Greatest Albums & Their Film Equivalents (in progress)
Submitted by AfterHours on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 03:01
Tags:
- Trout Mask Replica-Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1969)
- FILM: Metropolis-Lang (1927)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Greed-Von Stroheim (1925)
- Rock Bottom-Robert Wyatt (1974)
- FILM: Nostalghia-Tarkovsky (1983)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Mirror-Tarkovsky (1974)
- Faust-Faust (1971)
- FILM: Citizen Kane-Welles (1941)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Inland Empire-Lynch (2006); Un Chien Andalou-Bunuel (1928)
- The Velvet Underground & Nico-The Velvet Underground (1967)
- FILM: Touch of Evil-Welles (1958)
- The Doors-The Doors (1967)
- FILM: Vertigo-Hitchcock (1958); Chinatown-Polanski (1974)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Touch of Evil-Welles (1958); The Wild Bunch-Peckinpah (1969); North By Northwest-Hitchcock (1959)
- The Modern Dance-Pere Ubu (1978)
- FILM: Brazil-Gilliam
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Metropolis-Lang (1926); Modern Times-Chaplin (1936)
- Twin Infinitives-Royal Trux (1990)
- FILM: Nashville-Altman (1975)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Inland Empire-Lynch (2006); Underground-Kusturica (1995); Begotten-Merhige (1991)
- Lorca-Tim Buckley (1970)
- FILM: The Godfather, Part 2-Coppola (1974)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Persona-Bergman (1966); Vertigo-Hitchcock (1958); Ikiru-Kurosawa (1952); The Blue Angel-Von Sternberg (1930)
- Parable of Arable Land-Red Crayola (1967)
- FILM: Underground-Kusturica (1995)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Battleship Potemkin-Eisenstein (1925)
- Fare Forward Voyagers-John Fahey (1973)
- FILM: The Wild Bunch-Peckinpah (1969)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Days of Heaven-Malick (1979); The Traveling Players-Angelopoulus (1975); Landscape In The Mist-Angelopoulus (1988)
- Litanies of Satan-Diamanda Galas (1982)
- FILM: The Kingdom-Von Trier (1994)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Inland Empire-Lynch (2006)
- Y-The Pop Group (1979)
- FILM: Greed-Von Stroheim (1924)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Raging Bull-Scorsese (1980); Underground-Kusturica (1995); Battleship Potemkin-Eisenstein (1925); Rashomon-Kurosawa (1950)
- Hosianna Mantra-Popol Vuh (1973)
- FILM: The Traveling Players-Angelopoulus (1975)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Mirror-Tarkovsky (1974); Nostalghia-Tarkovsky (1983); Chinatown-Polanski (1974)
- Desertshore-Nico (1970)
- FILM: Passion of Joan of Arc-Dreyer (1927)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Traveling Players-Angelopoulus (1975); Rosemary's Baby-Polanski (1968)
- Irrlicht-Klaus Schulze (1972)
- FILM: 2001: A Space Odyssey-Kubrick (1968)
- Geek the Girl-Lisa Germano (1994)
- FILM: Ikiru-Kurosawa (1952)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Repulsion-Polanski (1965); Rosemary's Baby-Polanski (1968); Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte-Aldrich (1965)
- Blonde On Blonde-Bob Dylan (1966)
- FILM: Days of Heaven-Malick (1979)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: La Dolce Vita-Fellini (1960)
- Neu!-Neu! (1972)
- FILM: Stalker-Tarkovsky (1979)
- Suicide-Suicide (1977)
- FILM: Psycho-Hitchcock (1960)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: M-Lang (1931); Taxi Driver-Scorcese (1976)
- Astral Weeks-Van Morrison (1968)
- FILM: Limelight-Chaplin (1952)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Wild Strawberries-Bergman (1957); Ikiru-Kuosawa (1952); The Blue Angel-Von Sternberg (1930)
- Nail-Foetus (1985)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Birth of A Nation-Griffith (1915); The Road Warrior-George Miller (1981); Greed-Von Stroheim (1925); Emperor of the North Pole-Aldrich (1973)
- Not Available-Residents (1974)
- FILM: 8 1/2-Fellini (1963)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Brazil-Gilliam (1985); The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; Limelight-Chaplin (1952); Modern Times-Chaplin (1936); The Seventh Seal-Bergman (1957); Magnolia-Anderson (1999); Dr. Strangelove-Kubrick (1964); Modern Times-Chaplin (1936); The Birth of a Nation-Griffith (1915); Pulp Fiction-Tarrantino (1994)
- Lullaby Land-Vampire Rodents (1993)
- FILM: Battleship Potemkin-Eisenstein (1925)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Faust-Murnau (1926)
- Well Oiled-Hash Jar Tempo (1997)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Satantango-Tarr (1994)
- Third-Soft Machine (1970)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Andrei Rublev-Tarkovsky (1969); The Birth of a Nation-Griffith (1915); The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance-Ford (1962)
- Slow, Deep & Hard-Type O Negative (1991)
- FILM: Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte-Aldrich (1965); Raging Bull-Scorsese
- Uncle Meat-Frank Zappa (1969)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Great Race-Edwards (1965); 8 1/2-Fellini; Zardoz-Boorman (1973); The Holy Mountain-Jodorowsky (1973); Dr. Strangelove-Kubrick (1964); Bringing Up Baby-Hawks (1938)
- Yerself Is Steam-Mercury Rev (1991)
- FILM: Leon: The Professional-Besson (1994)
- Spiderland-Slint (1991)
- FILM: The Godfather-Coppola (1972)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Blade Runner-Scott (1982); Aguirre, The Wrath of God-Herzog (1972); Apocalypse Now-Coppola (1979); Memento-Nolan (2001); Blair Witch Project-Myrick & Sanchez (1999)
- Kick Out The Jams-MC5 (1969)
- FILM: ???
- White Light/White Heat-The Velvet Underground (1967)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: M-Lang (1931); Mean Streets-Scorsese (1973); Taxi Driver-Scorsese (1976)
- Zen Arcade-Husker Du (1984)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Convoy-Peckinpah (1978); Aliens-Cameron (1986)
- OTHER SCARUFFI RATED 9/10's:
- Diamanda Galas-Diamanda Galas (1984)
- FILM: Inland Empire-Lynch (2006)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Kingdom-Von Trier (1994); Rosemary's Baby-Polanski (1968)
- A Rainbow In Curved Air-Riley (1968)
- FILM: Mirror-Tarkovsky (1974)
- Dolmen Music-Meredith Monk (1981)
- FILM: Rosemary's Baby-Polanski (1968)
- ADDIITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Kingdom-Von Trier (1994); Inland Empire-Lynch (2006); The Passion of Joan of Arc-Dreyer (1925)
- Dream Theory In Malaya-Jon Hassell (1981)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Landscape In The Mist-Angelopoulus (1988); Mirror-Tarkovsky (1974)
- The Good Son-Nick Cave (1990)
- FILM: Wings of Desire-Wenders (1987)
- Good-Morphine (1992)
- FILM: Lost Highway-Lynch (1997)
- The River-Bruce Springsteen (1980)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Giant-Stevens (1956); North By Northwest-Hitchcock (1958); Splendor In The Grass-Kazan (1963)
- Psychic...Powerless, Another Man's Sac-Butthole Surfers (1984)
- FILM: Modern Times-Chaplin (1936)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Pulp Fiction-Tarrantino (1994); Leon: The Professional-Besson (1994); Bringing Up Baby-Hawks (1938); Emperor of the North Pole-Aldrich (1973)
- Double Nickels On The Dime-Minutemen (1984)
- FILM: Pulp Fiction-Tarrantino (1994)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Mean Streets-Scorsese (1973); Bringing Up Baby-Hawks (1938)
- Repeater-Fugazi (1990)
- FILM: Point Blank-Boorman (1967)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Big Heat-Lang (1953); Emperor of the North Pole-Aldrich (1973)
- Fire of Love-Gun Club (1981)
- FILM: ???
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: The Big Heat-Lang (1953)
- Down Colorful Hill-Red House Painters (1992)
- FILM: The Deer Hunter-Cimino (1978)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Cries & Whispers-Bergman (1972)
- Loveless-My Bloody Valentine (1991)
- FILM: Blade Runner-Scott (1982)
- Safe As Milk-Captain Beefheart (1967)
- FILM: Zardoz-Boorman (1973)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Greed-Von Stroheim (1925)
- Third Ear Band-Third Ear Band (1970)
- FILM: Rashomon-Kurosawa (1950)
- ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES: Deliverance-Boorman (1971)
Author Comments:
I'm trying to find films that equate to my favorite albums, so as to produce a list that is as significant (to me). I took out jazz because the jazz albums already possess rock counterparts (or vice versa); for instance: A Love Supreme is the equivelant to Rock Bottom, Unit Structures to Faust, and so on. It would be useless to search for the equivelant of each since in almost every case it would end up being the same film.
The general requirements are as follows:
1. The film should be near or equal to the level of greatness as the album.
2. The film should express similar emotional content.
3. The film should express similar themes and employ a similar structure.
4. Less importantly, the film would be similarly inventive or important in historical context as its music counterpart.
Suggestions are very welcome.
I'm partway through Parable of Arable Land right now, and while I can see Underground as a solid choice, Kusturica's craft is a bit too obviously aestheticized. The only film that springs to mind as an analog, for me, is Takashi Miike's Visitor Q. Alienating, strange, craft sloppy on first glance yet done with enough panache to indicate it's done as an aesthetic choice, gains power through simplicity and repetition, extremity covering for quivering graceful heart. Primitive, scabrous, hard to swallow yet beautiful.
BTW, what the hell. Where has this album been all my life. Where.
Thanks for the recommendation. Feel free to bring more! Never seen Visitor Q so you've definitely intrigued me. As it is, I think Underground is a great fit, with the only other film that I've seen that would also work being Metropolis. The reason being is how crowded and raucous and nonsensical Underground constantly is. It clearly shares similar emotions as Parable. Not to mention the magic realism of Underground seems to be visually commensurate to what Parable would probably look like. Underground's kineticism from scene to scene and in it's choreography and visual style aren't too far off from a Jackson Pollack painting.
Don't see Visitor Q, take it from me, it isn't great. Sure, it's weird, but not that enjoyable.
But great list. Irrlicht fits 2001 like a glove.
I'll probably end up seeing it anyway. I always prefer to look for myself as I often find I don't agree too much with others on art.
Yes, Irrlicht and 2001 are a great match. The closest ones are probably:
Metropolis = Modern Dance
Persona = Lorca
2001 = Irrlicht
Rosemary's Baby = Geek the Girl
Stalker = Neu
The Wild Bunch = The Doors (though I choose Touch of Evil due to it matching The Doors overall greatness more closely)
Taxi Driver = Suicide (thematically perhaps the closest out of all, though Suicide is vastly superior in execution)
and another, unlisted one that is extremely close is...
Lost Highway = Good by Morphine (both of which may be on here in the near future)
The only thing that's coming to mind right now (and it's not perfect) is I Know Where I'm Going! (Powell, 1945) and Kate Bush's Hounds of Love. But IKWIG is a bit light and fluffy (but still great) compared to that album. Maybe IKWIG for side 1 and Black Narcissus (Powell, 1947) for side 2?
I dunno, I'm no good at this kind of thing. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about Powell/Pressburger and/or Bush could chime in.
Interesting... it's been at least 5 years since I heard Hounds of Love so the comparison is a bit difficult for me to make.
I always find a comparison between Escalator Over The Hill & Citizen Kane.
I don't disagree. Citizen Kane, due to it's unique structure (for film), tends to fit many of the greatest albums. I often think the closest to Kane (believe it or not) may be Faust.
The only reason I choose VU & Nico (not necessarily a permanent choice) in this case is due to the equality in importance, influence and greatness for their respective arts. Thematically, there's nary a thing that agrees between the two.
Another one for Desertshore is The Seventh Seal in my opinion, though I can see why you picked The Passion.
Yea, never thought of that. Tat's not a bad choice either. Hmmmm...
Nail (or Downward Spiral)/Taxi Driver
Well Oiled/Stalker
The Ascension/Raging Bull
Escalator Over the Hill/Fellini Satyricon
Uncle Meat/Man With a Movie Camera
Actually, you know what, strike the first entry. Suicide/Taxi Driver is an uncanny comparison.
Sorry, I didn't know you'd commented. My film lists need to be updated which I am getting back into now. Been away from the film world for awhile. Time to withdraw somewhat from music and expend some of that energy in movies...
Any ideas for Litanies of Satan?
How about any of the others on here (whether they're question marked or already have films listed). I've just started spending the portion of my free time I usually devote to music, on film instead, so...please discuss! Comment! Suggest!
I'd say Kingdom or Inland Empire
Great choices!
Thoroughly revised and updated from #17 on down
It's wholly revised now you idiot!
I think AfterHours has finally gone off the deep end...
haha ( :
that happened long ago...
Any recommendations?