Sitting miserably in a Roman recording studio for months, trying to make Michelangelo Antonioni happy with little result, Pink Floyd were on the cusp of becoming one of the largest bands on the planet. They had THE state-of-the-art live experience, going beyond a mere light show to include the first quadrophonic live sound system as well as filmed projects as backgrounds to their cosmic ramblings. 'Zabriskie Point' was a dog anyway, no skin off their nose. Even better, there were two film projects on the horizon that would increase their good fortune.
It did not escape their notice that the soundtrack album 'More' had outsold 'Ummagumma', both released in the same year. In fact, many more people owned the album than ever saw the movie. It must have been a fun experience as well, because they worked with the same director on his next film, 'La Vallee'. By 1972, they didn't need the quick money any more. The outcome is one of the most relaxed and enjoyable Pink Floyd albums.
"La Vallee' is more artistic and obtuse than 'More's tale of drug misery and betrayal. Hippies go looking for something in New Guinea, interacting with the natives. The soundtrack, renamed 'Obscured By Clouds', is separate from the narrative of the film, but is among the best music the band ever did. Even David Gilmour and Richard Wright deliver great tunes as well as main songwriter Roger Water. In a no pressure situation, not trying for perfection, they created some great songs.
Another French project was 'Live at Pompeii', released right at the cusp of superstardom with 'Dark Side of the Moon.' In fact, according to which of the three cuts of the film you see, there are glimpses of Floyd working on their masterpiece. It is the first time that music and visuals were blended sympathetically for the band, a classic of psychedelia and progressive rock, all long panning shots and slow superimpositions. As far as concert films, this is the gold standard.
As a production, it was nearly a disaster. They producers could only get the historic Roman ruin for two days. When Pink Floyd's equipment van was a day late, the four band members were endlessly filmed walking in the lava fields. Padding out the film to an acceptable length,additional footage was shot in a Paris studio, done so expertly, disguised as a night performance, that you don't notice.
By 1979, when Roger Water created 'The Wall', Pink Floyd were simultaneously one of the biggest bands in the world and falling apart. I'm not a fan of the album, but the movie is very good, as excessive as 'Tommy' but without the sense of either spiritual searching or humor. It does blend animation and real action well. Close to home, it seems a fictionalized telling of Syd Barrett's story, the original leader of the band who did too many drugs and went a little funny in the head.
Roger Water had done one outside soundtrack, working together with one time collaborator Ron Geesin. The resulting album, 'Music For The Body', is pretty experimental, although it does contain a few acoustic pieces and one song featuring not only Pink Floyd, but female background singers, a hint of things to come. Again, more people heard the album, not a particularly big seller, than ever saw the movie, which remains obscure. It is obvious to the listener which pieces were done by Water, with minimum training but a gifted songwriter, and Geesin, an eccentric Scottish composer with a classical background.
Speaking of the French and their fascination with Pink Floyd, mention must be made of the animated movie 'Fantastic Planet'. Made in 1973, it is a very unusual and successful science fiction story. I guess they couldn't get Pink Floyd to do the music. because the soundtrack has the best faux Floyd I've ever heard. It's a terrific movie, well worth searching out.
Neil Young should be mentions, although I need to state that I'm not a big fan. He did get into film early, in 1972's 'Journey Through the Past'. It's a mixture of artistic pretention and clips. Whether you can sit through it depends o how much you like Neil's music. He has continued to be involved in numerous cinema projects to this day. He has a better track record in cinema than Bob Dylan, if that means anything.
Country Joe McDonald became involved in an interesting project in 1970, a film adaptation of Henry Miller's 'Quiet Days in Clichy'. With less censorship in movies, producers were ready to exploit any product that would allow more nudity and sex on camera. This was one of those curious European productions, too hard for an 'R' rating but not explicit enough for an 'X'. Country Joe & the Fish had been one of the Bay Area's stalwarts, at Monterey and Woodstock, appearing in 'Gas' and 'Zachariah; An Electric Western.'
Country Joe was getting tired of the rock lifestyle, wanting to retreat back to his folk music roots. Hooking up with a Danish production company, he supplied the music for this raunchy movie, quite enjoyable if you can find it. The movie used American deserters and real prostitutes, with Henry Miller on the set, making this the only movie adaptation to have his approval. A mixed bag, Country Joe apologizes for what he now sees as its sexist attitudes.
Mention should be made of a few oddball independent movies. One would be the rarely seen 'Captain Milkshake', about a Marine on leave from Vietnam on leave in California, falling in love with a hippie. Hilarity ensues. It does have an interesting soundtrack with music by the ever-reliable Country Joe & the Fish, as well as Quicksilver Messenger Service and Steve Miller.
'The Strawberry Statement' from the same year featured Neil Young and CSN&Y in the soundtrack. It's a story of student protest on a US campus, with rioting and violence, very topical for the year of the Kent State Massacre, 1970. Not quite an independent, it made a big splash at the time but is largely forgotten today. It's hard to tell if this is a commercialization of the situation or a genuine statement, no matter the flavor.
The group Chicago, through their producer James Guercio, became involved in a major studio film, 'Electra Glide in Blue' starring Robert Blake. Using Chicago not only in the soundtrack but in bit parts throughout the movie. Guercio directed the movie, his only, and it's a good film. Curiously, it's also surprisingly right wing, not what you would expect from a rock group in 1973. The cinematography is amazing, and it is worth finding, although the music is nothing special.
'Stamping Ground' is another largely overlooked film, an attempt to have, as they say, a Dutch Woodstock. Distributed around the world, I suspect music rights kept it from appearing in the States. The line up is interesting, with Country Joe showing up alone, as well as rare festival appearances by Pink Floyd and the Byrds. Too bad the actual film is choppy and somewhat amateurish.
Some mention should be made of the very experimental art film, 'WR: Mystery of the Organism' from 1971. A collage of material from the Soviet Eastern Bloc and documentary footage about orgone accumulators, it's more than simply off the wall. It does, however, have the only appearance of the Fugs, the East Village's musical agent provocateurs. Watching Tuli Kupferberg sing 'Kill For Peace' is worth the prie of admission alone.
A few progressive rock acts got into film when thy starting making money. Emerson Lake & Palmer, a very visual act, were a good fit. 'Pictures at an Exhibition', their punk version of the classical favorite, was shot on video but projected in 35mm film. They later did 'The Manticore Special' and 'Works Live', Keith Emerson able to make a partial transition to soundtrack music, most notably Dario Argento's 'Inferno'. Similarly, Yes did a concert video, 'Yessongs', complete with requisite Roger Dean illustrations; I'd love to see a high quality version of that.
Even Punk got into the music business. By the time that Malcolm McLaren put the Sex Pistols in front of a camera for the aptly named 'Great Rock & Roll Swindle', lead singer Johnny Rotten was long gone from the scene. The Clash did a better job, allowing complete access to the superb 'Rude Boy', the story of one of their fictional roadies. It's an accurate, unglamorous look at the rock lifestyle; Joe Strummer, who went on to an acting career, does a great job, a natural on film.
Before I leave, mention should be made of David Bowie. No doubt he had the most successful career of any rock star, but the two paths rarely crossed. Only in 'Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars' does his music play any part, and that's a concert film. He was an excellent actor, with a huge listing on IMDB.
While We're at it, mention should be made of Brian Eno, who likewise set some kind of record for soundtracks. However, many of those are for imaginary movies, and Eno had moved into ambient music by then. That genre spread to Germany, where artist like Klaus Schultz and Tangerine also became involved with background music, perfect for the minimalistic sounds they created. Klaus Schulze even did a porn soundtrack, 'Body Love' in 1977, a huge seller in Europe.
The strangest cinema career from this time must be King Crimson's, a group with very limited exposure even on television before 1980. A one hour documentary narrated by Vincent Price called 'The Devil's Triangle' used a piece by the same name from 'In the Wake of Poseidon'. It's a weird atonal thing, created in the studio because the group couldn't get permission to record Holst's 'Mars, the Bringer of War'. It's hard to image how over ten minutes of white noise could be used as a soundtrack, but it was, and I wish that I could find it.
Weirder, the French soft-core sensation 'Emmanuelle' used as part of the soundtrack a blatant rip off of Robert Fripp's 'Lark Tongue in Aspic'. Since that song sounded like nothing else at the time, it wasn't too hard to notice the plagiarism. Fripp sued successful, enraged that his music was used to underscore scenes of forced sex. The money supported him for the rest of the decade as he retreated from rock to study Gurdjieffaian philosophy.
George Lucas, with 'American Graffiti' in 1973, brilliantly used rock as a replacement for a soundtrack, but it was in the past, to put the viewer in another time and place. The same year, Martin Scorsese used contemporary music the same way in 'Mean Streets'. Scorsese continues to combine film and rock more consistently than any contemporary, from editing 'Woodstock' through to his George Harrison biography, 'Living in a Material World.' 'The Last Waltz', his documentary about the Band, featuring an all-star concert, is the gold standard for that type of music film, perfectly done in a controlled environment.
The death knell for rock music being used constructively in movie soundtracks came in 1974, with the four note 'Jaws' theme. Nobody knew it at the time, but by 1977, with both 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and especially 'Star Wars', the orchestral score was back in fashion. It wouldn't be a blockbuster without some classical pomp. Gone were the days of 'If Six Were Nine' blasting you out of your seat as in 'Easy Rider'. Now, rock was nostalgia, one more cliché to be shuffled in the corporate deck.
One last moment of glory, Francis Coppola, during the endless production of 'Apocalypse Now'. The original cut was nearly five hours long, scored entirely to Doors' music. It's not hard to find that cut as a bootleg; endless traveling shots, disjointed. After three years, finally cutting it down to under 2 & 1/2 hours, editor Walter Murch creating 5.1 sound to handle the synth helicopter fly overs. The movie begins, a man in a room, troubled, jungle images superimposed on his face. Then the screen goes fire red, the greenery erupting in flames. The greatest opening of a movie ever. 'The End', indeed.
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