Re: Need help on finding a Sun Ra documentary!
Re: Need help on finding a Sun Ra documentary!
Hi, Sean. You may be referring to this, or excerpts of it:
http://www.allmovie.com/dvd/sun-ra-space-is-the-place-43758
This is a director's cut of "Space Is the Place" with some "restored" = footage, but some or all of the "restored" footage is made up of scenes = that Sun Ra specifically asked to have removed, including one of two = white men beating black prostitutes and one of naked nurses with the = Devil, scenes that are out of character with the rest of the movie, = which is a comical, sad, and philosophical allegory, but not seamy or = vicious as these scenes are. Nor does Sun Ra appear in them. I'd = recommend that you purchase a version without that "restored footage," = except then you probably wouldn't get the Thurston Moore commentary.
We saw the "director's cut" with "restored footage" at the Maysles = Cinema in Harlem last summer, and afterwards I exchanged Emails with = Philip Maysles, who wrote: "You are correct - upon further research, = those scenes you mention were re-inserted by John Coney, the director of = the film, in 2003. These were cuts that had been originally requested by = Sun Ra, likely for the reasons you mention. This is the only version = commercially available and we do not have the resources to track down = and exhibit the original film print. If we exhibit the film again in the = future, we will be sure to present it in a manner where these changes = are noted and the issues that are raised around authorship and = exploitation are addressed critically in a post screening conversation."
Maybe someone on this list can let Philip Maysles know where he can = obtain the original film print: philip@mayslesfilms.com.
By the way, the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Maestro Marshall = Allen will play on Sunday afternoon, April 25th between 3 and 7 p.m. at = the University of the Arts, 32O South Broad St., Philadelphia, = http://www.uarts.edu, concert information 215-557-7277 or = lifelinemusic@comcast.net. And there are more new Arkestra concert = listings posted at http://www.thesunraarkestra.com (click on = "tourdates").
And there's a great deal of "written material concerning Sun Ra's = philosophies," much of it written by Sun Ra, and maybe someone else on = the Saturn list can send in a reading reference list. One could start = with "Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra" by John Szwed = (Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, ISBN #O-679-43589-1), and = see=20 http://www.amazon.com/Space-Place-Lives-Times-Sun/dp/0306808552.
As to Stephen Ramirez's comment, "Generally pretty quiet here. There = used to be quite a lot of interesting discussions," I used to post = fairly often, but there were very few replies, and most of those were = from a few people with psychological problems who automatically fly into = attack mode. Others on the list have witnessed this and have apparently = decided it's not worth it to participate (this is referred to in = politics as the "chilling effect"). So here we have a list of 3OO = interested members, and probably more than 275 never post anything at = all.
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On Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 7:37 PM, Stephen Ramirez wrote:
Hi Sean
Welcome to the Saturn list! Generally pretty quiet here. There used to = be quite a lot of interesting discussions. Not sure if you are still = able to read through the archives on yahoo groups.
Anyhow... I think the documentary you are referring to is "Brother from = Another Planet". It is a BBC documentary from 2005.
You may want to check out "The Immeasurable Equation" from Waitawhile = Press. It is the collected poetry and prose of Sun Ra. The book was = compiled by list member James Wolf.
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On Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Sean Metzker wrote:
Allow me to introduce myself as a recently converted sun-ra obsessive, = and have been lurking the SATURN discussion boards to uncover more = information on the arkestra's music and the life and times of mr sonny = blount. I have to say at twenty three years of age the music of jazz = never resonated with me until I really started to listen...I read up on = coltrane, miles, and the almighty ra...these guys were way beyond = anything in terms of spirituality and what they were trying to achieve = with music and I'm hoping to apply that energy to my own music someday. = I saw a very informative documentary on sun ra awhile back on youtube, = it wasn't "A Joyful Noise" but something more recent..It had some = commentary by Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth fame) anyone out there have = a clue what that doc was titled? And, If there is any=20 written material concerning sun ra's philosophies, I'm all ears.