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Call#: Van Pelt Library F869.H74 F75 1986
Account of choosing Rite of Spring for Fantasia (35-6) cited in Nicholas Cook's Analyzing Multimedia (174).
A social and cultural history of Hollywood in the 1940s framed as its great height followed by decline and fall. Each chapter focuses on one year, reporting political and economic conditions as backdrop for behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Relevant to my concerns is the second chapter, “Ingatherings (1940),” which discusses the influx of European artists to LA which resulted from Hitler’s rise to power. The chapter’s most extensive music-related anecdotes concern Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, the making of Fantasia and Dimitri Tiomkin. The author is skeptical of the veracity of insiders’ reports, viewing Hollywood as a fantasy world, an imaginary city. This circumspection applies to the composers’ stories; however, while occasionally conflicting accounts of the same events are considered, the overall picture is presented as accurate. Movie produces had specific ideas about what kind of music they wanted in their films, and treated major composers and full-time studio composers alike as hired servants. At the same time, the concentration of classical musicians in Hollywood fostered encounters and collaborations among them, prompting (non-film) compositions and recordings which otherwise might not have been produced.
tagged classical_Hollywood disney fantasia stokowski by dkelly ...on 16-MAY-06
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1999.W27 D57 1994
The article by Moya Luckett, "Fantasia: Cultural Constructions of Disney's "Masterpiece," focuses on the reception of Fantasia primarily upon its initial release (1940-1) but also upon its rereleases in 1954 and 1991. Luckett adopts the approach to reception studies explicated by Janet Staiger in Interpreting Films; rather than interpreting Fantasia she "attempt[s] a historical explanation of the event of interpreting a text." Luckett examines publicity and reviews in order to ascertain what audience expectations might have been and what readings of Fantasia were in circulation. Disney positioned Fantasia as a work of high culture by presenting it as a roadshow and referring to it as a concert rather than a film. Negative critical reaction tended to come from music critics and to focus on the incompatibility of film and classical music, the former being properly experienced in a mode of distraction, the latter in one of contemplation. Luckett's interpretation is convincing; her article also provides many quotes from reviews and Disney's own publicity with relevant citations, making it useful for anyone wishing to pursue a different interpretation of the reception of Fantasia.
Also of interest is the suggestion that some of the Silly Symphonies of the early 1930s blur boundaries between humans and animals, mechanical and organic, living and inanimate objects, master and slave, labor and play, and that such blurring had a utopian appeal. The role of sound in this blurring might prove a productive line of inquiry.
tagged disney frankfurt_school psychoanalysis by dkelly ...on 28-APR-06
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1999.W27 A44 1999
Regarding Fantasia, observes that presenting American audiences with music of European origin poses certain challenges and inspires certain animation styles. Otherwises discusses Fantasia's art and animation, in light of European influences, exclusively.
tagged classical_music_in_movies disney fantasia stokowski by dkelly ...on 16-APR-06
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1997.F3317 C8 1999
According to Robin Allan (Walt Disney and Europe), Culhane's book has the most comprehensive account of the effect of Fantasia on cinema-goers unfamiliar with Classical music.
tagged disney fantasia by dkelly ...and 2 other people ...on 17-MAR-06
Call#: Van Pelt Library NC1766.U5 B37 1999
Chapter 6, Disney 1938-1941, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Pinocchio and Fantasia. Barrier sees a shift in the Disney studio's focus during this period from character animation, evident in the earlier Snow White, to effects animation, epitomized by Fantasia in which Disney wished to avoid stories all together.
tagged disney fantasia by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 17-MAR-06