Moog (2005, USA, Hans Fjellestad) ***
I had almost forgotten how much I like modern classical music until I saw the documentary Moog, about one of its most influential figures. Dr. Robert A. Moog (the last named is pronounced "mouge", rhyming with "mode") is not famed as a composer or performer, but as an inventor- he designed the first synthesizer, which is second only to the electric guitar as the most important new instrument in the 20th century.
The Moog synthesizer and its offspring, the Mini-Moog, were not created to replace existing instruments as synths are now commonly used, but to be a unique instrument with its own sound, and what a sound it was- otherworldly, cold but emotionally involving. The movie intercuts interviews with Moog and snyth musicians with footage of a special tribute concert featuring many of its most famous performers, in rock, classical and even jazz. As a concert film, the movie is superb- the music is all great and the visuals are restrained enough to still be interesting without getting in the way of tunes.
Where the movie fails is in the interviews. The beginning, which recounts the instrument's creation, is interesting. I learned a lot of interesting tidbits, such as the fact that the Moog is extremely difficult to learn because the snythesist must control the quality of the sound on knobs while simultaneously playing the keyboard. Like a lot of music documentaries, though, it quickly descends into a litany of people telling the camera how great the subject, which gets tedious fast. I also didn't see how Moog's personal beliefs were relevant. The movie spends a lot of time on his ideas (his wife is a former professor of philosophy) on religion, technology, and spirituality, which may be interesting but are best suited for another movie. There is also the palpable absence of Wendy Carlos, the most famous of all synth performers, who brought the synth into the mainstream with Switched on Bach, the first classical album to go platinum and her scores for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. This is somewhat akin to doing an electric guitar documentary and omitting Eric Clapton.
Still, the music is great. I particularly liked the classical sections. Why is there so much good classical music being made now, when so few people are listening?
Moog (2004)