Music film
A music film is a film that is characterized by many musical performances. The music numbers used are - in contrast to "normal films" - an integral part of the plot.
Emergence
The first films were silent films, the screening of which was accompanied by a pianist or a live orchestra. The technical possibility of synchronizing image and sound initially appeared to be an interesting way of bringing the music of an orchestra into small cinemas. The first sound film in feature film quality The Jazz Singer (1927) with Al Jolson therefore continues to have the usual text panels in silent film and uses the option of sound only for some vocal parts.
With the improved technical possibilities of recording spoken dialogues, music quickly took a back seat (around 1930) in favor of dialog-oriented, action-based films. Only now can one speak of music film as a separate genre (as opposed to “normal”, dialogue-oriented film). The musical film had a heyday in the 1940s with stars like Ginger Rogers , Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly . The principles of the great revue shows customary at the time are transferred to the medium of film ( revue film ). In the 1950s, music was often used in Germany to illustrate the ideal world of home movies . Stars like Peter Alexander have had great success with their films in Germany. From this, the hit film developed as a typically German subgenre in the 1950s. In the 1960s, music stars like Elvis Presley in the USA or the Beatles in Great Britain were used in films that were specially tailored to them.
Even today, the music film is still an economically successful genre. Music films such as the Oscar-winning strips Moulin Rouge or Black Swan find new and creative ways to use music in a film. Most Disney animation films can also be described as music films. Music stars like Alan Menken or Elton John write the music for these very successful productions. In Indian film , musical interludes are a typical and independent component of commercial cinema.
literature
- Singing and dancing in films Paul Zsolnay Verlag , Vienna 2003. ISBN 978-3-552-05272-7 .
- For the eyes and ears: Music as a film: or the transformation of compositions into light play Frank & Timme , 2005. ISBN 978-3-86596-019-1 .
- The German Music Film: Archeology of a Genre 1914–1945 Verlag Neues Leben, Munich 2007. ISBN 978-3-88377-835-8 .
- The music film: A handbook for educational practice Schott Music , 2008. ISBN 978-3-7957-0597-8 .
- When the music is playing ...: The German hit film from the 1950s to 1970s transcript Verlag , Bielefeld 2012. ISBN 978-3-8376-1882-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Musikfilm , in duden.de, accessed on June 12, 2013
- ↑ a b Werner Faulstich : Basic course film analysis , UTB Stuttgart 2008, p. 52, online in Google books
- ^ "Souvenir program cover for The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson." ; accessed on April 6, 2013.