Documentary.
May. 19th, 2006 08:45 pmNot as bad as I expected from catching the very beginning yesterday, but I'm still rather disappointed. The this-is-bringing-Londoners-together angle was pursued relentlessly in preference to telling you much about the show itself, or showing a great deal of the Giant or Elephant and their manipulateurs performing. I got the feeling that Endemol would rather have been making a documentary about something else instead. And where did they find such miserable buggers to follow around? They cheered up nicely once they saw the show, but they didn't look like a cross-section of London to me.
The Money Program was covering music downloading. Pretty poor coverage, to be honest. The idea that the major labels might not be the examplars of rectitude was barely touched on, and neither would you learn that there other paid downloads sites besides iTunes (or, indeed, before iTunes). Not impressed.
The Money Program was covering music downloading. Pretty poor coverage, to be honest. The idea that the major labels might not be the examplars of rectitude was barely touched on, and neither would you learn that there other paid downloads sites besides iTunes (or, indeed, before iTunes). Not impressed.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-19 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-19 08:05 pm (UTC)I thought they were playing one particular angle too much. There was a brief mention of Royal de Luxe as a performing company, and that they were French, but nothing about Jules Verne, for instance - it was commissioned for the centenary of his death, which is why it had the fantastical air about it - and they didn't show the single funniest bit of the weekend, the Sultan's speech in Trafalgar Square. They had a bit of Dave Lambie speaking, which is fair enough, but as with the rest of it they got as close to ignoring the actual performance as they could.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-19 08:19 pm (UTC)Maybe it's because I wasn't there, but as a non attendee it was very clear that it was a french production, why it was there etc. Just watching those snippets it came across very clearly how magical this whole event was.
I would have loved to have been there
no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 01:36 am (UTC)It would have been nice, I think, if it had been more specifically about the company's performance and what it was they were doing. I don't remember there being anything at all in the program about what it was they were trying to do.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 12:47 pm (UTC)"Exemplars of Recitude". I may have to advocate somebody starting a band called that. They'd probably be a bit like Undeclinable Ambuscade.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-20 01:01 pm (UTC)Pyro didn't know anything about it so was suitably impressed with the performance footage. Bloody amazing I say. We looked for you and guessed you'd be one of the yellow-shirted brigade (although Pyro initially speculated you'd be more at home in a red frock-coat).
The first 45 minutes (or so it seemed) of dull Londoners bemoaning what an anti-social society it is was pretty dull. Where did they find them? How dim do you have to be to get on film? What we really need is a 'proper' documentary about how the models were constructed and operated, more about the rationale behind the performance and also about the company, let alone the ergonomics of getting everythingb in place and persuading the council to dig uyp the car park for them : ) Know any obliging film-makers?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-21 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 03:48 pm (UTC)