Popular Music History on Screen: The Pop/Rock Biopic
Abstract
The current popularity of popular music biopics in British and American cinema (and TV) has re- awakened discussions over the accuracy and reliability of the stories they tell. Using illustrations and examples from past and present productions, the paper explores the relationship between music, film and history; the inevitability of interpretation, imagination and invention in the films’ portrayals of history; the inevitable tensions between historical accuracy and commercial considerations; the options open to film-makers in their reconstruction of musical performances; and the attractions of the genre for producers and consumers of film and popular music. Many of these issues are applicable to cinema’s treatment of historical themes and events in general, but the success of films like Ray (dir. Taylor Hackford, 2004), Walk the Line (dir. James Mangold, 2005) and Beyond the Sea (dir. Kevin Spacey, 2004), and the large number of projects in various stages of production and pre-production, have given the popular music biopic a very specific place in the current debate.
- The translation of the article Popular Music History on Screen: The Pop/Rock Biopic, „Popular Music History” 2007, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 77-93. Copyright © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2007.
Due to copyright restrictions the article is available in the print version only.
Keywords:
biopic, popular music, film, history, performanceReferences
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Authors
Ian Ingliskwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
University of Northumbria United Kingdom
Doktor, wykładowca w zakresie studiów nad muzyką popularną w School of Arts & Social Sciences na University of Northumbria (Wielka Brytania). Swoją dysertację doktorską poświęcił analizie kariery The Beatles w kontekście teorii socjologicznych, psychologicznych i kulturowych. Opublikował m.in.: The Beatles, Popular Music and Society (2000), Popular Music and Film (2003), Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time (2006), The Words and Music of George Harrison (2010), Popular Music and Television in Britain (2010), The Beatles in Hamburg: A Long Engagement (2012).
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