March 23rd, 2009
Music Flicks At The Philly Film Festival
So the Philadelphia Film Festival and Cinefest ‘09 kicks off this Thursday, March 26th, with screenings and related events all around town until its conclusion on Monday, April 6th. Among the numerous films being showcased are a few music-related offerings:
Rock Prophecies
Fri., April 3, 6:45pm. International House. $10. Running time: 75 minutes.
As a music photographer I’m particularly interested in this one, and you may be as well if rock photography is your thing. Rock Prophecies documents the four-decade career of Robert Knight, famed for his iconic shots of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Along with testimonials from the likes of Carlos Santana, Slash, Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, and others, the film traces the photographer’s colorful career: “Knight is a jovial character, the wayward son of a evangelical minister who at age 18 pursued his passion for rock ‘n’ roll (and guitarists in particular) by talking his way into the Whisky a Go Go to photograph a new band called Led Zeppelin. Since then he has made it his life’s mission to find and photograph new talent as it emerges from the brine of the rock’n'roll seas.”
Wages of Spin
Wed., April 1, 6:45pm. International House. $10. Running time: 90 minutes.
Dick Clark is certainly a beloved figure in Philadelphia, and is widely considered one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll via American Bandstand. This potentially fascinating documentary, however, takes a “fast, frank and sometimes indicting” look at Clark and some of his more controversial means of doing business: “[Clark] could do anything, and sometimes did. If you wanted to get on Bandstand, you needed the gatekeeper to be involved, and that had serious costs (hidden) from the public. Reaching into somewhat taboo areas of Philadelphia’s lesser-known past, Jerry Blavat, Artie Singer, Charlie Gracie and many others address the reality that Clark didn’t just play the hits, he made the hits and usually owned the hits.”
GS Wonderland
Sun., March 29, 9:30pm. Ritz East 2. $10. Running time: 100 minutes.
Tues., March 31, 4:45pm. Ritz East 2. $10
Wed., April 1, 7:00pm. The Bridge Cinema DeLux. $10
This lighthearted fictional film pays homage to the “Group Sounds” craze that swept through Japan in the late ’60s, when tons of Japanese bands formed after being inspired by the Beatles and other British Invasion and psych-rock bands: “Following the flop of their first single, the four-man band — repackaged with a new sound and image as ‘The Tightsmen’ — finds instant success with an army of young female fans prone to screaming, fainting and peeing in their pants. Mick (Miku passing as a boy) is king of these pop princes in tights. Cresting the charts and at the height of their fame, a nefarious pitch for a million yen threatens to irrevocably sully the band’s reputation.”
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