new 'DJANGO" film

Teddy Dupont

PapsPier wrote: »

The story will be, to my understanding, focused on a short period of time: when Django tries to cross 3times without success Switzerland during WWII to flea Paris in 1943 (the German administration wanted him to play in Germany, Naguine was pregnant, he didnt feel so safe in Paris).
So the background is fact based but because it is so short there will be a lot of imagined things...

And I am not sure I like that. The guy who helped the director to write the movie wrote a book with the same idea. It is called Crazy about Django and it tells really really losely the story of Django through the eyes of three women (fictive women) who played important roles for Django. I didnt like that book, for me, the created facts didnt match what we know of Django.
...............

ANyway we ll see...

I agree. I think Django fans should be prepared to be disappointed. Neither will you convince me it was necessary for Stochelo Rosenberg or anyone else to re-record Django's solos. Digital re-mastering has worked wonders with many Django recordings and nobody, but nobody plays exactly the way Django did. His way of articulating music, perhaps because of his disfigurement, was and still is unique.

Authenticity will have been thrown out of the window for a "good" story. It may be an entertaining film but it will not really be about Django's life, just some essentially fictitious story based around him. I hope I am wrong.

Chiefbigeasy

Introducing people to Django will be, I think, the primary benefit of this movie, at least in the minds of us who love and appreciate him. Music remastered, re-recorded, and remixed for a big screen picture and big screen sound may be just the ticket to get new people to, at first, buy and listen to the soundtrack album, and then, maybe later, Google Django, read and think about him, maybe go the source material itself to hear the real thing. We forget sometimes how difficult it might be for modern listeners to get past the sound and arrangements of older music and hear the real genius underneath.

wim

That's a good point. There was a bit of a surge in popularity Django's music after Minor Swing was played (crappy version by Johnny Depp) in that "Chocolat" movie. If this is a good film, then we could expect a bigger surge.

AndrewUlle

It was a confluence of events that brought me to gypsy jazz. The first was, as Wim mentioned above, hearing Minor Swing in the film Chocolat. Even in its corrupted version, that tune stuck in my mind; the infectious rhythm style was totally new to me.

Around the same time, I rediscovered the sound track to the film The Sting, with music by Marvin Hamlisch. Besides the Joplin tunes used, another track that stood out to me was a song called "Little Girl," which featured solo violin. I had never heard (or at least noticed) a violin playing jazz, and that also fascinated me, which led me to discover - you guessed it - Stephane Grapelli.

Which brought me full circle to QHCF. I've been hooked ever since.

Teddy Dupont

Chiefbigeasy wrote: »

We forget sometimes how difficult it might be for modern listeners to get past the sound and arrangements of older music and hear the real genius underneath.

I don't honestly see how Stochelo Rosenberg's playing is more accessible to the general public than Django's. In fact, I would have thought the opposite was true because although gypsy jazz/guitar fans may love his very fast, high technique playing, the average person tends to find it a turn off. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard "too many notes" when talking to non-gypsy jazz fans about the music.

Unless the movie is a good in absolute terms, regardless of the involvement of Django, and receives some positive reviews/publicity, I doubt anyone other than Django/gypsy jazz fans will go to see it. "Chocolat" was very different in that it was a mainstream movie with high profile stars.

Shemi

I think it has more to do with the quality of the those old recordings more than anything else, as I've heard a few people say that they find them hard to listen too. I admit that it was the same for me in the beginning. I think most people would find a crisp, modern recording of Stochelo more accessible.

Chiefbigeasy

I think shemakimoo is getting more to my point. It took live performances and modern recordings by local New Orleans jazz greats like Al Belletto and Ellis Marsalis to open my head to jazz in my early twenties. Once open, I could go the source material--Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong--and hear with an open mind.

As to Stochello in this movie, I'd be willing to bet that a soulful recording of Nuages, for example, captured on modern recording gear, on a big screen filling a darkened movie theater, could sway guitar novices and experts and others, young and old, to go looking for this music, after they picked their jaws up off the floor.

Buco

I'm not sure what's the big deal about Stochelo. He played the Django solos note for note, at least that is my understanding, and I can't think of any other guitarist doing it better than him.
It would probably sound very odd to hear the old original recording mixed in with the freshly recorded dialog. I can't see any audio engineer being ok with that. Those old recordings will always sound old no matter what you do to it. Not only that but a lot of the masters are lost and those songs are only available on not so well preserved records.
If it ends up being entertaining movie it will only do good for the genre.

Teddy Dupont

Buco wrote: »

I'm not sure what's the big deal about Stochelo. He played the Django solos note for note, at least that is my understanding, and I can't think of any other guitarist doing it better than him.

I agree, if Django's solos are going to be re-recorded then Stochelo Rosenberg is as good as anyone. It is not Stochelo that is the issue for me it is the fact that I do not believe it is necessary. I have heard Django's original recordings re-mastered on sound tracks and they sound great.

As I said before, it will have to be a good movie in it's own right to bring in non-gypsy jazz fans and extend the music's popularity. Unless it has wider appeal only Django/gypsy jazz fans will bother to go to see it.

It will very interesting to see what happens.

scot

Commercial film is always intended to make money first and to bring in the largest number of people in the target audience. Even if it's intended to tell a story that is somewhat true, they never hesitate to make up whatever they think they need to to satisfy their narrative. It's hard enough to make a "documentary" about fringe activities, say, car or motorcycle racing, mountain climbing, surfing, music, science, etc, that doesn't aggravate some of the people who participate in those activities. A "commercial" film will nearly always infuriate all of the people who participate in said activities. They will always find a lot of things that are factually, technically and aesthetically wrong to harp on and whine about. And in fact, these kinds of movies are nearly always terrible movies on top of being inaccurate in their (ridiculous) portrayals of people and the things they do.

Their are exceptions of course, like "Grand Prix", "The Eiger Sanction", and "Big Wednesday", movies that were well-liked by participants. I'm not expecting much after many disappointments, but maybe we'll get a surprise this time.