World Premiere of New 4k Restoration of Damon and Pythias!

Step behind the scenes at the dawn of Hollywood with a special screening of Damon and Pythias (1914), preceded by the rarely seen short film Behind the Screen (1915), a fascinating glimpse into the making of silent movies at the newly opened Universal City.

Inspired by the exhibition Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles, which explores co-founder Carl Laemmle's vision for Universal City and its impact on the development of Los Angeles, this program celebrates the birth of one of the world's most influential film studios. Opened in 1915 in the San Fernando Valley, Universal City was conceived as a self-contained "city of moviemaking," built to produce films on an unprecedented scale. Damon and Pythias was the first feature filmed on the new lot, announcing the studio's ambitions with an epic tale of loyalty, sacrifice, and friendship set in Ancient Greece.

Featuring more than 1,500 performers, monumental sets, lavish costumes, and sweeping crowd scenes, the film demonstrated the extraordinary possibilities of early feature filmmaking. Together, Behind the Screen and Damon and Pythias offer a rare opportunity to experience both the craft and the spectacle of silent-era Hollywood at the very moment Universal City—and the modern movie industry—began to take shape.

Directed by Otis Turner | Screenplay by Ruth Ann Baldwin, based on the story by E. Bulwer Lytton | Starring William Worthington, Herbert Rawlinson, and Cleo Madison

Live accompaniment by Cliff Retallick

4K restoration conducted by Universal Pictures. Restoration from the 35mm Nitrate Release Print provided by the Frank Lloyd Collection at the Library of Congress, the 35mm Nitrate Print provided by the Library of Congress, and the 35mm Nitrate Print provided by the George Eastman Museum. Restoration services provided by StudioPost, an NBCUniversal Company.

Watch silent movies the way they were meant to be seen—on the big screen with live musical accompaniment! Showcasing a wide variety of early cinema in the best available formats, The Silent Treatment is a long-running silent movie film series curated by film archivists Brandee Cox and Steven Hill.