Didn't You Hear?

I watched this movie recently, and what can I say? I was impressed with the individualism, laughed at how obsessed James (Gary Busey) was with sex, and tried to understand it at the same time! It was a college film, I'm assuming. Not too bad, though, very imaginative and creative. Very early roles for non-actors, at the time (Dennis Christopher, Gary Busey) Originally shot in 1970. Check it out, if you're lucky enough to know someone who owns this out-of-print movie! It's a pretty wild and crazy ride into the fantasy world! If you're not a movie buff, you probably don't need to waste your time trying to find this movie! Trust me, it's hard-to-find!

I had the fortune to see this film in 1970 or '71, shortly after it was made. I don't remember where I got this information, but I seem to recall being told that it was a University of Washington film student's master thesis. It seemed quite avant-garde at the time, with many quick cuts, low camera angles, tight edits, etcetera. The plot revolved around a young college student who was feeling rather outcast, and involved several non sequiturs.

What really made this film stand out to me was the score. This film claimed to be the first film which was scored entirely electronically. The entire score was performed on early Moog synthesizers, and was very original. Some of the music is quite lyrical, and all of it supports the on-screen action well.

The film was shot on the University of Washington campus, and at various locations in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, as well as on a large sailboat. Although the plot is difficult to follow at times, the cinematography is excellent, I believe.

The film was theatrically released in December of 1970, but may have only played Seattle. The filmmakers were young professional filmmakers based in Seattle. They "four-walled" a local theater, the Rainier Cinema in Columbia City, to launch the premiere engagement. Unfortunately, there was an atypical Seattle snowstorm that kept most patrons away. I drove through the snow to attend, and I think that there were maybe two other people in the entire theater.

The first ten or fifteen minutes were projected without sound, ironic given the film's title. The movie was so experimental that we weren't initially certain if there was supposed to be sound, or not.

There was a soundtrack album released on a very small label, but local stores didn't stock it. You pretty much "had to know someone" in order to acquire a copy of the LP. The score was promoted as being the first film score to be completely composed on a Moog Synthesizer. There was one vocal song, entitled "Didn't You Hear?", that was played once or twice during the film.

Gary Busey and Dennis Christopher went on to bigger things, as did female lead Cheryl Waters, who starred in MACON COUNTY LINE (1974). She acted as recently as 1998.

What a great movie. It has everything you can wish for. A great electronic soundtrack (composed by Mort Garson), lots of swimming, some beautiful girls, actors with interesting faces... It's mostly about a dream Kevin (Dennis Christopher), a scrawny and sullen undergraduate who is taking a geology class, has. In the dream he is the captain of a pirate ship with eight of his university pals and they all go to different islands looking for non-fishy food and girls and freedom. Sometimes it doesn't make too much sense (as is usually the case with dreams) but it doesn't matter because everything is so right, the atmosphere is just perfect. Seems like originally it was finished in 1974 and only released nine years later.

Mort Garson was without a doubt an outstanding composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. But, he didn't sing a lick. That's Tommy Muncrief, formerly of The Beckett Quintet (a garage band from Portales,New Mexico) on lead vocals. They had a single "No Correspondence" on Gemcor Records in the mid-1960s, produced by Nick Venet. The Beckett Quintet played the Sunset Strip scene and they were in the process of recording an album on A & M (to be produced by Herb Albert and Tommy LiPuma) when the draft derailed the band. Tommy Muncrief was also the lyricist on the title track "Didn't You Hear" with Mort Garson composing the music. This is one of those rare instances where the soundtrack is easier to find than the movie itself.