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stormcloudstein
Reviews
Orpheus (2005)
orpheus' style, wit, grace and music
Joel Rose, Rhodes College alumNUS (alumNI is plural), has made a beautiful movie. One thing I think is beautiful about it is his use of music. The song that the character Orpheus performs in the climactic scene, "I Am the Cosmos", was actually written by the late Chris Bell. Chris Bell was the brilliant musician who, along with Alex Chilton (of the Boxtops), and Jody Stephens, played in the Memphis band Big Star in the 1970s. Bell died tragically in a car accident in 1978, but his solo work and that of Big Star has been cited as an influence by the likes of The Replacements, the Flaming Lips, and the Posies (who compose part of the newly re-formed Big Star). I know Joel personally and, knowing the myth of Orpheus backwards and forwards, he wanted to make music the central focus of the film. The majority of the small budget for Orpheus was spent acquiring rights to songs by the Talking Heads, the Stone Roses, and the Raveonettes. While Chris Bell is deceased, his friends from Big Star are still alive and some live in Memphis. Joel sought out Jody Stephens who put him in touch with Chris Bell's brother, David. David in turn connected Joel with John Fry, head of Ardent Studios who owns the rights to the Chris Bell library. He in turn gave Joel the rights, for a nominal fee, to cover the song with the amazing local musicians Harlan T. Bobo, Amy LaVere and the ubiquitous Paul Taylor. For those who miss Mr. Bell and his music, it's especially poignant that his song was used in this story, which really is about music and how it helps deal with loss. Orpheus thought it could literally bring his love back from the dead. With this movie we celebrate the power of music and in particular the vast importance it plays in our city's history, public and personal.