I'm a Dancin' Fool (Emphasis on the Fool)
The one tool that comics don't have that I wish they did have, is a soundtrack. I love a good soundtrack, and frankly, there are more than a few occasions where the soundtrack have meant the difference between a film being good and a film being a classic. Obviously, the best examples of a soundtrack adding to the experience of a film are the three Star Wars movies (where would we be without the Imperial March?), the three Indiana Jones movies (Indy kicked alota ass on his own, he kicked even more when they were playing his theme song), and the three Lord of the Rings movies (the sweeping score help to sell the epic scale of the series).
If you're feeling froggy, head to your local video store and rent the following movies, paying not only attention to what's going on onscreen, but also the music that flows with the action. Here's the list: Amelie, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill (esp. vol 1), Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Pie (the Mathmatical symbol), and Requiem for a Dream. Admittedly, it's around 6am Illinois time, and I can't think of anymore movies right now. So, I invite you, the viewing populace to contribute your picks for movies with great soundtracks. Just drop a line on the blog here.
Now, it's also pretty easy to make a bad soundtrack. Alotta movie makers tend to just slap a bunch of current and/or popular songs willynilly onto a soundtrack and think they've made some sort of audio masterpiece. There's hundreds of examples of this trend nowadays, but I'd feel dirty reccommending any film like that. If you're feeling gutsy, and you really want to experience the difference between a perfect soundtrack and a perfectly crappy soundtrack, watch the original Blues Brothers movie, and then immediately follow it up with Blues Brothers 2000. There's just no comparison.
Today's Comic You Cannot Live Without is "The Frank Book" by Jim Woodring. Woodring's Frank strips are a series of surrealist, dreamlike images that are all rendered in pantomime. Despite the fact that the audience doesn't fully understand what is going on, Woodring skills as a Cartoonist are so powerful, that you still understand everything perfectly. It's a book that has to be seen to be believed, and a definitive must have. The hardcover is available from Fantagraphics for around $40 and contains every Frank story ever.
If you're feeling froggy, head to your local video store and rent the following movies, paying not only attention to what's going on onscreen, but also the music that flows with the action. Here's the list: Amelie, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill (esp. vol 1), Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Pie (the Mathmatical symbol), and Requiem for a Dream. Admittedly, it's around 6am Illinois time, and I can't think of anymore movies right now. So, I invite you, the viewing populace to contribute your picks for movies with great soundtracks. Just drop a line on the blog here.
Now, it's also pretty easy to make a bad soundtrack. Alotta movie makers tend to just slap a bunch of current and/or popular songs willynilly onto a soundtrack and think they've made some sort of audio masterpiece. There's hundreds of examples of this trend nowadays, but I'd feel dirty reccommending any film like that. If you're feeling gutsy, and you really want to experience the difference between a perfect soundtrack and a perfectly crappy soundtrack, watch the original Blues Brothers movie, and then immediately follow it up with Blues Brothers 2000. There's just no comparison.
Today's Comic You Cannot Live Without is "The Frank Book" by Jim Woodring. Woodring's Frank strips are a series of surrealist, dreamlike images that are all rendered in pantomime. Despite the fact that the audience doesn't fully understand what is going on, Woodring skills as a Cartoonist are so powerful, that you still understand everything perfectly. It's a book that has to be seen to be believed, and a definitive must have. The hardcover is available from Fantagraphics for around $40 and contains every Frank story ever.
1 Comments:
28 Days Later had a great soundtrack, and enhanced the movie well. On the other end of the spectrum, "Saw" had a crappy one that was almost all outdated industrial swarthy crap. But the movie was still cool though.
Oh, and Pickle says Halo 2 night is Friday, and we're prolly leaving for Gwar at 4 on Saturday.
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