TheSilent Sundaysseries returns to theRevuethis weekend -- with stop-motion dinosaurs and live musical accompaniment! The rep house is screening the 1925 version ofThe Lost World(no doubt the special effects equivalent ofAvatarin its day) at 4 p.m. this Sunday, January 10th.

True, silent films might be a tough sell, but Silent Sundays is the only year-round series of its kind in Toronto, and thus a rare chance to appreciate the "silent era" experience in a cinema that once upon a time actually screened silents (back in the '10s and '20s).

Silent Sundays premiered in June and, withBuster Keatonstarring in the 1927 filmCollege, featured a packed house. "Initially, I really wasn't sure what kind of audience to expect," programmer Eric Veillette tells me.

Veillette, who also writes about Toronto movie theatre history for theToronto Star, describes the event as "a real afternoon at the movies" catering to cinephiles, families, and music lovers. At the first Buster Keaton screening, he notes, "one guy brought his four year old son to the movies for the first time. The highest honour!" Indeed!

Music is key.William O'Meara, the go-to pianist for film accompaniment in the city, will provide the live soundtrack for the film. O'Meara has previously lent his talents to Cinematheque's Nuit Blanche offeringA Trip to the Moonand to TIFF 09'sSHHH! Silent Film Classicsscreenings (also programmed by Veillette) at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Based on a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel,The Lost Worldis part adventure, part romance. An expedition team sets out to the remote areas of the Amazon jungle to disprove a kooky professor's claim that dinosaurs still live in the area. Spoiler alert: they find dinosaurs.

While previewingThe Lost Worldearlier week, all I could think was that if, say, you added sound and swapped the clay model dinosaurs for computer-generated monsters, action/adventure movies haven't changed a whole lot in 85 years!

Silent Sundays presents The Lost World (1925)
Sunday, January 10th at 4 p.m.
The Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Ave.
Admission $10 for non-members $8 for members