film + sound - was [microsound] memento

[Joshua Maremont <thermal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 3:41 PM +0100 12/4/02, Andrea Valle wrote:
>I saw Russian Ark. Really interesting, but it doesn't seem to me
>particularly interesting from audio perspective. But maybe it's me.
>What do you consider of particular interest?

Ah, but it is Sokurov, and outside of festivals (and the PFA 
occasionally, where I managed to miss an exhaustive presentation of 
video works several months ago), his work rarely makes it onto the 
screen here in SF.  So I have not even seen it...

At 11:49 AM -0800 12/4/02, dkl37@xxxxxxxx wrote:
>Someone mentioned Antonioni. I've always liked how the electronic music
>of Vittorio Gelmetti works within the film. I would definitely consider
>it one of the predecessors of today's microsound aesthetic. I have the
>disc on Nepless with that as well.

Details, please, of this disc.  The blend of industrial noise and 
electronics amazed in "Red Desert."

At 9:29 PM +0000 12/4/02, ian stewart wrote:
>And Skolimowski's mystical horrorfilm The Shout, from 1978- one of 
>the main characters is an electroacoustic composer (although the 
>music is by Banks+Rutherford from Genesis). It does for sound what 
>Nakata's Ring does for video.

Here I might mention that Hur Jin-Ho's "One Fine Spring Day" and 
Kurosawa Kiyoshi's "Seance" both employ their male protagonists as 
location sound recordists and use sound recording rather 
interestingly in their plots.  Kurosawa Kiyoshi, by the way, has for 
me taken up the mantle of David Lynch in using sound to disturb in 
his films; the use of the washing machine and ocean sounds in his 
"Cure" made for quite uncomfortable viewing.  (Perhaps I should 
mention similar techniques in "Session 9.")  Still awaiting Nakata's 
original "Ring" here, but his aquatic noise in "Dark Water" helped to 
make the latter rather unsettling...

At 5:55 PM -0800 12/4/02, Christian Aeschliman wrote:
>Most movies where Toru (or Tooru ... that long o) Takemitsu did the sound
>are awesome.

I must recommend the collaborations between Takemitsu Toru, the 
writer Abe Kobo (who himself used an EMS synthi for noises in his 
plays), and the director Teshigahara Hiroshi:  "Woman in the Dunes," 
"The Pitfall," "The Face of Another," and "The Ruined Map."  The PFA 
graced us with a series of these last year, alas just after the 
director's death.

Also, Kore-Eda Hirokazu's "Maboroshi" and Victor Erice's "Spirit of 
the Beehive" both make stunning use of low-level and distant sound.

PS on computer music:  I very much enjoyed the Morr Music show here 
two weekends ago, and it was quite interesting to watch the 
combination of Lead Singer with Powerbook Operator in the context of 
a Rock Show...
-- 
Joshua Maremont / Thermal - mailto:thermal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boxman Studies Label - http://www.boxmanstudies.com/

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