and JOHN VANDERSICE on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 8pm at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco; $22.50.
