Kate Bush, James Brown and LouReed at the Film Festival

Thu 17th Jul, 2008 in Local News

The Melbourne International Film Festival delivers the goods for cinemaphiles and music fans alike between July 25th and the August 10th across the city’s cinemas.

The Backbeat programme of musical docos features a stellar collection of films, with something for almost every music fan. Here’s a quick rundown of the films:

The Wrecking Crew
You may not know the name, but you certainly know their music. The Wrecking Crew were the session musicians on The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, recorded with Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, The Monkees, Mamas and Papas and were pivotal in Phil Spector’s – œWall of Sound’ production style.

Respect Yourself: The Stax Story
Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Eddie Floyd, Booker T and the MGs. What more could you want – plus it’s narrated by Samuel L Jackson, of course.

Kate Bush – Under Review
Touted as a must see for Bush fans the film features rare promo shoots and interviews with Bush and her producers, friends and fellow musicians.

Global Metal
Metal across the globe travelling through seven countries, three continents. Starring Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Max Cavalera.

CSNY Déjà Vu
Documenting their Freedom of Speech 2006 tour and filmed by Neil Young under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Doco on the – œhigh priest of folk music’ featuring plenty of archival footage of Seeger and testimonies from the likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Springsteen and Joan Baez.

Lou Reed’s Berlin
A standout of the Sydney Arts Festival in 2007 comes to film – Reed’s concept album about the relationship of two junkies performed in full with a band including Antony of Antony and the Johnsons.

The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice
That’s Wanda Jackson the Queen of Rockabilly – interviews include Springsteen and Lemmy from Motorhead.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Apparently the greatest metal band you’ve never heard of… so say Lars Ulrich, Smash and Motorheads’s Lemmy. They’re in their 50s now, but Anvil are still dreaming of the ultimate breakthrough.

Bob Marley: Freedom Road
The Upsetter: The life and Music of Lee – œScratch’ Perry
A double bill of two of reggae’s most important musicians.

Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
An exploration of the avant-garde composer whose work spanned pop, disco, classical and abstract experimentation. Includes interviews with collaborators Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet
The rise of the ChipTunes movement playing Nintendo or Gameboy consoles as musical instruments – focuses on the Blip Festival in Manhattan starring world’s best 8-bit artists.

Plus there a few music films screening outside the Backbeat program:
Glass: A Portrait in Twelve Parts directed by Scott Hicks ( Shine ) examines the work of the acclaimed composer Philip Glass, who has collaborated with Leonard Cohen, Aphex Twin and David Bowie. The film includes interviews with Errol Morris, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese. While Young @ Heart also offers an interesting choice for music fans starring a senior citizens choir singing a topical selection of tunes including the Bee Gees_ Staying Alive_, The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should Go, The Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated and Bowie’s Golden Years.

Plus there are a few tasty short music films including Nick Cave: Abusing the Muse and Smells Like Teen Sprit, a film about Patti Smith and her son Jackson. The Orbit 2008 collection of new music video clips from Australia and New Zealand also looks well worth a look, featuring clips from Sia, TZU, Snowman, Martin Martini, Little Red and internationals Lady Soverign and Still Flyin’.

Plus there are many great films that aren’t musically focused including a focus on Ozploitation films, a George A Romero retrospective and a tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the Cannes Directors Fortnight. You can also catch films from directors like Takashi Miike, Jennifer Lynch, Nick Broomfield, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Michael Haneke, Eric Rohmer, Brian De Palma, Peter Greenaway, Wayne Wang, Ken Loach, Bruce La Bruce, Julian Temple and the Dardenne brothers.

For more details hit the festival website HERE