Set in the bright and colorful world of the 1950s (or at least the cinematic version of that decade), the film follows Johnny Depp's Cry-Baby Walker, a teenage greaser (referred to as "drapes" in the film), as he falls for a girl from the right side of the tracks (Amy Locane), gets into rumbles, goes to jail, and, above all, expresses himself through song. The less mainstream cousin to 1988's Hairspray, Cry-Baby is John Waters' ode to teenage delinquency. It's no surprise that it became a cult classic with its sheer level of stylish strangeness, though its music was one thing to get acclaim right off the bat: it was even nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for the score. That quick plot summary doesn't begin to touch on the bizarre twists and turns of Phantom of the Paradise. Thanks to Swan's machinations, Winslow is sent on a journey that results in jail, disfiguration, and something akin to musical servitude, producing music for Swan in a devil's bargain. Swan chooses a woman named Phoenix to perform Winslow's music, and when Winslow hears her, he falls for her. The story of the film concerns a composer named Winslow Leach whose music is stolen by a satanic record producer named Swan, who wants to use the songs to open a concert hall called the Paradise. It didn't do well upon its release (except, for some reason, in Winnipeg, Canada), but like many films of its ilk, it found an audience through the years. Phantom of the Paradise is a Brian De Palma film that loosely adapts Phantom of the Opera as a glittery, campy musical horror film – a true relic of the 1970s. Here are the 15 Best Movies About Rock 'n' Roll. Some of the stories feel so personal to the filmmaker in question that they almost tell us more about the person making the film than the subject itself – but they all reveal something about the person watching. What links all of these films is an exploration of how music relates to us and what it means to us, as well as how its specific cultural influence can have such lasting repercussions. The way music affects us is easier to express with metaphor than a straight narrative sometimes, and a handful of the films on this list take full advantage of that. The characters are larger than life, with a mix of style, cool, and bad decision-making that can't help but be terribly appealing.Īs a subject, music also allows for a certain kind of freedom of storytelling, giving films lots of room to be just plain weird, to represent visually what is essentially a collection of feelings and sounds. Rock 'n' roll, as one of those most exciting and pop culturally significant of genres, lends itself very easily to the world of filmmaking. So it isn't a surprise that movies about music are prolific enough to form their own subgenre. A soundtrack can forever fix a specific song to a specific moment, and a score can subtly (or not so subtly, if done badly) influence how you feel about what you're watching. Music is an integral part of the cinematic experience.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |