Music Movies
After a program of experimental music documentaries by Luke Fowler, this month’s Music Movies explore the relationship between music and literature: a legendary enigma in THOMAS PYNCHON: A JOURNEY INTO THE MIND OF P.; novelist Paul Bowles’s early musical compositions in NIGHT WALTZ; New York’s literary community set to music in AS SMART AS THEY ARE; and a line-by-line breakdown of a life-changing song in HOW MANY ROADS.
-- Jim Dempsey
feature films
Chicago premiere!
Outside/In: A Luke Fowler Program
2003-6, Luke Fowler and Kosten Koper, Scotland, ca. 80 min.
An avid investigator of counterculture, Fowler challenges conventional notions of documentary. PILGRIMAGE FROM SCATTERED POINTS (2006, 45 min.) is a portrait of English composer Cornelius Cardew, from his work in the Scratch Orchestra to his relationship with Karlheinz Stockhausen. THE WAY OUT (2003, 33 min.) focuses on Xentos Jones, the chameleon front man of ‘80s underground obscurities The Homosexuals. Beta SP video. (JD)
Sunday, October 1, 5:00 pm
Thursday, October 5, 8:15 pm
Chicago premiere!
THOMAS PYNCHON: A JOURNEY INTO THE MIND OF P.
2001, Donatello and Fosco Dubini, Switzerland, 90 min.
This semi-biographical film explores the myth-enshrouded American novelist and great cultural recluse (unphotographed for 40 years), collaging newsreels, talking heads, spoken extracts, found footage of missile experiments, and musings from hardcore fans. Music score by The Residents. 35mm print courtesy of Pro Helvetia, the Arts Council of Switzerland, and the Consulate General of Switzerland, Chicago. (JD)
Sunday, October 8, 5:00 pm
Thursday, October 12, 8:15 pm
Chicago premiere!
NIGHT WALTZ: THE MUSIC OF PAUL BOWLES
2000, Owsley Brown, USA, 80 min.
Celebrated expatriate and author Paul Bowles’s early musical compositions are the
focus of this prize-winning documentary, including collaborations with Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams, Gertrude Stein, and Merce Cunningham. Seven of Bowles’s compositions are accompanied by gorgeous visual essays edited by Nathaniel Dorsky and incorporating footage by Dorsky, Rudy Burckhardt, and Jerome Hiler. 35mm. (JD)
Sunday, October 15, 5:00 pm
Thursday, October 19, 8:00 pm
Chicago premiere!
AS SMART AS THEY ARE: THE AUTHOR PROJECT
2005, Joe Pacheco, USA, 63 min.
McSweeney’s, the spirited publishing company founded by Dave Eggers, runs its office out of a Brooklyn storefront that also serves as a venue for literary readings. Musicians Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst (One Ring Zero) began performing between readings as an ad hoc house band, and soon were combining their music with lyrics penned by the likes of Paul Auster, Myla Goldberg, Jonathan Lethem, and Rick Moody. Beta SP video. (JD)
Wednesday, October 25, 8:45 pm
Saturday, October 28, 4:45 pm
Chicago premiere!
HOW MANY ROADS
2006, Jos de Putter, Netherlands, 71 min.
The ability to change lives with words must be a hope of all poets and songwriters. HOW MANY ROADS examines the lives of folks transformed by the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Eleven separate portraits, including a teacher, an accountant, a housewife, and a student, illustrate the potential power of a well-placed song in our culture, and how it can become a catalyst for personal change. Beta SP video. (JD)
