Watchification » Arena http://watchification.com Sun, 31 May 2009 21:50:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Arena: Cool http://watchification.com/2009/04/04/arena-cool/ http://watchification.com/2009/04/04/arena-cool/#comments Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:12:46 +0000 antimega http://watchification.com/?p=204 A masterful Arena, exploring cool jazz – but rather than taking the normal route of talking heads, here the music tells the story, with occasional narration, on-screen quotes from the musicians, clips from all sorts of places, even a brief Allen Ginsberg reading. There’s also wonderful original incidental music by George Taylor. Worth watching, even if you think you don’t like jazz.

]]> http://watchification.com/2009/04/04/arena-cool/feed/ 7 Arena – The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Phil Spector http://watchification.com/2008/10/26/arena-%e2%80%93-the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-of-phil-spector/ http://watchification.com/2008/10/26/arena-%e2%80%93-the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-of-phil-spector/#comments Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:09:29 +0000 Steve Bowbrick http://watchification.com/?p=172 We’d be unhappy if pop culture didn’t regularly throw up Shakespearian figures like Phil Spector, flawed and brilliant (and in Spector’s case downright dangerous). Imagine if they were all like Cliff. This really lovely Arena takes the form of an extended interview conducted by director Vikram Jayanti (the BBC’s press release says that Jayanti’s “hallmark is empathic explorations of genius” and I don’t doubt it) with some additional forensic analysis of the songs themselves. Tracks from the producer’s long career are played in full as the action proceeds and mini-critical essays by journalist Mick Brown pop up on screen as we watch.

Here’s an interesting interview with Jayanti.

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