Baldwin: A crazy little thing called film

Published 12:46 pm Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Hello Winchester! Are you ready to rock n’ roll my fellow rabble-rousers?

Music is an integral part of our everyday routine. In cinema terms, music is the soundtrack of our lives. It is important, and we take it for granted because it is reliable and accessible to fill a void for our senses.

Think about how much music impacts  our mind, body and temperament. Music can excite, sadden or frighten us by inducing goose bumps and making your hair stand on end.

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Music is also a critical element in the world of filmmaking.

Don’t believe me? Just think how “Jaws” may have turned out without the foreboding duunn n dunnn… duuuunnnn duun…every time Bruce the shark swims into the scene to snack on a swimmer.

How scary would Michael Myers have been while he’s preying on victims in “Halloween” without that simplistic synth sinister score?

The themes from “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones” and “Rocky” are so identifiable with those characters it would be a travesty to change the thematic tune for future sequels.

Next time you are watching one of your favorite films, mute the audio and notice the lack of impact the scenes make on you. Why is that? The lack of music, my dear Watson. That’s how much music affects the art of visual storytelling.

Even silent films up until “The Jazz Singer” (1927) were without voices but were screened with musical accompaniment to enhance the story. Films would not be the same without music and our lives would be dull if melodies were absent during our waking hours.

Well, we have music and life is not dull. And fan or not, singer Freddie Mercury was anything but dull. Nov. 2 saw the release of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a biopic following the classic British rockers, Queen and Mercury, their infamous frontman portrayed by Rami “Mr. Robot” Malek.

“Rhapsody,” titled after their 1975 hit and synonymous with the memorable headbanging car scene in “Wayne’s World” (1992), documents the birth and rise of the young band as they break onto the scene in the 1970s chronicling their trials and tribulations to stardom up until their legendary 1985 performance at Live Aid.

Fans and critics have long lauded Queen for its vast catalog of hits, which still receive heavy airplay and their entertaining stage shows.

Malek’s portrayal of Mercury is no different. Malek’s physical transformation to become Mercury was no easy feat for the actor as dental appliances were added to his mouth to don the singer’s famous overbite.

If you are a Queen or classic rock enthusiast, you will go Radio Ga-Ga over “Bohemian Rhapsody.” So, don’t be Stone Cold Crazy and go check this flick out with your Killer Queen and tell her, You’re My Best Friend.

Otherwise you could find yourself Under Pressure to find a new Somebody to Love especially if she is a die-hard fan of the band.

Otherwise, you could find yourself alone as Another One Bites Dust, leaving you to watch the popular Queen scored flicks, “Flash Gordon” (1980) and “Highlander” (1986) all by your lonesome.

Keep Yourself Alive and have a film-tastic day full of Freddie!

Rick Baldwin is a writer, filmmaker and film/music historian. He is president of the Winchester-Clark County Film Society (facebook.com/WCCfilmsociety). Find more from Rick on Facebook at facebook.com/ricksrhetoric/ and online at theintestinalfortitude.com/category/reviews-editorials/ricks-rhetoric. He is on Twitter @rickbaldwin79  and can be reached by email at rickbaldwiniii@hotmail.com.