Music cultizing film: KTL and the new silents

This paper is interested in the way new music redefines old silent films, altering their cultural value and cult status, as well as engaging new audiences. The recent renaissance of silent film has been led by the rediscovery of live music, and has opened up the possibility for silent films being recontextualized and made cult objects through new music by uncompromising musicians who aim to make them into something different. This process has developed apace in recent years due to the fragmenting what were once distinct areas of culture, the expansion of film into venues beyond the cinema, and the possibility of release on DVD. The KTL version of The Phantom Carriage vividly illustrates the possibility of the status of music and musicians redefining films as cult objects, altering their sense of cultural value and interest, allowing the rediscovery and renewal of films that are the best part of a century old