NEW BOOK “THE SILENT FILM UNIVERSE” EXPLORES VIEWER’S EXPERIENCE AS CORE COMPONENT OF STORYTELLING LANGUAGE IN SILENT MOVIES

Appeal of Silent Movies for Today’s and Yesterday’s Audiences Demystified By Renowned Film Historian and Accompanist Ben Model in Groundbreaking New Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Wednesday April, 2025) – a new book, The Silent Film Universe by Ben Model, reveals and defines the secret formula to silent movies’ dreamlike nature. Featuring a Foreword by renowned film scholar and author Jeanine Basinger, the book delves into the reason silent film was – and still is – considered a universal language.

Published by Undercrank Productions and releasing on June 17, 2025, The Silent Film Universe presents detailed and revelatory discussions of how silent film’s unique storytelling techniques function both on screen and in the imagination of the viewer. This concise, intriguing, and entertaining book is expected to appeal to both scholars and fans alike.

Watching silent films is an immersive, dreamlike experience. The storytelling and characters of these movies can only exist in the Silent Film Universe, where a purely visual cinematic language commingles with the viewer’s imagination. How this works – for both yesterday’s and today’s filmgoers – is explored and explained in this groundbreaking, insightful, and entertaining book that will leave you with a new appreciation of silent film.

“In trying to explain why I love silent movies to friends, reporters or during audience Q&As, I became fascinated with finding a compelling and relatable answer,” says Ben Model. “What I gradually came up with is that while watching a silent film we unwittingly tap into our own human experience to fill in what’s not there. I also grew to understand that the people who made these movies developed techniques of deliberately leaving things out, for us to fill in, which is a big part of the magic of silent cinema.”

ADVANCE PRAISE:

“I adore this book.  Not only does Ben Model articulate why we love silent movies, but he educates us for the first time about the brilliance of silent film artistry in its techniques of cranking and projecting.  Fascinating, essential reading for both lifelong silent film enthusiasts like me and newcomers to the medium.”  – Alexander Payne, film director and screenwriter

“Because he accompanies showings of silent films for modern audiences, Ben Model knows what people understand and relate to right away—and what requires some explanation and historical context. That, paired with his encyclopedic knowledge, makes him a perfect guide to these intoxicating movies and the era that produced them.”  –– Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian

“In The Silent Film Universe, Ben Model has written a unique book, and only he could do it. This is the end product of Ben’s experience: A hands-on, imaginative, thought-provoking, and illuminating presentation on silent film.” – Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor Emerita of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and founder of the Wesleyan Cinema Archive

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben Model is one of the nation’s leading silent film accompanists and has been a resident film pianist at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) since 1984 and for the Library of Congress since 2008.  He accompanies silent films on piano and theatre organ regularly at MoMA, the Library of Congress, the Silent Clowns Film Series (NYC), and at many theatres and schools around the US and internationally. His composed silent film scores are performed regularly by orchestras and concert bands around the U.S. and Canada.  His recorded scores can be heard on numerous releases from Kino Lorber, Milestone Films, on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and from his own boutique Blu-ray label Undercrank Productions. Model is a Visiting Professor of Film at Wesleyan University, where he teaches silent film history. He is also the archivist for the Ernie Kovacs/Edie Adams collection and has programmed three DVD box sets of Kovacs’ TV shows for Shout Factory, as well as MVD’s “Here’s Edie: The Edie Adams Television Shows”. He is based in New York City.

Website: silentfilmmusic.com | Instagram: @silentfilmmusic

AVAILABILITY AND ORDERING INFO:

The Silent Film Universe will be available in paperback on June 17, 2025 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound and undercrankproductions.com. Pre-orders will be available April 16, 2025.

BOOK DETAILS:

Title:  The Silent Film Universe
Author:  Ben Model
Publisher: Undercrank Productions
ISBN: 979-8-9875546-0-9
Page Count: 211 pages
Trim Size: 5.25 x 8.00 in.
Format: Paperback
MSRP: $20.00
Availability:

For media inquiries, review copies, or interview requests, please contact:

Ben Model
ben@undercrankproductions.com
917-968-8663
undercrankproductions.com
silentfilmmusic.com

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photo by Michael Kushn – download 300 dpi