Customer Reviews

Theremin - An Electronic Odyssey

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have ever had any interest in the theremin, you need to get this film.

There is extensive footage of Clara Rockmore playing the instrument, and her technique is amazing. She has developed a way to play scales by moving her fingers. You have to see it to believe it. I play the theremin and this film helped me out tremendously.

If you never heard of a theremin, the film is worth watching anyway, because you don't see too many documentary films with this much intrigue and depth. Plus, you get to see Brian Wilson's whacked out explanation of the 60s. Really funny.

Leon Theremin had every reason in the world to give up and die, and instead, he kept living. He is a true giant among human beings. The last 10 minutes of the film are sublime.

This is not an action movie. It's a documentary.

But it's one of the best documentary films I've ever seen.

Good ending. Buy it.

"Theremin" is a captivating, eighty-two minute portrait, of the late Russian musical inventor Leonard Theremin. The film describes the life of Professor Theremin's social circle, which was located in New York City during the 1920's and 30's. The instrument that bears his name, along with a range of other exotic musical instruments and inventions, were born during this unique period.

A special attribute of the film is that Director Steve Martin has sought out, and then interviewed, a range of talented musicians, dancers and composers. These artists have made direct contributions toward bringing the sound of Professor Theremin's instrument, from the inventor's basement laboratory, into the consciousness of the American public.

Robert Moog, whose modular synthesizers revolutionized musical production, spent his teenage years building Theremin's from the plans of a hobbyist magazine. Moog claims that Leon Theremin's work is the cornerstone of the use of electronics in musical instrument design.

The film shows that concerts performed by Clara Rockmore to the accompaniment of major symphony orchestras, went a long way towards gaining the acceptance of the Theremin as a serious musical instrument. The Theremin was also popularized by Hollywood, with its use in films such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still".

An interesting subplot of the film describes Professor Theremin's abduction from his 57th Street New York apartment, with his subsequent rediscovery, in Russia, some fifty years later. "Theremin, An Electronic Odyssey" is a documentary film that both informs and surprises. It is highly recommended viewing for all fans of electronic music.

Leon Theremin was the Russian-born inventor of the electronic musical instrument that sounds like a fly buzzing but has a touching, yearning vibrato. It was used memorably on the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations", in the TV series Lost in Space, and in several films including Spellbound, Lost Weekend and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Mr Theremin's life is as bizarre as his creation. At the height of his fame and wealth in New York in the 1920's, he was kidnapped by the KGB, who used his genius for bugging devices and other "bad things". Meanwhile, his student Clara Rockmore thrived as the theremin virtuoso in symphony orchestras. There is poignance in seeing the old Mr Theremin wandering the streets of New York, while the theremin plays "Lover, Come Back to Me" on the soundtrack, and in seeing him reunited with Clara. Watch out for a dazed and confused Brian Wilson.

I rented this movie from my local video store, never having heard of the instrument or the inventor before. It just sounded like an interesting movie to me. I wasn't disappointed. After watching for a while, I was impressed by how famous the instrument and inventor actually are. The Theremin is a musical instrument you've probably heard countless of times before but never knew the name of. It was played in many sci-fi and horror films of the 40's and 50's when an eery, other-worldly sound was called for. Anyone who has seen one of these films will immediately recognize the sound. Now, through this film, the sound has been given a name and a face - that of the inventor. This is the primary significance of this film. Whatever its flaws (and many of them have already been mentioned in the other reviews), the film does succeed in helping to implant in the viewer's consciousness the fact that this instrument did not just simply materialize out of nowhere. It was invented by a man who while he might have been bizarre was certainly no more bizarre than many another genius of his kind. Inventive geniuses and tinkerers always seem odd to "normal" people. This film does a good job pointing out that Theremin, the inventor, was actually an ordinary man, thrust into the spotlight in America in the 20's and, just as suddenly, thrust into obscurity by his own government, seemingly as punishment for having attained such success in America. Taken exactly for what it is, no more and no less, the story is moving. When dealing with such an obscure historical topic, it is no wonder the level of detail given seems to be wanting. There probably just is not that much information available. All that we are left with is memories, both of the contemporaries of Theremin and of the films in which his impact was most felt. I think that this is the point this film tries to make.

The is a fire-rate biographical documentary of one of the most interesting individuals of the past figure, someone whose work most people will know even if they have never heard of. Leon Theremin was a Russian who escaped to the United States where he live, worked, and married until he was abducted in the mid-1930s by the KGB and returned to the Soviet Union to work on electronic surveillance equipment. For decades his fate was unknown, but with the downfall of the Iron Curtain and reestablishment of unfettered contact between east and west, the filmmakers were able both to fill out the story of what had happened to Theremin, gather information for this documentary, and enable a reconnection between Theremin and his lost friends in New York.

Theremin's claim to fame rests upon the highly unusual electric instrument, referred usually only by the inventor's last name: the Theremin. The instrument is made of no moving parts, but only some coils and modulators that create an energy field that can be manipulated by objects (usually hands) moving through it, and altering the sound that is thereby produced. Although the instrument has a wide range and can be used with a variety of musical styles, it is most commonly associated with Sci-fi sound tracks from the 1950s and in the Beach Boys' great hit "Good Vibrations." The Theremin is what is used to produce that high-pitched and incredibly eerie drone. If this still doesn't ring any bells, just thing of the instrument that parallels the voices as the Beach Boys sing "I'm feeling good vibrations."

Brian Wilson is one of many individuals interviewed during the course of the film, and his appearance, like much of his recent career is one that generated great respect and a feeling of sadness. I have had friends struggle with mental illness, but none is such a public way as Brian Wilson, and I have just enormous respect for the courage he exhibits in continue with a public career despite some obvious psychological challenges. The rest of the people interviewed run the course of friends from his early days in New York to various musicians who either specialized on the instrument or who used it in movies or elsewhere.

By no conceivable means does THEREMIN - AN ELECTRONIC ODYSSEY deal with one of the great stories of the century, nor does it tie up with the stories of many other people. But it is documents the usual contribution that one man made to 20th century music, and he stands as an example of the tragedy that can take place when a totalitarian state places the needs of the corporate above the needs of the individual. Little is spent on his life in the Soviet Union in the documentary, but he was taken away from his wife, an African-American professional dancer, in the 1930s, and he never saw her again. Although that part is not dwelt upon, the sadness of breaking apart a family so that a man could be forced to design the Soviet bug just seems tragic.

I have to vote this one of the most unexpectedly delightful documentaries that I have ever seen. When I saw it, I had absolutely minimal expectations, but instead I responded to it with complete delight.

A documentary on my favourite musical instrument, the theremin ! It has all the "big players" for theremin enthusiasts : Leon Theremin, inventor of the theremin, Clara Rockmore, the most well-known theremin player, and Robert Moog, maker of theremins and a big figure in electronic music.

Léon Théremin was the prototypical mad scientist, except for real. Emigrated from Russia, he pioneered the realm of electronic music by inventing the theremin, an electronic cello, and other wonderful things. The Russian government did what statist governments do best, ruin Prof. Theremin's career by kidnapping him and trying to get his secrets. Consequently the theremin and other electronic instruments of its type became mere curiosities and B-movie instruments.

It is difficult not to shed a tear at the dramatic Theremin pieces being played by Rockmore and others. Also, an incredible piece for ten theremins, which was directed by Theremin himself, is played for a short moment. Why not play more of that piece ? We also see Theremin himself play, and discuss the theremin. The documentary itself only skims the surface, only hitting the obvious payoffs.

One of the most interesting and entertaining documentary films, "Theremin" is pure fun: really weird people speaking about a weird subject. Even if you're not a fan of electronic music in any form, this is a sure-to-please film. However, WHERE'S THE SEGMENT OF "THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB" THAT'S SUPPOSED TO OCCUR JUST BEFORE CHAPTER STOP 13? It's simply not there! It wasn't on the original VHS cassette, either! If you can catch the film on the Sundance Channel, tape it because this is STILL the only way to see the uncut version of this film. Yes, it was shot full-frame 1.37:1, and MGM--in its pre-Sony days--did a brilliant frame-by-frame color corection. Absolutely inexcusable DVD, otherwise. Peace.

What a story, my gosh. One serious problem - Theremin himself is interviewed but between his great age and his thick Russian accent he is almost completely imcomprehensible - and of course we are dying to hear what he has to say. Well, there are NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Even if you disagree with me and have no trouble understanding him (anyone?) what about people who are deaf? Just because it's about music hardly means that there is no interest in the deaf community - in fact the story is as important as the music. And of course many deaf people have enough hearing to appreciate music had hearing once and enjoyed music. And there is the great deaf percussioninst Evelyn Glynnie.

I overstate my case perhaps, but this problem was a great frustration for me in an otherwise fascinating story and a decently put together documentary. If you speak French or Spanish, perhaps you get the Theremin's words translated for you - you lucky people.

In response to (comments) about this DVD not being letterboxed:

I haven't seen the DVD yet, but I did see the film in a theater when it was first released, and I'm pretty sure it was in the 4:3 ratio - in other words, it SHOULD be full screen, not letterbox, on video.

It makes sense that the film would NOT have been made in a widescreen format, as it mainly consists of two things: the normal-for-documentaries talking heads shots, which don't need widescreen, and old black-and-white footage from the 1920s and 30s that would be in the 4:3 ratio anyway.

This excerpt from Douglas Pratt's review of the old laserdisc release may explain it: "The back of the disc jacket contains two conflicting statements about the presentation, the normal 'formatted to fit your television' disclaimer and a statement that the show is presented as the filmmakers originally intended, with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. We tend to believe the latter."

Apparently the DVD released carried over this incorrect "formatted to fit your screen" notation.

(Those) who are complaining that on-screen text identifying speakers has been "cropped away" or "missing" seem to be forgetting that when a widescreen movie is shown full-screen on video, it's the sides that get cut away, not the top and bottom. If the film had been widescreen originally, the titles would still be there but with the first part cut off.

Bottom line: this is a fascinating documentary, and if you're curious about it, don't be deterred from getting it because of the reviewers who were misled by the erroneous "formatted to fit your screen" notation on the packag

Fantastic documentary, the only thing preventing me giving it 5 stars is the fact that it doesn't have English subtitles and it is sometimes difficult to understand what Theremin is saying with his thick Russian accent.