Archive for the film tag
Following up on the Dengue Fever post, Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten - Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll is a recent documentary directed by John Perozzi, who also directed Sleepwalking Through the Mekong.
During the 60’s and early 70’s, as the war in Vietnam threatened its borders, a new music scene emerged in Cambodia that took Western rock and roll and stood it on its head-creating a sound like no other.
Cambodian musicians crafted this sound from the various rock music styles sweeping across America and England, adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The beautiful singing of the renowned female vocalists became the final touch that made this mix so enticing.
This documentary film, “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten,” provides a new perspective on a country usually assocated with war and genocide. By celebrating this powerful music, and the people who created it, Cambodia’s musical heyday emerges from the shadows of tragedy into the light of history.
The site for the film has several songs that help define the sound, they are a trip. Surf Rock from an alternate dimension.
The Playlist is “a place dedicated to that sweet spot where movies and music meet”. It’s the place to go if you’re a soundtrack junky like me. Articles usually focus on not-so-commercial upcoming film news with an emphasis on soundtrack related info. Their movie and music tastes follow my own, their sense of humor is unorthodox* and they’re in my top five daily blog reads.
The Playlist has an on-going feature called The Sountrack Series where the author picks a director who has an established sonic palette that accompanies their films, and creates 20 song playlists of music that could be used in said director’s films. The series is ongoing and current volumes include: Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmusch, Cameron Crowe, Michel Gondry, David Gordon Green and Miranda July, Noah Baumbach, Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson. I downloaded the David Gordon Green volume (part 1) and dug it so much, I’m now downloading all 12 parts in the 9 current volumes.
This series is more then just an ode to soundtrack genius, it’s a great resource for discovering new music and possibly listening to music you’ve heard before through a different context. It’s a great freakin’ idea and I’m nonplussed I didn’t think of it first. As a consolation prize, I have hours and hours of new music to listen to. go check it out.
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We finally got around to renting Ratatouille this past weekend. Two words: f*cking wonderful.
The Playlist has the skinny on the poster art and Judd Apatow’s hate/hate relationship with “The Academy”. Hilarious! File this one under: “rediculous insider jokes that won’t make sense to anyone that hasn’t worked in “Hollywood” or doesn’t have a serious film industry fetish”. nice.
Steven Boone loves Cabiria. I have to admit, so do I. Marcia got all sour when I told her she looked like Cabiria at a friend’s wedding recently. I’m talking about Cabiria Ceccarelli, the hooker with a heart of gold, from Federico Fellini’s 1957 film Nights of Cabiria. if you ain’t seen it, netflix it pronto. also one of the best movie posters of all time. [via Spout]
‘The Playlist’ has the skinny on a documentary about Jon Brion’s Los Angeles club ‘Largo’. A notorious Elliott Smith hangout and essential stop for scores of killer musicians. Paul Thomas Anderson is producing. Personally, I really kick myself that I only made it to Largo once. I always saw people standing around outside smoking cigarettes, but never got wise to the place until very late in my LA tenure. I was always stuck at the dumb apple martini bar across fairfax with my less-then-hip friends.
Edit: Andrew van Baal, the filmmaker of the Largo Movie commented on the Playlist post (linked above) that PT Anderson is not producing and all info about the film will be posted at the official Largo Film website.
