Great World of Sound

Director: Craig Zobel Craig Zobel

Overview

Filmmaker Craig Zobel explores the shortcuts that some folks are willing to take to become famous while simultaneously exposing the unscrupulous manner in which others take advantage of these desperate souls with this story of two men who set out to train as record producers. Excited about the prospect of helping to sign undiscovered artists, Martin (Pat Healy) answers an ad to train as a record producer. Over the course of his apprenticeship, Martin is paired with like-minded trainee Clarence (Kene Holliday) -- a middle-aged man seeking out a new career path. Upon graduating from the program, Martin and Clarence are assigned the task of traveling to towns where the company has placed newspaper ads searching for untapped talent. For a fee, these emerging talents can have their music heard by an increasingly larger audience. Though at first everything seems to be going great with their new jobs, a few unsettling developments soon lead Martin and Clarence to suspect that the company may not always have the artists' best interests in mind.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/05/2008
UPC:	0876964001052
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	R
Source:	Magnolia Home Ent
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:47:00
Sales rank:	57,082

Special Features

Closed Caption; Additional scenes; Deleted scenes; Commentary

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Pat Healy	Martin
Kene Holliday	Clarence
Robert Longstreet	Layton
Rebecca Mader	Pam
John Baker	Shank
Tricia Paoluccio	Gloria
David Wingo	Composer

Technical Credits

Craig Zobel

George Smith

Craig Zobel	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
George Smith	Screenwriter
Melissa Palmer	Producer
Richard A. Wright	Producer
David Gordon Green	Producer
Mike Chapman	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Daniela Taplin-Lundberg	Executive Producer
Tonya Shuffler	Casting
Susan Shopmaker	Casting
Erica Palgon	Casting
Chris Gebert	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Great World of Sound
1. Travelin' Man [7:05]
2. The Seminar [10:40]
3. Critiquing the Talent [8:08]
4. Sales Pitch [5:26]
5. Road Trip [5:40]
6. Do We Have a Deal? [5:20]
7. More Interviews [5:03]
8. It's About Us [4:45]
9. On the Road Again [4:50]
10. Certain Doubts [8:22]
11. Just a Job [5:08]
12. Incentive Program [6:09]
13. Stranded [8:51]
14. Open Opportunity [5:39]
15. I Just Want You to Be Happy [7:56]
16. End Credits [3:18]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Great World of Sound
   Play Movie
   Set Up
      Audio: English 5.1
      Audio: English 2.0
      Subtitles: Spanish - On
      Subtitles: Spanish - Off
   Scenes Selection
   Special Features
      Commentary With: Craig Zobel (Producer/Co-Writer/Director) Richard Wright (Producer/Production Designer) Melissa Palmer (Producer) Adam Stone (Cinematographer) Elizabeth Steinfels (Costume Designer/Art Director
      Additional Scenes
         Layton's Assistant Reviews Their Progress
         Claude
         Mindy Performs
         Metal Takes Time
         Black Superhero
         Snagglepus Performs
         Sixxx & Dee Dee Licorish
         Ramblin' Bill & Guitar Garrett Perform "The Ballad of Sumo & The Eggs"
         Missy
         The Schredder
         Bigga Bigga
         Dale & The Electronic Washboard
         "Thurston Moore"
         Play All
      Deleted Scenes
         Have You Unpacked a Binder Clip Maybe?
         Bill's Audition (Scripted Office Audition Scene)
         Peachy's Audition (Scripted Birmingham Audition Scene)
         After Work in Birmingham
         Walter & Martin After the Sales Meeting
         Play All

Editorial Reviews

Great World of Sound is a soulful and shattering tragicomedy about the drive to succeed, belong, and find a calling as an artist and as an individual in society. The two main characters, Martin (Pat Healy) and Clarence (Kene Holliday), are unwitting participants in a "song sharking" scam. In depressed Southern cities like Birmingham, they audition aspiring musicians, who are then required to make a down payment as part of their "record contract" with a company called the Great World of Sound. The film is not really about a hunger for American Idol-style fame, as the musicians are so poor and struggling that they would like any meager recognition for their artistry. Director Craig Zobel used actual local musicians, and the scenes where they are auditioned and pitched by Martin and Clarence were mostly shot undercover with two-way mirrors. (The musicians were all briefed on the filming afterward.) This gives the central subject matter an authenticity and poignant humor, vividly creating the depressed and beaten-up Southeastern milieu of the characters. Martin and Clarence are participants in the scam while also being victims of larger societal constructs. Martin, a shy and rudderless young husband, is attracted to a job that seems to offer direction and meaning. Clarence, a gregarious but shunted poor black man, sees an opportunity to make money and move ahead. As the dry comedy of the first portion gives way to the disaster at its closing, Healy's and Holliday's performances vibrate powerfully with their characters' thwarted ambitions, reaching heart-rending levels when the realization of the moral comprises they've made begins to tear them apart. There is one major plot contrivance, in that it takes way too long for Martin and Clarence to figure out the scam, but the emotional arc is so convincing one may not notice. Great World of Sound was featured at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the SXSW Film Festival, and the 36th New Directors/New Films showcase.

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