Gothamist loves movie soundtracks. Paying attention to them has led us to learning about new composers or new artists, whose own albums we realize we must rush out to buy. French critic and film director Olivier Assayas loves the music in movies too and he's programmed a series at BAMcinématek of his favorite film soundtracks called "I Can Hear The Guitar: Selected by Olivier Assayas," which begins today.
Starting out as a writer for the French film journal Cahiers du Cinema and now a working filmmaker who's most recent film was demonlover, Assayas is a fan and a practioner. He has collaborated closely with musicians on all of his film projects, most notably Sonic Youth on demonlover and John Cale with Paris At Dawn. Assayas has picked an eclectic mix of movies to screen, all with a distinctive sound whose soundtracks can be lush or emotional or very much of their historical moment. All of these movies offer the perfect excuse to close your eyes while watching and really listen to the music.
The series runs though Sept. 26, and there are loads of things to see, you should try to seem them all. In particular, we recommend over the next few days Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising (1963) on Thursday (a prototype of the music video with a gay James Dean fetish), David Cronenburg's Videodrome (1983) on Sunday (Debbie Harry acts! but watch out for that VCR), and One Plus One (1968) on Monday (Jean-Luc Godard hearts the Rolling Stones).
What's your favorite movie soundtrack?
