VIDEO |
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LABEL: |
KOCH
LORBER FILMS |
CATALOG
NUMBER: |
KLF-3058 |
UPC
NUMBER: |
741952305897 |
NUMBER OF DISCS: |
1 |
RUNNING TIME: |
117
MIN. |
YEAR
RECORDED: |
1999 |
RELEASE
DATE: |
DECEMBER
6, 2005 |
ASPECT
RATIO: |
1.66:1 |
AUDIO: |
DOLBY
5.1
SURROUND STEREO |
REGION: |
1 |
CONDUCTOR: |
MARC
MINKOWSKI |
ORCHESTRA: |
THE
MUSICIENS DU LOUVRE/GRENOBLE |
CHOIR: |
THE
MUSICIENS DU LOUVRE/GRENOBLE |
SOPRANO: |
LYNNE
DAWSON, NICOLE HEASTON |
MEZZO-SOPRANO: |
MAGDALENA
KOZENA |
ALTO: |
CHARLOTTE
HELLEKANT |
COUNTER-TENOR: |
BRIAN
ASAWA |
TENOR: |
JOHN
MARK AINSLEY |
BARITONE:
|
RUSSEL
SMYTHE |
BASS: |
BRIAN
BANNANTYNE-SCOTT |
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VIDEO SAMPLES |
OTHER
RELEASES |
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SITE RATING: 2/10
SITE
REVIEW: Coupling
conductor Marc Minkowski's unfortunate
recording
of Messiah
with director William Klein's off-putting
visuals is a kind of cosmic anti-karma.
Both artists' visions, skewed towards
the bizarre and unwholesome, perfectly
complement each other - creating a reverse
synergy which, instead of becoming more than
the sum of their respective parts, becomes far
less. What to say about a film-maker who
wishes to disturb and upset his audience
instead of uplifting and inspiring them?
Klein's random jigsaw of images, ranging
from atrocities to head-scratching images of
parked airplanes, is married to not only
Minkowski's rightfully-marginalized recording
of Messiah,
but to a handful of other choirs whose styles
and performance levels clash with the
professional polish of the Musicians du
Louvre, who at least have the good sense to
sound and look good while performing.
While the filmmaker probably believes
that the random crush of images, everything
from a tatto parlor to carnival-like faith
healings, allows his audience to create their
own interpretation of the meaning of Messiah,
Klein's own agenda is unmistakably clear.
Klein delights in juxtaposing the
profane against the sacred, ostensibly to
create "dialogue" and get people "thinking",
and undoubtedly, some viewers out there will
high-mindedly align themselves with this sort
of artistic prostitution, but for those who
side themselves with pure artistry, and the
idea that music and film are meant to remind
the audience of how good and charitable they
can be, will stay far away from this film,
whose sole purpose is to create a bleak
landscape which leaves the viewer feeling
empty, instead of clean and refreshed.
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