Customer Reviews

Music for the Movies [VHS]

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This is a must-see for anyone interested in the composer. For anyone who is not, you're quite likely to become interested after seeing it. The film provides numerous telling examples of how Takemitsu's music enhanced the films he worked on. His music may seem too dissonent for some tastes, but others may see how his sounds tapped into something deeper than a simple melody would. The one thing that prevents me from giving the film a full five stars is that it features striking scenes from numerous films, creating interest in seeing them. Then you see the films and realize that the documentary showed the most memorable scene or the end of the film. It certainly makes the documentary more facinating by highlighting the best of Takemitsu's collaborations, but it'll spoil many the films themselves.

This quiet man contrasted greatly with the intense music which heigtened the dramatic impact of so many Japanese films. Moreso than the great American and European writers of film music, he seemed to adapt style/instrumentation to suit movie content, though his perspective was always distinctive and personal. His appraoch may have derived from commitment to the cinemactic art form; he would immerse himself in the films for which he composed even during production so he himself was part of the creative process. Takemitsu's personality -- which apparently was calm, focused, serious, simple, honest -- emerges. The images which appear in the video are impressive. But they would be lessened without the memorable underscoring of Takemitsu's art. END