Sexuality in the Horror Soundtrack (1968-1981)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Sexuality in the Horror Soundtrack (1968-1981) UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Monstrous Resonance: Sexuality in the Horror Soundtrack (1968-1981) A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology by Morgan Fifield Woolsey 2018 © Copyright by Morgan Fifield Woolsey 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Monstrous Resonance: Sexuality in the Horror Soundtrack (1968-1981) by Morgan Fifield Woolsey Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Raymond L. Knapp, Co-Chair Professor Mitchell Bryan Morris, Co-Chair In this dissertation I argue for the importance of the film soundtrack as affective archive through a consideration of the horror soundtrack. Long dismissed by scholars in both cinema media studies and musicology as one of horror’s many manipulative special effects employed in the aesthetically and ideologically uncomplicated goal of arousing fear, the horror soundtrack is in fact an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to historicize changes in cultural sensibilities and public feelings about sexuality. I explore the critical potential of the horror soundtrack as affective archive through formal and theoretical analysis of the role of music in the representation of sexuality in the horror film. I focus on films consumed in the Unites States during the 1970s, a decade marked by rapid shifts in both cultural understanding and cinematic representation of sexuality. ii My analyses proceed from an interdisciplinary theoretical framework animated by methods drawn from affect studies, American studies, feminist film theory, film music studies, queer of color critique, and queer theory. What is the relationship between public discourses of fear around gender, race, class, and sexuality, and the musical framing of sexuality as fearful in the horror film? I explore this central question through the examination of significant figures in the genre (the vampire, the mad scientist/creation dyad, and the slasher or serial killer) and the musical-affective economies in which they circulate. I argue that attention to the ways in which music interacts with moving images and narrative in the horror genre provides a new way of interrogating the political history of sexuality in the United States, one uniquely equipped to theorize and analyze areas of culture that are often left unanalyzed because of their close engagement with emotions and the body. iii The dissertation of Morgan Fifield Woolsey is approved. Olivia A. Bloechl Robert W. Fink Robynn J. Stilwell Raymond L. Knapp, Committee Co-Chair Mitchell Bryan Morris, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 iv To those who root for the Monsters. To those who root for the Survivors. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction Affective Economies of the Horror Soundtrack 1 Chapter Two: Makers Monstrous Genre, Monstrous Gender, and the Cult Sensibility in the Horror Film Musical 53 Chapter Three: Monsters Consciousness Raising and the Message Sensibility in the Minoritarian Vampire Film 103 Chapter Four: Killers Masculinity and the Concrète Sensibility in the Slasher Film 161 Chapter Five: Conclusion The “Basic Formula” Revisited 209 Appendix: Filmography 224 Works Cited 227 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I was able to complete this project with the financial support of the UCLA Graduate Division Summer Research Mentorship, Dissertation Year Fellowship, and the CUTF Teaching Fellowship, as well as research funds from the Herb Alpert School of Music and the LGBTQ Studies Program. Countless people have helped me along the way; such is the nature of a project with idiosyncratic and interdisciplinary coordinates (intellectual, musical, political). But I must start with my committee. My co-chairs, Ray Knapp and Mitchell Morris, have enthusiastically supported every topic I’ve pushed past them, a quality I do not take for granted. Of course, without well-timed conversations in Mitchell’s office, I may never have ended up in Musicology, and without Ray’s gentle reassurance from day one to day 2,600 (approx.), I may never have finished. My brilliant and incisive mentors have let their light shine, enabling me to grow something truly my own, at my own pace. My gratitude cannot be measured. Though she may not know it, Robynn Stilwell was one of the first film music scholars I would read as an undergraduate; my scholarship would not be possible without her foundational work. And while Robynn came on late in the process, she was always a lively and joyous interlocutor. Bob and Olivia’s influences have, in many ways, bookended this project. Bob gamely travelled with me through every Academy Award-winning film score of the seventies before I started writing and provided truly heroic line edits as I finished. Olivia guided my theoretical thinking over the course of many transformative graduate seminars, and supported me personally and professionally as I transitioned to my new disciplinary home. Thank you. Finally, an honorary thanks goes to Allyson Nadia Field, whose generosity knows no bounds. She gave vii me my first platforms for guest lecturing and publication, and the work of this dissertation is all the richer and more complex because of topics I was inspired to pursue under her guidance. This project began to materialize sometime around my discovery that the bad feelings I associated with horror movies had diagnostic value, around age 11. Without the unflinching love and support of my parents, Claudia and David, it is unlikely that I would have undertaken this project. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my own path. I have been inspired by a long line of phenomenal music teachers: Cheryl Ciano Havens, Susan Daily, Inés Gómez-Ochoa, Peter Tavalin, Alex Ogle, Judith Serkin. Without them, my omnivorous approach to music might never have been. The instruction I received in writing—not academic writing but prose, poetry— has been central to the way I express my ideas about music. I am very grateful to Harry Bauld and Annie Boutelle for this care and attention. There are many professors, too, who guided me as an undergraduate struggling to make something meaningful in the spaces between three disciplines: film, music, and gender studies. Raphael Atlas, Lucretia Knapp, and Marilyn Schuster gave me license to explore my nascent ideas about music, horror, and gender. In directing my honors thesis, Ruth Solie and Elizabeth Young put their faith in me and my somewhat disreputable topic, an act of faith that fuels my pursuits to this day. Thank you, Linda Shaughnessy and Cathy Noess, for your support during my idyllic time at Sage Hall. I carry your warmth with me everywhere I go. My nine years at UCLA are no less scattered with formative influences. I matriculated with a cohort that defies description; they quickly became my family. Dalal Alfares, Jacob Lau, Jessica Martinez-Tebbel, Naveen Minai, Jocelyn Thomas: thank you for your aggressive affirmation, tender challenges, and astounding acumen. Barbara Van Nostrand, thank you for safely shepherding me along when I jumped the Gender Studies ship for Musicology, and for viii providing guidance and laughter whenever I needed it. I owe considerable thanks to my colleagues in Musicology as well: Benjamin Court, Natalia Bieletto, Christian Spencer, Marissas Steingold and Ochsner, Mindy O’Brien, Mike D’Errico, Oded Erez, Sam Baltimore, Zarah Ersoff, Tiffany Naiman, Monica Chieffo, Albert Diaz, Holley Replogle-Wong, Leen Rhee, Anahit Rostomyan, Wade Dean, and Schuyler Whelden. I will always think fondly of the intellectual community we shared in the seminar room and as TAs. Thanks to my undergraduate students, in particular to the undergraduate students in my 98T seminar on music and sexuality in the 1970s horror film. Thanks also to Diana King and Matthew Vest for opening many eyes to the wide world of library research on music in the horror film. Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Jim Schultz, Vicente Carrillo, Marika Cifor, Dafne Luna, Audrey Silvestre, and Bryan Wuest: thank you for making LGBTQ Studies my second home at UCLA. To my dear friends and compatriots in Musicology and across the University, Alexandra Apolloni, Hyun Kyong Chang, Andrea Moore, Gray Raulerson, Jill Rogers, Arreanna Rostosky, Tanya Barnett, Julia Kark Callander, Freda Fair, Dana Linda, Bo Luengsuraswat, Samantha Sheppard, Ken Shima, Lisa Sloan, Saundarya Thapa, Sharon Tran, Devon Van Dyne, Sarah Walsh, Mila Zuo: where would I have been without you? Ben Sher and Alex Grabarchuk, thank you for seeing me so clearly and entirely, and for the many adventures cinematic and musical (and, of course, emotional). To Vox Femina Los Angeles, UCLA’s Early Music Ensemble, Death in Venice Beach, and C3LA I also extend sincere thanks for keeping me grounded in my voice. And thanks to the trio of angels who helped me keep on keeping on when I felt like I had nothing left: Elizabeth Randell Upton for her outlining tips; Lita Robinson for her expert diagramming; and Christine Gengaro for daily encouragement and accountability check-ins. ix My lifelong friends Kristin Palladino, Christina Padrón, Amanda Rogers, and Jenn Billingsley have supported me through many struggles and transitions, and there is comfort in knowing that writing this dissertation was just the latest in a long series of perhaps ill-advised schemes they’ve watched me carry out. Thanks to Drag Race club for the weekly shenanigans and discussions of writing that was not my own. Thanks to Taylor Parks, David Findlay, and Alaina and George Kommer for their affection and understanding. Myleen DeJesus—librarian of my heart, domestic co-conspirator, and true soul mate— were it in my power, I would bestow upon you the honorary PhD in transnational karaoke studies you so richly deserve. But since it is not I will simply say that over our eight years together you’ve provided insight, tough love, and more hilarity than I can ever hope to catalogue. Though our paths diverged just before I began my final climb, you made Los Angeles home, and I could not have done this without you.
Recommended publications
  • From Sexploitation to Canuxploitation (Representations of Gender in the Canadian ‘Slasher’ Film)
    Maple Syrup Gore: From Sexploitation to Canuxploitation (Representations of Gender in the Canadian ‘Slasher’ Film) by Agnieszka Mlynarz A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre Studies Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Agnieszka Mlynarz, April, 2017 ABSTRACT Maple Syrup Gore: From Sexploitation to Canuxploitation (Representations of Gender in the Canadian ‘Slasher’ Film) Agnieszka Mlynarz Advisor: University of Guelph, 2017 Professor Alan Filewod This thesis is an investigation of five Canadian genre films with female leads from the Tax Shelter era: The Pyx, Cannibal Girls, Black Christmas, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, and Death Weekend. It considers the complex space women occupy in the horror genre and explores if there are stylistic cultural differences in how gender is represented in Canadian horror. In examining variations in Canadian horror from other popular trends in horror cinema the thesis questions how normality is presented and wishes to differentiate Canuxploitation by defining who the threat is. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Paul Salmon and Dr. Alan Filewod. Alan, your understanding, support and above all trust in my offbeat work ethic and creative impulses has been invaluable to me over the years. Thank you. To my parents, who never once have discouraged any of my decisions surrounding my love of theatre and film, always helping me find my way back despite the tears and deep- seated fears. To the team at Black Fawn Distribution: Chad Archibald, CF Benner, Chris Giroux, and Gabriel Carrer who brought me back into the fold with open arms, hearts, and a cold beer.
    [Show full text]
  • Image – Action – Space
    Image – Action – Space IMAGE – ACTION – SPACE SITUATING THE SCREEN IN VISUAL PRACTICE Luisa Feiersinger, Kathrin Friedrich, Moritz Queisner (Eds.) This publication was made possible by the Image Knowledge Gestaltung. An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Cluster of Excellence at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (EXC 1027/1) with financial support from the German Research Foundation as part of the Excellence Initiative. The editors like to thank Sarah Scheidmantel, Paul Schulmeister, Lisa Weber as well as Jacob Watson, Roisin Cronin and Stefan Ernsting (Translabor GbR) for their help in editing and proofreading the texts. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No-Derivatives 4.0 License. For details go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Copyrights for figures have been acknowledged according to best knowledge and ability. In case of legal claims please contact the editors. ISBN 978-3-11-046366-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-046497-9 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-046377-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956404 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche National bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2018 Luisa Feiersinger, Kathrin Friedrich, Moritz Queisner, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston The book is published with open access at www.degruyter.com, https://www.doabooks.org and https://www.oapen.org. Cover illustration: Malte Euler Typesetting and design: Andreas Eberlein, aromaBerlin Printing and binding: Beltz Bad Langensalza GmbH, Bad Langensalza Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Inhalt 7 Editorial 115 Nina Franz and Moritz Queisner Image – Action – Space.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservative Women's Activism from Anticommunism to the New Christian Right
    Hollins University Hollins Digital Commons Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Theses 2021 Mothers, Morals, and Godly Motivations: Conservative Women’s Activism from Anticommunism to the New Christian Right Kaitlyn C. Phillips Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/ughonors Part of the United States History Commons, and the Women's History Commons MOTHERS, MORALS, AND GODLY MOTIVATIONS: CONSERVATIVE WOMEN’S ACTIVISM FROM ANTICOMMUNISM TO THE NEW CHRISTIAN RIGHT A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Arts Department of History Hollins University May 2021 By Kaitlyn C. Phillips TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: 1 CHAPTER ONE: The Minute Women: Anticommunist Women, Domesticity and Conservative Unity 8 CHAPTER TWO: Phyllis Schlafly: The Privileged Status of Women and Idealized National Identity 20 CHAPTER THREE: Beverly LaHaye: The Evangelical Essentials and Women in the New Christian Right 35 CONCLUSION: 51 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 55 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To start, I want to thank Dr. Nunez for her guidance, care, and wisdom throughout this thesis process and my entire time at Hollins. Your kindness and sense of humor have brightened my days countless times, and when I think of myself as a potential scholar, I hope to be as thoughtful, knowledgeable, and passionate as you are. Additionally, I want to thank Dr. Florio and Dr. Coogan for their time, knowledge, and support. You have helped me in numerous ways and I am incredibly grateful for you both. I want to thank my father, Steven Phillips, for being just as big of a history nerd as I am. Lastly, I want to remember my grandfather Donald Bruaw, who showed me how to love history.
    [Show full text]
  • Pictorial Imagery, Camerawork and Soundtrack in Dario Argento's Deep
    ACTA UNIV. SAPIENTIAE, FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES, 11 (2015) 159–179 DOI: 10.1515/ausfm-2015-0021 Pictorial Imagery, Camerawork and Soundtrack in Dario Argento’s Deep Red Giulio L. Giusti 3HEFlELD(ALLAM5NIVERSITY5+ E-mail: G.Giusti@shu.ac.uk Abstract. This article re-engages with existing scholarship identifying Deep Red (Profondo rosso, 1975) as a typical example within Dario Argento’s body of work, in which the Italian horror-meister fully explores a distinguishing pairing of the acoustic and the iconic through an effective combination of ELABORATECAMERAWORKANDDISJUNCTIVEMUSICANDSOUND3PECIlCALLY THIS article seeks to complement these studies by arguing that such a stylistic and technical achievementINTHElLMISALSORENDEREDBY!RGENTOSUSEOFASPECIlC art-historical repertoire, which not only reiterates the Gesamtkunstwerk- like complexity of the director’s audiovisual spectacle, but also serves to TRANSPOSETHElLMSNARRATIVEOVERAMETANARRATIVEPLANETHROUGHPICTORIAL techniques and their possible interpretations. The purpose of this article is, thus, twofold. Firstly, I shall discuss how Argento’s references to American hyperrealism in painting are integrated into Deep Red’s spectacles of death through colour, framing, and lighting, as well as the extent to which such references allow us to undertake a more in-depth analysis of the director’s style in terms of referentiality and cinematic intermediality. Secondly, I WILLDEMONSTRATEHOWANDTOWHATEXTENTINTHElLM!RGENTOMANAGESTO break down the epistemological system of knowledge and to disrupt the reasonable
    [Show full text]
  • B R I a N K I N G M U S I C I N D U S T R Y P R O F E S S I O N a L M U S I C I a N - C O M P O S E R - P R O D U C E R
    B R I A N K I N G M U S I C I N D U S T R Y P R O F E S S I O N A L M U S I C I A N - C O M P O S E R - P R O D U C E R Brian’s profile encompasses a wide range of experience in music education and the entertainment industry; in music, BLUE WALL STUDIO - BKM | 1986 -PRESENT film, television, theater and radio. More than 300 live & recorded performances Diverse range of Artists & Musical Styles UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Music for Media in NYC, Atlanta, L.A. & Paris For more information; www.bluewallstudio.com • As an administrator, professor and collaborator with USC working with many award-winning faculty and artists, PRODUCTION CREDITS - PARTIAL LIST including Michael Patterson, animation and digital arts, Medeski, Martin and Wood National Medal of Arts recipient, composer, Morton Johnny O’Neil Trio Lauridsen, celebrated filmmaker, founder of Lucasfilm and the subdudes (w/Bonnie Raitt) ILM, George Lucas, and his team at the Skywalker Ranch. The B- 52s Jerry Marotta Joseph Arthur • In music education, composition and sound, with a strong The Indigo Girls focus on establishing relations with industry professionals, R.E.M. including 13-time Oscar nominee, Thomas Newman, and 5- Alan Broadbent time nominee, Dennis Sands - relationships leading to PS Jonah internships in L.A. and fundraising projects with ASCAP, Caroline Aiken BMI, the RMALA and the Musician’s Union local 47. Kristen Hall Michelle Malone & Drag The River Melissa Manchester • In a leadership role, as program director, recruitment Jimmy Webb outcomes aligned with career success for graduates Col.
    [Show full text]
  • Christopher Young: El Simbiòtic Házael González
    Bandes de so Christopher Young: el simbiòtic Házael González vui dirigirem la nostra mi­ A rada sobre un compositor amb un nom que sempre ens sona i que poca gent podrá identificar amb un treball que no siguí fantastic o terrorífíc quant a temàtica o a qualitats. Ens referím, és ciar, a Chris­ topher Young, de qui ara s'aca- ba d'estrenar ni més ni menys que Spider-Man 3 (Sam Raimi, 2007): en aquesta pel-licula, l'Home Aranya s'enfronta a un èsser extraterrestre que té pro- pietats simbiòtiques respecte del eos a qué s'afegeix, és a dir, que du a terme una mena de fusió Í amplifica tant els seus propís poders com els del seu portador. I això, justament, és el que ha fet Young aquesta ve­ gada: perqué, si ho recordeu, les altres dues parts anteriors (Spider-Man, 2002, i Spider- Man 2, 2004) portaven música de Danny Elfman (encara que a la segona part, Christopher Young ja hi havía parti­ at 1600, Dwíght H. Little, 1997), Hard Rain (Mikael cipât afegint-h¡ dues petites peces addícionals), un Salomon, 1998), Leyenda Urbana (Urban Legend, veli amie del director que va fer una feina mes que Jamie Blanks, 1998), La Trampa (Entrapment, Jon destacada; ara, Young hà hagut de recollir moites Amiel, 1999), o Jóvenes Prodigiosos (Wonder Boys, de les composícions elfmanianes (per no parlar de Curtís Hanson, 2000). I desprès, continuant amb co­ les cançonetes afegídes) i començar a recosír i reta­ ses com Operación Swordfish (Swordfish, Dominic llar, donant-h¡ un nou i personal toc.
    [Show full text]
  • Shining the Spotlight on New Talent Independent Opera
    Independent Opera Shining the spotlight on new talent INDEPENDENT OPERA AT SADLER’S WELLS 2005–2020 Introduction Message from Wigmore Hall Thursday 15 October 2020, 7.30pm In this period of uncertainty, Independent Opera at Sadler’s It gives me great pleasure to welcome Independent Opera Wells is grateful to be able to present its annual Scholars’ to Wigmore Hall for its fourth showcase event. Now, more Independent Opera Recital at Wigmore Hall. For this final concert in Independent than ever, such opportunities are vital for young singers. Opera’s 15-year history, we are thrilled to bring together We are immensely grateful to Independent Opera for its four talented singers: tenor Glen Cunningham, soprano pioneering work and for its extraordinary commitment Scholars’ Recital Samantha Quillish, bass William Thomas, mezzo-soprano to young artists when they need it most. Tonight’s concert Lauren Young and renowned pianist Christopher Glynn. is a great example of the spirit of Independent Opera and all that it has represented over so many years. I hope Antonín Dvorˇák The four emerging artists you will hear tonight were Glen Cunningham tenor that you all enjoy this concert. Cigánské melodie, Op. 55 selected from Independent Opera’s partner conservatoires: Royal College of Music No. 1 Má písenˇ zas mi láskou zní Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall John Gilhooly Director No. 4 Když mne stará matka zpívat School of Music & Drama and Royal Conservatoire of Samantha Quillish soprano Moravian Duets, Op. 38 Scotland. The Independent Opera Voice Scholarships were Royal Academy of Music No.
    [Show full text]
  • 4 | 2017 Volume 8 (2017) Issue 4 ISSN 2190-3387
    4 | 2017 Volume 8 (2017) Issue 4 ISSN 2190-3387 Editorial: A Christmas Gift by Séverine Dusollier Designing Competitive Markets for Industrial Data – Between Propertisation and Access Law and Electronic Commerce Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Journal of by Josef Drexl From Cyberpunk to Regulation – Digitised Memories as Personal and Sensitive Data within the EU Data Protection Law by Krzysztof Garstka Copyright, Doctrine and Evidence-Based Reform by Stef van Gompel Non-Commercial Quotation and Freedom of Panorama: Useful and Lawful? by Eleonora Rosati Where is the Harm in a Privacy Violation? Calculating the Damages Afforded in Privacy Cases by the European Court of Human Rights by Bart van der Sloot Editors: Thomas Dreier Axel Metzger Gerald Spindler Lucie Guibault Miquel Peguera www.jipitec.eu Séverine Dusollier Chris Reed Karin Sein Journal of Intellectual Property, Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Law Table Of Contents Volume 8 Issue 4 December 2017 www.jipitec.eu contact@jipitec.eu A joint publication of: Articles Prof. Dr. Thomas Dreier, M. C. J., KIT - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Zentrum für Angewandte Rechtswissenschaft (ZAR), Vincenz-Prießnitz-Str. 3, Editorial: A Christmas Gift 76131 Karlsruhe Germany by Séverine Dusollier 255 Prof. Dr. Axel Metzger, LL. M., Humboldt-Universität zu Designing Competitive Markets for Industrial Data – Between Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Propertisation and Access 10099 Berlin by Josef Drexl 257 Prof. Dr. Gerald Spindler, Dipl.-Ökonom, Georg-August- From Cyberpunk to Regulation – Digitised Memories as Personal Universität Göttingen, and Sensitive Data within the EU Data Protection Law Platz der Göttinger Sieben 6, by Krzysztof Garstka 293 37073 Göttingen Copyright, Doctrine and Evidence-Based Reform Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, by Stef van Gompel 304 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Georg-August-Universität Non-Commercial Quotation and Freedom of Panorama: Göttingen are corporations under Useful and Lawful? public law, and represented by their respective presidents.
    [Show full text]
  • Wicked Karnival October 2006
    INTERVIEW WITH NOX ARCANA by Josh Haney Wicked Karnival October 2006 Could you give us a brief history of how you got started? Who does what in the band? Joseph: I began my career as a gothic fantasy artist, selling posters, t-shirts and calendars of my work through my own company, Monolith Graphics, and by 1997, I had established a large audience in the gothic realm. In 1998, I came up with the idea of doing a Halloween music CD that would sound like a soundtrack to a gothic horror movie. I branched out and began producing gothic soundtrack music with another band, but we parted ways after two albums. William and I were old friends and we formed Nox Arcana in 2003. He was very enthusiastic about the project and within a few weeks, we were in the studio working on the initial tracks for Darklore Manor. We work on all of our music together, although I’m more of the composer and William is the better musician. I write the majority of the basic melodies then we work together to flesh them out to create more elaborate compositions. We mix every song together but William handles all the engineering and mastering. I develop the concepts and write the lyrics. I also create the artwork and work together Since 2003 Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski have been conjuring with Christine Filipak to design the CD the darkest realms imaginable, created solely through their musical packaging. project Nox Arcana, Latin for mysteries of the night. Over the course of five albums they have created their own genre of gothic horror How do you come up with your ideas? soundtracks, all the while amassing a loyal fanbase eager to let their William: A lot of our music has been collective minds eyes wander through the compositions that come inspired by Joseph's artwork.
    [Show full text]
  • Read Razorcake Issue #27 As A
    t’s never been easy. On average, I put sixty to seventy hours a Yesterday, some of us had helped our friend Chris move, and before we week into Razorcake. Basically, our crew does something that’s moved his stereo, we played the Rhythm Chicken’s new 7”. In the paus- IInot supposed to happen. Our budget is tiny. We operate out of a es between furious Chicken overtures, a guy yelled, “Hooray!” We had small apartment with half of the front room and a bedroom converted adopted our battle call. into a full-time office. We all work our asses off. In the past ten years, That evening, a couple bottles of whiskey later, after great sets by I’ve learned how to fix computers, how to set up networks, how to trou- Giant Haystacks and the Abi Yoyos, after one of our crew projectile bleshoot software. Not because I want to, but because we don’t have the vomited with deft precision and another crewmember suffered a poten- money to hire anybody to do it for us. The stinky underbelly of DIY is tially broken collarbone, This Is My Fist! took to the six-inch stage at finding out that you’ve got to master mundane and difficult things when The Poison Apple in L.A. We yelled and danced so much that stiff peo- you least want to. ple with sourpusses on their faces slunk to the back. We incited under- Co-founder Sean Carswell and I went on a weeklong tour with our aged hipster dancing.
    [Show full text]
  • The File on Robert Siodmak in Hollywood: 1941-1951
    The File on Robert Siodmak in Hollywood: 1941-1951 by J. Greco ISBN: 1-58112-081-8 DISSERTATION.COM 1999 Copyright © 1999 Joseph Greco All rights reserved. ISBN: 1-58112-081-8 Dissertation.com USA • 1999 www.dissertation.com/library/1120818a.htm TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PRONOUNCED SEE-ODD-MACK ______________________ 4 CHAPTER ONE GETTING YOUR OWN WAY IN HOLLYWOOD __________ 7 CHAPTER TWO I NEVER PROMISE THEM A GOOD PICTURE ...ONLY A BETTER ONE THAN THEY EXPECTED ______ 25 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY _____________________________ 25 THE SUSPECT _____________________________________ 49 THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY ___________ 59 THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE ___________________________ 74 THE KILLERS _____________________________________ 86 CRY OF THE CITY_________________________________ 100 CRISS CROSS _____________________________________ 116 THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON ___________________ 132 CHAPTER THREE HOLLYWOOD? A SORT OF ANARCHY _______________ 162 AFTERWORD THE FILE ON ROBERT SIODMAK___________________ 179 THE COMPLETE ROBERT SIODMAK FILMOGRAPHY_ 185 BIBLIOGRAPHY __________________________________ 214 iii INTRODUCTION PRONOUNCED SEE-ODD-MACK Making a film is a matter of cooperation. If you look at the final credits, which nobody reads except for insiders, then you are surprised to see how many colleagues you had who took care of all the details. Everyone says, ‘I made the film’ and doesn’t realize that in the case of a success all branches of film making contributed to it. The director, of course, has everything under control. —Robert Siodmak, November 1971 A book on Robert Siodmak needs an introduction. Although he worked ten years in Hollywood, 1941 to 1951, and made 23 movies, many of them widely popular thrillers and crime melo- dramas, which critics today regard as classics of film noir, his name never became etched into the collective consciousness.
    [Show full text]
  • 1,000 Films to See Before You Die Published in the Guardian, June 2007
    1,000 Films to See Before You Die Published in The Guardian, June 2007 http://film.guardian.co.uk/1000films/0,,2108487,00.html Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951) Prescient satire on news manipulation, with Kirk Douglas as a washed-up hack making the most of a story that falls into his lap. One of Wilder's nastiest, most cynical efforts, who can say he wasn't actually soft-pedalling? He certainly thought it was the best film he'd ever made. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Tom Shadyac, 1994) A goofy detective turns town upside-down in search of a missing dolphin - any old plot would have done for oven-ready megastar Jim Carrey. A ski-jump hairdo, a zillion impersonations, making his bum "talk" - Ace Ventura showcases Jim Carrey's near-rapturous gifts for physical comedy long before he became encumbered by notions of serious acting. An Actor's Revenge (Kon Ichikawa, 1963) Prolific Japanese director Ichikawa scored a bulls-eye with this beautifully stylized potboiler that took its cues from traditional Kabuki theatre. It's all ballasted by a terrific double performance from Kazuo Hasegawa both as the female-impersonator who has sworn vengeance for the death of his parents, and the raucous thief who helps him. The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995) Ferrara's comic-horror vision of modern urban vampires is an underrated masterpiece, full- throatedly bizarre and offensive. The vampire takes blood from the innocent mortal and creates another vampire, condemned to an eternity of addiction and despair. Ferrara's mob movie The Funeral, released at the same time, had a similar vision of violence and humiliation.
    [Show full text]