Checking Off My ‘Cool List’

I finally got to watch the music documentary Rise of the Synths, something I’d been wanting to see for several years.

It’s definitely got great production value and if you’re not up to your neck in the genre, you’ll get some interesting insights. John Carpenter narrates the feature length exploration of a music scene dedicated to an idea of a decade that didn’t really exist, and gives it a little more gravitas for his input. The interviews are bridged by scenes featuring the mysterious Synthrider character, time travelling to pivotal time periods in his DMC DeLorean which adds much needed flair to what would otherwise be an hour and a half of talking heads.

I have a lot of love for this particular music style, it brings back memories of movies, pop-culture and video games that were a big part of my formative years. Overall the documentary is an enjoyable presentation but from my perspective it’s celebrating something I’m already very well acquainted with, but for someone just discovering the neon lit world of Synthwave, it’s a perfect introduction to get you excited.

An additional highlight is the killer original soundtrack provided by OGRE, definitely worth a listen and a great synth-laden ambient background for a work day.

From something 80’s flavoured to a distinctly 90’s product, I also grabbed the documentary Millennium after the Millennium. I was a big fan of the show when it aired and often recommended it to friends as,

‘The closest you’ll ever get to the movie SE7EN on network television.’

Of course this was in the pre-streaming, pre-blockbuster television era so X-Files and Millennium were as good as it got.

Dark, sometimes nihilistic and richly shot, the documentary comes to celebrate the Chris Carter creation and has interviews with Lance Henriksen. It’s long and primarily consists of talking head style interviews, so it’s not a quick dip in watch, but worth it even if you only have a passing interest in the show.

Finally I stumbled across another film making documentary that was a pleasant surprise, Life After Flash, produced in 2017, details the production of the 1980 sci-fi classic along with the ongoing life of lead actor, Sam Jones. It’s an quality breakdown, rich with interesting anecdotes and interviews that don’t just scrape the surface. Brian Blessed is a total highlight and worth watching the documentary for on his merits alone.