Indie Street Watches #4 • 05/18/10
MELLODRAMA: THE MELLOTRON MOVIE
BAZILLION POINTS
This fascinating, albeit stylistically very PBS-friendly, documentary revolves around the history of the Mellotron and Chamberlin musical instruments. I first heard about this film in Tape Op Magazine (one of the only magazines worth subscribing to, in my humble opinion) and was stoked to be able to review it. Overall, I don’t think you need to be a technical Tape Op dude to enjoy this movie, as much of the interest stems from the constant conflict and yes, drama, that ensues between the competitors throughout the years. Being of a musical background does help one, however, truly appreciate the innovation brought on while witnessing the primitive ideas of sampling taking place in the late 1940s. Following the time line through today, it is interesting to also bear witness to the conflicts in analog/digital interfaces in replicating or utilizing these distinct sounds once incorporated with modern trends in music. As a documentary, Mellodrama succeeds. Though very “talking-head” oriented, one assumes that much of this stems from expensive licensing issues with the music and/or stock footage from the time. For an independent film, though, one must applaud filmmaker Dianna Dilworth for her diligence in researching and interviewing the right people to give a complete sense of this pivotal, if not slightly obscure, historical instrument. Recommended.
