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Embry-Riddle to Show Silent Film Masterpiece The General with Live Theater Organ by Tom Steele

Poster of The General Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 18, 2009 -- A digitally restored version of The General, Buster Keaton’s 1927 silent comedy, will be shown at Embry-Riddle on Tuesday, Feb. 24, accompanied by a live performance by theater organist Tom Steele.

The event is presented by Embry-Riddle’s Arts & Letters Series and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Loosely based on the famous 1862 Civil War locomotive chase through Georgia, The General is rated by critics as the number #1 silent film of all time and by the American Film Institute as one of the 20 greatest motion pictures ever made.

During the Age of the Silver Screen, silent films were almost always shown with dramatic live music to enhance the movie-goer’s experience. The ambiance of those bygone days will be recreated at Embry-Riddle as Tom Steele accompanies The General on a Roland Atelier organ. One of America’s leading theater organists, Steele is a popular performer in Canada as well as the United States.

The film screening and organ performance are scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center auditorium on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Admission is $5; those with Embry-Riddle Eagle Card are admitted free.

For more information, visit www.erau.edu/arts or call the Embry-Riddle Humanities Dept. at (386) 226-6668.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. The university educates more than 34,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs, with accreditation pending for Embry-Riddle’s first doctoral programs, in Aviation and in Engineering Physics. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 130 campus centers in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.