A joyful noise dvd, 1998 at the best online prices at ebay. Musicians, fans unite for sun ra centennial at alabama jazz hall of. It interspersed passages of performances and rehearsals with sun ra s commentary on various subjects ranging from todays youth to his own place in the cosmos. Not rated 1h documentary, music 27 february 2006 japan. Filmmaker robert mugge profiles sun ra, a musician, bandleader, prophet and selfstyled poet. This film from 1980 provides an entertaining but very superficial glimpse into his music which, even in the context of sloppy 70s jazz meltdown stuff, is kind of annoying and his odd little communecult of likeminded musicians and admitted disciples.
Portions of robert mugges 1980 documentary, sun ra. A joyful noise is to be reissued on dvd and bluray via mvd entertainment. The resulting 60minute film includes multiple public and private. Robert mugge filmed jazz great sun ra on location in philadelphia, baltimore, and washington, d. A joyful noise 1980, mystery mister ra 1984 and sun ra. Robert mugges a joyful noise is a great film that anyone who is interested in sun ra should buy immediately. The resulting 60minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and.
A joyful noise on rotten tomatoes, then check our tomatometer to find out what the critics say. Extended audio included as bonus content on the 2015 dvd and bluray releases of robert mugges film sun ra. A joyful no ise, robert mugge spent two years shooting sun ra and members of his socalled jazz arkestra in a wide variety of situations. From 1978 through 1980, largely with the backing of friends, he directed sun ra. A joyful noise is to be reissued on dvd and bluray. The documentary follows sun ra s delving into electronic equipment in production while giving a great deal of time to his personal philosophy.
Robert mugges 1980 documentary on sun ra and his arkestra was the result of two years spent shooting the ensemble and their leader. Space is the place is an 85minute afrofuturist science fiction film made in 1972 and released in 1974. Watch a 1980 documentary on sun ra, the jazz visionary from outer space. Transferred to hd from the original 16mm film and lovingly. Imdb s advanced search allows you to run extremely powerful queries over all people and titles in the database. A joyful noise about the musician and bandleader whose multimedia and pancultural activities made him one of the. Compilation of scenes from sun ra a joyful noise go watch the entire documentary. Having only heard of sun ra from thirdhand sources, i was interested to know more about him. A joyful noise is a 1980 jazz film by robert mugge documenting performances by sun ra and his arkestra in philadelphia, washington d. Amy delivered an electrifying 20 minute live performance to a crowd of 85 in the tiny st jamess church. This rare, revealing documentary presents jazz legend and mystic sun ra as both philosopher and inspired leader of his most famous band, the intergalactic arkestra. More personal portrait than actual comprehensive musical documentary, it presents a good range of ra s many musical moods. I was lucky enough to see sun ra s uk debut on the south bank, london in 1970 and, a joyful noise is a reminder of that astonishing concert and also a great introduction to ra s exotic musical universe. In 1982, with funding from britains channel 4 television, he directed black wax, a 79minute portrait of poetsingersongwriter gil scottheron.
A joyful no ise 1980 trying to cover all there is to say about this most flamboyantly unique artist is a daunting task, especially in an hour, but robert mugges a joyful noise does a darned good job. Throughout mugges involvement with ra, he managed to. The prevalence of documentaries about musicians is a curse, because most of these films do a terrible job of showcasing music. Sun ra and his arkestra were the subject of a few documentary films, including robert mugges sun ra. This marvellous dvd is the product of two years filming of the legendary sun ra and his arkestra by documentary maker robert mugge. A joyful noise about the musician and bandleader whose multimedia and pancultural activities made him one of the prime artists of afrofuturismis one of the most. An extraordinary documentary about the art of sun ra. Visionary jazz iconoclast sun ras life is profiled in this rousing documentary exploring how his cosmicallyinspired oeuvre created a new.
Saturns contribution to jazz fusion, the unpeggably eclectic bandleadercomposer wowed audiences from the 1940s until his death. As explained by ra during the videos waning moments, the title a joyful noise is derived directly from sun ra s core philosophy that the sounds he and his arkestracreate fulfill the old testament scripture psalm 100 to make a joyful noise unto the lord. The opening sections of robert mugges remastered 1980 portrait of visionary jazz artist sun ra. Little house on the prairie season 7 1981 bbfc rating. Sun ra and his arkestra in the opening of the robert mugge film sun ra. It captures the arkestra in a variety of environments, including at their communal home in philadelphia, in concert at various locations, and even on a rooftop. A joyful noise was first released directly following the filming of the production in 1980 at the international house philadelphia. It looks like we dont have any company credits for this title yet. Recorded in december 2006 in a tiny church located in the south west corner of ireland, the town of dingle played host to amy whilst she recorded the show for irish tv music series other voices. The left banks first gig was held at the alho club, in the 2500 block of frederick ave. The philadelphia performances captured by the film took place at dannys hollywood palace and on the rooftop of the philadelphia international center. After three moves, the society established a long run at the famous ballroom in 1967. He filmed live performances at baltimores famous ballroom, dannys hollywood palace in philadelphia, and on the roof of philadelphias international house. It was directed by john coney, written by sun ra and joshua smith, and features sun ra and his arkestra.
One rare and moving exception is the work of the director robert mugge, whose film sun ra. Transferred to hd from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience. A joyful noise, a 60minute portrait of visionary jazz artist sun ra. The film combines sun ra s philosophical musings with stunning musical excerpts from the arkestra in concert.
The resulting 60minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Testimonials from colleagues are intercut with concert footage in baltimore and philadelphia, as well as sessions with the ra himself, filmed in the. Ensemble performances were filmed at baltimores famous ballroom, at dannys hollywood palace in philadelphia, and on the roof of philadelphias international house on the. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the company credits submission guide. Visionary jazz iconoclast sun ra s life is profiled in this rousing documentary exploring how his cosmicallyinspired oeuvre created a new music form synthesizing science fiction, ancient egyptian. Modern music fans might be turned off by an arthouse performer that demands so much of your attention.