It Felt Like A Kiss

hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
Anyone been to see this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/video/2009/jun/18/adam-curtis-punchdrunk-it-felt-like-a-kiss

I was in Manchester at the weekend and went along. You go in very small groups (about half a dozen) and failed Gordon Brown assassin James Purnell was in mine, which was a bit odd.

It's a mixture of immersive theatre (from Punch Drunk, a pretty amazing company who specialize in this stuff) and an Adam Curtis documentary, which is at the centre, both thematically and temporally/ geographically, of the piece.

It's pretty unique stuff, and the attention to detail in the sets of the first third is just incredible. I thought the doc was a bit weak, though - like a parody of a Curtis documentary, all clever cutting and juxtaposition but not much substance. Well worth a look though, northern correspondents...Any of you seen it?
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
i haven't, Hucks, no, but sounds rather cool.

i gather it has been getting some rave notices. perhaps i should get my backside in gear.

i note earlier today on his Twitter a certain Dissensian saying the procession that ran through Deansgate (the Jeremy Deller thing) was mental :cool:

quite randomly, the elder brother of a friend is best mates with Purnell. i am not a fan.

there's certainly a decent line up for this festival, i'll give them that.
 
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
scottdisco said:
i note earlier today on his Twitter a certain Dissensian saying the procession that ran through Deansgate (the Jeremy Deller thing) was mental :cool:
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I saw half of it before I came back, it was great, a celebration of everything that isn't bland.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Wow, that sounds cool. I went to a PD production a couple of years ago (their take on Faust) and was blown away, though this thing sounds like it's on another level of differentness.

Incidentally, does anyone recognise the 'music' on the second half of the trailer? It sounds for all the world like Throbbing Gristle.

Edit:
Purnell also claimed £247 for 3,000 fridge magnets.
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Genius. :D
 
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N

Ness Rowlah

Norwegian Wood
Haven't seen in it for geographical reasons, but read about it in The Times a week or so ago. Title is from a Crystals song (availble on youtube), later covered by The Motels (available on Spotify). Quite controversial tune/lyrics at the time - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Hit_Me_(It_Felt_Like_A_Kiss).

Adam has his own page over at the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/ and The Times article indicates that the whole film will be available on iPlayer (just checked, it's not there yet).
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
is it anything at all like what Dumbtype does? i.e. a combination of video art/concept dance/abstract theater/digital noise ?
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Mr. Tea said:
Wow, that sounds cool. I went to a PD production a couple of years ago (their take on Faust) and was blown away, though this thing sounds like it's on another level of differentness.

Incidentally, does anyone recognise the 'music' on the second half of the trailer? It sounds for all the world like Throbbing Gristle.

Edit:

Genius. :D
Click to expand...

Dunno about the trailer but Albarn is doin the music, fuckin leech gets everywhere.
 
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
zhao said:
is it anything at all like what Dumbtype does? i.e. a combination of video art/concept dance/abstract theater/digital noise ?
Click to expand...

I don't know much about dumbtype but Punch Drunk tend to do "traditional" plays (Faust, The Mask of the Read Death) in totally non traditional ways. Their usp is immersive theatre, ie the audience wanders round the set, talks to the characters, that kind of thing. So they normally take over a whole building (for It Felt Like a Kiss they're using an office block in Manchester), and the whole place bcomes the set.

It's generally not digital-heavy ,like how the Dumbtype stuff looks on their website, though the sound design is usually pretty awesome. Even if they do get Damon Albarn to do the score (it was pretty good, fwiw)
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
watching the Culture Show special on the Deller thing now.

spot the non-Manc on their panel of three experts;)
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
who was that chap? i watched after reading Cracker and recognised Robb and Christian (a pal's grandfather once gave a young Christian a clip-round-the-earhole for taking a milk bottle, fact fans) and the lovely Lauren. his nail varnish was good, but his overall outfit was over-done.

sorry, i know this is no fashion thread.
 
S

slightly crooked

Active member
hucks said:
Anyone been to see this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/video/2009/jun/18/adam-curtis-punchdrunk-it-felt-like-a-kiss

I was in Manchester at the weekend and went along. You go in very small groups (about half a dozen) and failed Gordon Brown assassin James Purnell was in mine, which was a bit odd.

It's a mixture of immersive theatre (from Punch Drunk, a pretty amazing company who specialize in this stuff) and an Adam Curtis documentary, which is at the centre, both thematically and temporally/ geographically, of the piece.

It's pretty unique stuff, and the attention to detail in the sets of the first third is just incredible. I thought the doc was a bit weak, though - like a parody of a Curtis documentary, all clever cutting and juxtaposition but not much substance. Well worth a look though, northern correspondents...Any of you seen it?
Click to expand...

Went to see this last night. Really impressive piece of work.

Agree completely about the first third, felt totally like stepping into the world of a Curtis documentary - perfectly pitched post-war Americana; cosy suburbia coupled with the darker institutional backing that was supporting the whole thing. I loved the way you were encouraged to explore things on your own, to pick up props, pore over letters, books, files etc.

Whilst I take your point about the doc - there's not a lot that would be unfamiliar to anyone who acquainted with Curtis' past work (or mid-C.20th history) & I'm not sure it would work well as a stand-alone piece - it helped pull together a lot of the strands of the opening section to give a better sense of overall narrative - eg including the story behind the Crystals song they took the name from. I wasn't entirely sure where they were going to take things after the film, so it was perhaps the most surprising section for me. The way the narrative starts to fragment and it becomes less about trying to reflect on a particular period and place, more about trying to shake or unsettle your perspective. Cleverly done (although a tiny bit heavy-handed in places...)

I'd have been interested to have gone along with someone a bit less familiar with some of the themes or ideas to see what they made of it, as to an extent it was preaching to the converted with me with certain aspects. Even for me though, having gone to a late night showing, it took a couple of hours for my mind to stop racing enough for me to go to sleep.
 
slim jenkins

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
Thought this was really impressive...fantastic use of music to evoke mood...juxtaposition of images worked brilliantly, as did the way he pulls strands together. It felt like a kiss...the love/hate relationship with American pop culture/politics...I think this film perfectly captures the mixed feelings many of us have toward America.
 
S

slightly crooked

Active member
slim jenkins said:
Thought this was really impressive...fantastic use of music to evoke mood...juxtaposition of images worked brilliantly, as did the way he pulls strands together. It felt like a kiss...the love/hate relationship with American pop culture/politics...I think this film perfectly captures the mixed feelings many of us have toward America.
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The film bit of the installation was just the first 35mins of what is up on his site. Some of the later material was embedded in sections of the walk-through areas, but some of that is new material that wasn't in the show. I think it helps to bring it together as a whole piece.

I have to say as well, the 'River Deep, Mountain High' section is astonishing: the barrage of images, the way the darker side of the world seems to burst through the images of domestic consumer bliss that attempt to shroud it.
 
grizzleb

grizzleb

Well-known member
Wish I had the chance to go see the actual show. Curtis is one of my heros, I checked out tickets on ebay though. 130 bucks for 2?? Too many fanboys, I just can't compete. :)

I loved the video piece that was on the BBC website for a while, but it didn't have the impact of 'Century of the Self' or 'The Trap' for me. His two finest.

A master of linking disparate events and tying it into a totally cohesive narrative along with his emotional use of music and stock footage. TV genius.

Only Jonathan Meades can match him for me in the documentary stakes.
 
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