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Whiplash

bmgc89

bmgc89

New Member
Last night, the lady and I went to the independent theater and watched Whiplash. Wow what a great watch, a must watch for jazz lovers or music lovers in general (which I'm sure a few of us here are). Have any of you seen it, what are your thoughts?
 
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Have to put that on my watch list.

Frankly, I get Whiplash every time I go to the theater lately. They're doing crazy things with Dolby and THX now ... <G>
 
Cadillac Kid said:
Just watched it On Demand. Now I need to get out those Buddy Rich vs. Gene Krupa Drum Battle records.
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By all means, get out those Buddy and Gene records!

But I put up a thread on this movie several days ago, where I came down hard on it. I did see previews, with sound, and saw I quite a bit of it through the seats on a plane without the sound. But I have not seen the movie from beginning to end. I was accused of prejudging, but I felt I saw enough of the film to see that it looked like a joke, regarding anything to do with musicians learning music.


If you enjoyed the movie - that's great. Movies don't have to be accurate portrayals of anything. I would just say, that in that this is a music forum, and there are alot of people new to jazz, and even a lot of musicians out there who are new to the music, this film does not foster a true understanding of the music , or how it is learned and created. Or - how anyone goes about learning or creating ANY music.
 
I loved it. The soundtrack is also good to listen to. I don't care if it is an accurate portrayal of anything. It was just a damn good movie and acting. Miles Teller grew up less than an hour from me and learned to drum for the movie. All the hard parts were actually done by the other geek in the band that could not play without reading the music.
 
Check out drummer Peter Erskine's remarks on the movie...

http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/drummer-peter-erskine-on-whiplash-film.html

From the interview...

Question: What impression of jazz studies do you think the general public will come away with from watching the film?

Erskine: I'm disappointed that any viewer of the film will not see the joy of music-making that's almost always a part of large-ensemble rehearsals and performances. Musicians make music because they LOVE music. None of that is really apparent in the film, in my opinion.

Also, the misrepresentation of the Jo Jones throwing the cymbal at Charlie Parker's feet anecdote may well lead people to thinking that Jo Jones did indeed, as JK Simmons' character avers, try to decapitate Charlie Parker at that epochal jam session in Kansas City where a very real Charlie Parker attempted to play some of his double-time / new harmony improvisation and more or less flubbed it. Papa Jo eventually tossed a cymbal towards Charlie Parker's young feet in a "gonging" motion to get him off the bandstand. Jazz masters could be tough, but the movie gets that story all wrong.


There's more if you care to check out the link...


It just seems a shame to me, that supposed jazz lovers are content to go along with such a gross misrepresentation of the music.

As for the music, I gave it a bit of a listen on youtube. A couple of nice charts, the band is tight. But who ARE the musicians playing these charts? Anybody find that out? I haven't been able to. Maybe somebody will come forward with that. (I'm not talking about the composers.) IMO, they all did the music they supposedly love a disservice, by allowing themselves to be used to portray it in such a manner.
 
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Mr. Fletcher reminded me of my High School band teacher. He would yell and berate students, even slapped my friend for forgetting his music while practicing for a HS half-time show.

Despite the low budget and tattered uniforms the band would consistently win State competitions.
 
slow_jazz said:
J.K. Simmons won the Oscar for it.

Very good movie.... Killer music.
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Surprised I have not seen it yet as a Jazz Aficionado and a fan of Mr. Simmons. I've liked his acting since he was in the HBO series "Oz".

Will call it up on demand this weekend. Thanks for the tread, OP.
 
Four stars. Unfortunately the soundtrack album is said not to add much over what is in the film. Highly recommended movie.
 
Also: if someone wants to test my ability to play a tempo: give me 4 beats, not just two -- YOU don't even know the tempo with that kind of a count-off, Mr. Band Director.
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LOL. I haven't seen the movie. Is there really a scene where the band conductor counts the band in with two beats?
 
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Hyfi said:
All the hard parts were actually done by the other geek in the band that could not play without reading the music.
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First of all, what is this "geek" stuff? :thumbsdn: Since when are jazz musicians even referred to as geeks?

Secondly, while good technique is necessary to play music, I think the audience will come away from this movie with the wrong idea about the importance of technique. Playing music is not supposed to be about how many push-ups you can do. Often the best technique, is the one that masks it.
 
jgannon said:
First of all, what is this "geek" stuff? :thumbsdn: Since when are jazz musicians even referred to as geeks?

Secondly, while good technique is necessary to play music, I think the audience will come away from this movie with the wrong idea about the importance of technique. Playing music is not supposed to be about how many push-ups you can do. Often the best technique, is the one that masks it.
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You don't seem to be able to separate the movie from your own music experience. I don't think the audience is looking for drum instructions
 
parman said:
You don't seem to be able to separate the movie from your own music experience. I don't think the audience is looking for drum instructions
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No, it's not that. It's a matter of people being culturally and artistically aware. This movie is a cross between the ridiculous cooking competitions on cable and "Full Metal Jacket".
 
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I think I'll watch it but as a Jazz major in college, I have to say that from what I've seen preview wise it will not be an accurate representation of what happens in jazz education. I'm not saying there aren't cases of abuse in varying degrees(I thought the guy in Chops was mildy abusive but that had more to do with the school system than anything), however Simmons character would end up fired and probably in jail.

I happen to know more than a few Jazz educators are ticked off about it and not in a defensive way. Those guys work hard.
 
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