PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Gary Lucas, guitarist and composer of the film The Goddess.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

Guitar virtuoso Gary Lucas performed his original score for the Chinese 1934 silent masterpiece, The Goddess, directed by Wu Yonggang in 1934 in the midst of the period known as the Golden Age of Chinese Cinematography, at the 2019 Transilvania International Film Festival. In our conversation with Lucas, he tells us about how he got to composing and performing music for silent films, and all the influences of his score for The Goddess, including that of the underrated genre of ’30s Shanghai Pop, with a fascinating history that he fills us in on.

The Goddess: The Goddess is a celebrated 1934 silent classic directed by Wu Yonggang, now seen as a major title of the golden age of Chinese cinema. The protagonist, played by Ruan Lingyu, is a mother forced into prostitution in order to support her son’s education – a daring subject for the time. In composing the live score for the film, Lucas drew on his vast knowledge of 1930s Shanghai pop, thus re-creating the atmosphere of the era while rendering the emotional charge of the story.