- Sat Feb 21, 2015 3:01 pm
#55536
*excuse my English as it is not my mother tongue, I tried my best*
The soundtrack I chose for our Deep Cut series isn't the rarest thing you could find. In fact, Sundazed released it on CD & vinyl about 10 years ago.
Jacques Demy was a French film director, mostly known at the time for "The Umbrellas of Cherbroug".
Model Shop was his first (and sole I think?) American film. Demy was offered the opportunity to work in the US by Columbia Pictures after the huge success of "The Umbrellas...". He wrote a script in French and had it translated by Carole Eastman, known for her work on "Five Easy Pieces".
Demy loved LA. He wanted to show the real city and decided to film it with the eyes of a tourist. He once said in an interview that he wanted to show Europeans what Los Angeles really looked like and not how it was usually shown in films. "Model Shop" working title was "Los Angeles - 1968".
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppg7w8XfYR4[/video]
Synopsis: With the threat of the Vietnam draft looming over his head and the realities of unemployment sinking in, 26-year-old Californian George Matthews (Gary Lockwood) becomes increasingly hopeless about his future. Failing to relate to his live-in girlfriend, Gloria (Alexandra Hay), the young man finds himself drawn to Lola (Anouk Aimée), a model whom he photographs. In a desperate bid to make a meaningful connection, George decides to take a chance on having a romantic tryst with Lola.
One thing that is little known about this film is that Harrison Ford was supposed to play the main character. Jacques Demy found him and thought he was perfect for the role, but Columbia refused and cast Gary Lockwood instead. Agnes Varda, Demy's wife, shot a screen test with Ford that can now be seen on youtube:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtS7SLb3Yx8[/video]
Ford became friends with Demy and Varda during the sixties. Demy had faith in Ford and wanted to give him his chance to become a film star, but a producer at Columbia thought he had no charisma and no future in cinema... Demy and Ford remained friends and apparently watched the first landing on the moon together at Demy's house in Beverly Hills in 1969.
Harrison Ford and Jacques Demy in 1977 at the Deauville Film Festival
The Soundtrack: Demy mostly worked with Michel Legrand to score his films throughout his career. However, after seeing the band Spirit play live at the Aquarius Theatre, he asked them to write the music for "Model Shop". The band composed brilliant tracks and briefly appeared in the film. The soundtrack remained unreleased until Sundazed released it in 2005. I've read that Spirit were Demy's second choice, the first being The Doors. Demy and Varda were friends with Jim Morrison, but I don't know for sure The Doors were asked to compose a soundtrack.
Jay Ferguson, the original singer of Spirit, once explained in an interview how Demy met the band: "He'd just come off the flight from France, he was in Los Angeles jet- lagged out of his mind, wanders down to Hollywood to see the hippies, you know, he wants to do research, walks into a place called the Aquarius Theatre where Spirit's on stage in all our woolly wild drag, playing rock'n'roll, and he was just extrem- ely struck by it and said 'That's the band to do the soundtrack.' Snap decision."
Spirit's work on the soundtrack is a fine mix of jazz and psychedelic rock which still sounds fresh today. If you're into this kind of thing, you're in for a real treat!
I chose this soundtrack, because I think it reflects an era, just like the film does, and can be considered a cult album. The movie itself isn't Demy's best, but still deserves to be seen.
Listen to the soundtrack in full on spotify:
https://play.spotify.com/album/1P1J9MYu4W96T9uNza0qyQ
The soundtrack I chose for our Deep Cut series isn't the rarest thing you could find. In fact, Sundazed released it on CD & vinyl about 10 years ago.
Jacques Demy was a French film director, mostly known at the time for "The Umbrellas of Cherbroug".
Model Shop was his first (and sole I think?) American film. Demy was offered the opportunity to work in the US by Columbia Pictures after the huge success of "The Umbrellas...". He wrote a script in French and had it translated by Carole Eastman, known for her work on "Five Easy Pieces".
Demy loved LA. He wanted to show the real city and decided to film it with the eyes of a tourist. He once said in an interview that he wanted to show Europeans what Los Angeles really looked like and not how it was usually shown in films. "Model Shop" working title was "Los Angeles - 1968".
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppg7w8XfYR4[/video]
Synopsis: With the threat of the Vietnam draft looming over his head and the realities of unemployment sinking in, 26-year-old Californian George Matthews (Gary Lockwood) becomes increasingly hopeless about his future. Failing to relate to his live-in girlfriend, Gloria (Alexandra Hay), the young man finds himself drawn to Lola (Anouk Aimée), a model whom he photographs. In a desperate bid to make a meaningful connection, George decides to take a chance on having a romantic tryst with Lola.
One thing that is little known about this film is that Harrison Ford was supposed to play the main character. Jacques Demy found him and thought he was perfect for the role, but Columbia refused and cast Gary Lockwood instead. Agnes Varda, Demy's wife, shot a screen test with Ford that can now be seen on youtube:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtS7SLb3Yx8[/video]
Ford became friends with Demy and Varda during the sixties. Demy had faith in Ford and wanted to give him his chance to become a film star, but a producer at Columbia thought he had no charisma and no future in cinema... Demy and Ford remained friends and apparently watched the first landing on the moon together at Demy's house in Beverly Hills in 1969.
Harrison Ford and Jacques Demy in 1977 at the Deauville Film Festival
The Soundtrack: Demy mostly worked with Michel Legrand to score his films throughout his career. However, after seeing the band Spirit play live at the Aquarius Theatre, he asked them to write the music for "Model Shop". The band composed brilliant tracks and briefly appeared in the film. The soundtrack remained unreleased until Sundazed released it in 2005. I've read that Spirit were Demy's second choice, the first being The Doors. Demy and Varda were friends with Jim Morrison, but I don't know for sure The Doors were asked to compose a soundtrack.
Jay Ferguson, the original singer of Spirit, once explained in an interview how Demy met the band: "He'd just come off the flight from France, he was in Los Angeles jet- lagged out of his mind, wanders down to Hollywood to see the hippies, you know, he wants to do research, walks into a place called the Aquarius Theatre where Spirit's on stage in all our woolly wild drag, playing rock'n'roll, and he was just extrem- ely struck by it and said 'That's the band to do the soundtrack.' Snap decision."
Spirit's work on the soundtrack is a fine mix of jazz and psychedelic rock which still sounds fresh today. If you're into this kind of thing, you're in for a real treat!
I chose this soundtrack, because I think it reflects an era, just like the film does, and can be considered a cult album. The movie itself isn't Demy's best, but still deserves to be seen.
Listen to the soundtrack in full on spotify:
https://play.spotify.com/album/1P1J9MYu4W96T9uNza0qyQ
