Writing

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Obituary: Vangelis

(18th May 2022)

Working on the final stages of Blade Runner’s soundtrack, Vangelis noted that ‘My score is not on paper, but on tape’. Supposedly unable to either read or write music, the composer utilised his instinctive mindset to compose the dystopian sounds of Ridley Scott’s cult classic. The Yamaha CS-80, the synthesiser which he made his own, produced alien sounds that evoked pathos and tragedy capable of creating narrative meaning both with and without dialogue. Rutger Hauer’s improvised final speech at the film’s conclusion was made yet more poignant through Vangelis’ ethereal music, which was resurrected and adapted by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer in the similarly emotional closing scene of Blade Runner 2049.

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Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

(26th April 2022)

It was inevitable. During a career that has spanned over four decades, his face has frequently adorned the front covers of GQ, Esquire, and Time. Those features have been a mainstay of the meme world for years. Annoyed at a talkative colleague? Send em’ the ‘You Don’t Say’ meme, the ultimate expression of sarcastic interest. Feeling zen, calm and controlled? Just take a look at the Con Air meme, where a long-maned Cage basks in the sunset of a successful day. It was only a matter of time until a few of these multi-layered faces received their own movie, with Cage front and centre.

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Review: House of Gucci

(2nd December 2021)

As Lady Gaga’s voice purrs over palatial abodes and Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams belts out to dramatic images of shouting and spoon-tapping, House of Gucci’s trailers suggest melodrama that is largely absent in the film’s wider narrative. Scott begins with Patrizia’s courtship as she pursues the bookish Gucci through a night club and library, coyly drawing a heart on his motorbike visor before he drives away. Despite protests about his bride-to-be from unimpressed father Rodolfo (a morose Jeremy Irons), Maurizio separates himself from his family and his inheritance and marries the woman of his dreams. Holy wedding chords are heard during the couple’s first impromptu moments of intimacy, while the actual lavish nuptial takes place to the tune of the sounds of anarchic rock; subversive music already forebodes the relationship’s ill-fated destiny.

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Drive 10th Anniversary Piece

A twitter post by TAKE ONE about my piece on Drive and its relation to the Western in celebration of the film’s tenth anniversary. This was one of the first films reviewed on the website. My article can also be found on the TAKE ONE website itself.