Haack: The King of Techno

Starring:Bruce Haack, Esther Nelson, Ted Pandel, Chris Kachulis, Chris Albertson, Harry Spiridakis, John Spiridakis, Peter Cor, Greg Carripedes, Andi Toma, Jan St. Werner, Rossie Harris, Tommy Grenas, Craig Borell, Tim Digulla, David Gardner, Mark Everett (III), Money Mark, Garry Moore, Fred Rogers
Director: Philip Anagnos
Studio: KOCH VISION
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

A Unique Gift
Haack... the film
[...]
Genius
Haack's the man

Haack: The King of Techno
Starring: Bruce Haack , Esther Nelson , Ted Pandel , Chris Kachulis , and Chris Albertson
Director: Philip Anagnos
Manufacturer: KOCH VISION
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music
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Modulations: Cinema for the Ear

ASIN: B0007L86HG
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Customer Reviews:

A Unique Gift.......2007-06-08

The DVD came on time and in perfect condition. It was a decent price too. As far as the movie itself, I gave it as a gift. It wasn't the best documentary but it was a very unique gift and he appreciated the sentiment behind it.

Haack... the film.......2005-11-26

"Haack: The King Of Techno" directed by Philip Anagnos, is another one for the music documentary buffs...

Electronic music pioneer, Bruce Haack, wrote much of his music for children, but the influence of his unconventional, psychedelic sounds can be heard today in everyone from Beck to Money Mark. Aside from his children's albums, he invented and built his own electronic musical instruments, including the "Dermatron", a musical instrument that was controlled by two people completing an electrical current by making physical contact. He also appeared on various TV and radio shows including Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. As well, in the 80s, he caught the attention of Russell Simmons, who worked with him on a rap project.

If ever there was a moment when I thought the filmmaker and the subject matter couldn't be more perfectly matched, it would be now... Equally unconventional is the film's editing, the animation, and the quirky and psychedelic interview backgrounds, which, for any other subject would have driven me nuts, but for a film about Bruce Haack, was perfect. If you're renting or picking this one up, don't look for a chronology of Bruce's life. Instead, expect a mix of psychedelic animation, family photos, assorted friend and band interviews about Bruce's life and influence, and delightful black and white clips of Haack appearing on old Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episodes. The film is informative, just not in the conventional way.

Oh, and as an added bonus for the Tipsy fans out there (myself included), there's a somewhat rare interview with the guys.

[...].......2005-09-18

LEt me start off by saying that I love Bruce Haack's work. His "Electronic Lucifer Book 2" is a personal favorite. Spacey, psychedelic, very strange...it's great. The director of this documentary did NOTHING to capture that spirit in this film. Not only did he talk to a bunch of hack musicians, but is himself a hack. Rather than trying to create his own footage to compensate for the lack of existing film of Mr. Haack, the director uses what appears to be clip art moving around to the beat of the music. I felt like I was 13 again, watching the Megadeth laser light show at the planetarium. It's just that cheesy. I understand that there was trouble securing the rights to old footage, but at least be creative with your limitations!

Further, there is no explanation on how these gadgets worked. The director could easily have had an interviewee explain the workings of the instruments, with cuts to drawings, diagrams, animations, performances, etc. Nope. Nada. It was pitiful. I've seen the Moog doc, the Theramin doc, and several other docs on obscure musicians and this is by far the worst. DO NOT BUY!

Genius.......2005-06-03

A facinating hour or so long documentary about electronic music composer Bruce Haack.

What's there is well paced and very cool. I guess their big problem was rarity of Haack footage and there is mention within the film of some sort or rights difficulties and people not talking which I'm sure hampered them (unless that was just an issue in the Tribute album, it's not clear). I'd say there's a little too much emphasis on the Bruce Haack tribute album - though I guess it provides a ready source of ready to use soundbytes.

Perhaps somewhat of an unfortunate a title too. It reminds me about those ad campaigns saying things like "Jean Michel Jarre, the father of Techno" or "Wendy Carlos is THE synthesizer" or whatever nonsense. Minor point of course since the material is well paced and solid.

There's only some short mention in the actual film about technology - something I'm sure frustrates hardcore synthesizer buffs. How innovative was his predominantly self-designed technology? How did it operate? You get plentiful teasers that it indeed was very special but no examinations of it all. Though in the extras section there's a very solid audio-only interview about Electronic music and technology along with some wild Mister Rogers TV footage of it in action.

Haack's the man.......2005-05-13

I wasn't too familiar with Bruce Haack before I saw this movie. It caught my eye because I love music of all kinds, I grew up in the 70's and I was intrigued by the great cover art.
The film did not disappoint. It's colorful, playful and sometimes a little mysterious which is what Bruce Haack seemed to be all at one time. The film captured how innovative and subtle his music was and really seemed to get to the heart of what this strange person was really about.
Check out this film and check out his music. You're in for a good time.

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