The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #31817   Message #471956
Posted By: Desert Dancer
28-May-01 - 07:53 PM
Thread Name: BS: Anyone seen 'Songcatcher'?
Subject: RE: BS: Anyone seen 'Songcatcher'?
I finally got around to reading last week's Sunday New York Times which lists a July release date for Songcatcher. There's lengthy (publicity) info about it and its soundtrack here, of which this is the opening text:

"Set off on an exhilarating adventure across a part of America still rarely seen, deep into the raw and rambling, high-mountain roots of rock, bluegrass, folk and country music. This is the terrain of SONGCATCHER, a different kind of movie about music: part love story, part archive of America's most secret musical legacies. Academy Award-nominee and Tony Award and Golden Globe-winner JANET MCTEER stars as turn-of-the-century musicologist Dr. Lily Penleric, an unlikely heroine whose earthy, unstoppable drive leads her to musical, personal and romantic discoveries as she uncovers remarkable songs, dances and beats of the heart in the Appalachian mountains.

Apparently the screenwriter was inspired by Olive Dame Campbell (founder of the John C. Campbell Folk School - see this thread - but the writer felt it might be nice to correct history and get her credit for her work (without having to rely on Cecil Sharp) and also give her a recording machine.

Sheila Kay Adams and Hazel Dickens were consultants for the music (and Dickens is on the soundtrack).

Looks ambitious, though maybe not up to its potential. A review is here. Can't hurt in to spreading the good word, though...

~ Becky in Tucson