Posted by admin in Musicals/Performing ArtsDec 4th, 2007 | no responses
Before moving to Morocco and finding fame as an author, Paul Bowles had a successful career as an avant-garde composer. NIGHT WALTZ: THE MUSIC OF PAUL BOWLES, a documentary by first-time filmmaker Owsley Brown, attempts to uncover this lesser-known side of the enigmatic Bowles. Filmed in the years just before his death in 1999, NIGHT WALTZ features interviews with Bowles at his home in Tangier. While physically frail, he discusses at length his experiences as a young composer and his feelings toward his music, which--in contrast to the often lavish brutality of his writing--is full of charm, as the film reflects in every way. Interspersed throughout are a series of visual essays set to Bowles' music, made from footage of noted avant-garde filmmakers Rudy Burckhardt and Nathaniel Dorsky, among others. Using images of New York, Mexico, and Morocco, as well as pure abstraction, they brilliantly complement the music, much of which was written not as concert music, but as incidental music for dance, theater, and film. As Bowles himself notes, his music might have been forgotten had he not become a famous author; NIGHT WALTZ succeeds not only in remembering, but in bringing the music vividly to life.DVD Features:Region 1Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 - EnglishAdditional Release Material: Production Interview - 1. Jonathan Sheffer - Artistic Director, Eos Orchestra Bonus Short - 1. 145 W. 21 - Rudy Burckhardt featuring Paul Bowles& Aaron CoplandDVD-ROM Features: Web Resource Guides
