Songs of War: Music as a Weapon

Feb 25, 2010

0h 52m

★ 7.5

Music is a Weapon

Overview

Music elates, touches the soul and bypasses reason. Music is magic. But precisely this magic can turn it into an insidious weapon for music and violence belong together. The brutal power of African war dances, the ferocity of Maori Hakas, the earth-shattering roar of US sound guns blasting Metallica at Taliban hideouts the principle is always the same: Aggressive sounds demoralise the enemy and whip the allies into a frenzy. In Songs of War, director Tristan Chytroschek explores the extraordinary harmony between music and violence. Sesame Street composer, Christopher Cerf, always wanted his music to be fun and entertaining. But then he learned that his songs had been used to torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He is stunned by this abuse of his work and wants to find out how this could happen.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

A&O Buero

ZDF

ARTE

Songs of War: Music as a Weapon Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Presenter

Christopher Cerf

Human Rights Project, Bard College, New York

Thomas Keenan

Former Guard, Guantanamo Bay

Chris Arendt

Psychological Operations Expert, US Army

Herb Friedman

Former Interrogator, US Army

Mike Ritz

Music Psychologist, Université de Montréal

Nathalie Gosselin

Former Detainee, Guantanamo Bay And Bagram

Moazzam Begg

Musicologist, University Of Göttingen

Morag Josephine Grant

Drowning Pool

Mike Luce

Drowning Pool

C.J. Pierce

CEO, HPV Technologies

Vahan Simidian II

On August 8, 1988, the world’s first and largest Satanic rally took place. Ripped from a video featuring Satanist talking about creating a New World Order and killing off the masses. The 8-8-88 ritual was conducted right at the heart of the Satanic Panic. The goal, further exploit and feed upon the energies produced by the fears of the ignorant general public and media. It was shown to a sold-out crowd of degenerates promising them, “A Bitter Message of Hopeless Grief,” “A Nightmare of TERROR!” and “An Evening of Apocalyptic Delight!”

8.0

Earthlings

Sep 24, 2005

Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.

6.7

Full Metal Village

Apr 19, 2007

The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.

7.1

Fahrenheit 9/11

Jun 25, 2004

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

0.0

Coragem

Nov 17, 2016

No overview available.

10.0

You Gave Me A Song: The Life and Music of Alice Gerrard

Apr 7, 2019

You Gave Me A Song offers an intimate portrait of old-time music pioneer Alice Gerrard and her remarkable, unpredictable journey creating and preserving traditional music. The film follows eighty-four year old Gerrard over several years, weaving together verité footage of living room rehearsals, recording sessions, songwriting, archival work, and performances with photos and rare field recordings. Much of the film is told in Alice’s voice and via interviews with musical collaborators and family members who share the story of Alice and others chasing that high lonesome sound.

0.0

Apparition of the Eternal Church

Jan 28, 2006

The movie captures the responses of 31 authors, musicians, filmmakers and dancers to Olivier Messiaen's monumental organ work "Apparition of the Eternal Church." Listening to the 10-minute piece through headphones, the documentary subjects-most of whom are outsiders to the church and do not know what they're hearing-put Messiaen's project to the test: Is it possible to portray, through time-bound, invisible sound, the spiritual, the architectural, the eternal? The result is a collective interpretation improvising its way through an aesthetic landscape defined by violent contradictions. Resolution abuts eternity, eroticism asceticism, spiritual ecstasy physical torture. Together, the music and its interpreters conjure something like what William Blake famously called the marriage of heaven and hell.

6.7

The Last Angel of History

Sep 11, 1996

An examination of the hitherto unexplored relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and rapidly progressing computer technology.

6.8

Shine a Light

Apr 4, 2008

Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.

6.8

Standard Operating Procedure

Feb 12, 2008

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

6.0

Pure Comedy

Jan 24, 2017

Pure Comedy is a black and white document of the live tracking of Pure Comedy, as well as a surreal look into Tillman's writing process. A six person crew, complete with cranes in the tracking rooms, captured every moment of the recording, giving the viewer intimate audience to actual album takes, including the one and only 2:00am performance of the 13-minute "Leaving LA."

7.5

Woodstock

Mar 26, 1970

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

0.0

Abused by Mum: The Ruby Franke Scandal

May 13, 2024

Ruby Franke's rise as a "momfluencer" with millions of followers hid a nightmare; when her son fled and alerted a neighbor about the abuse, police raided her home, rescuing her children.

7.0

If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck

Feb 17, 1978

Legendary documentary of the 1977 package tour arranged by David Robinson and Andrew Jakeman ("Kake Riviera") after they founded Stiff Records in London, England for five of their artists, and the bands that they concocted for the tour.

0.0

I Trollkarlens Hatt

Oct 23, 2015

No overview available.

6.5

Eddie Cochran & Friends: C'mon Everybody

Jan 1, 2004

No overview available.

0.0

Reba: He Gave Me Music

Jan 1, 1983

A short documentary about gospel recording artists Reba Rambo and her husband Dony McGuire, featuring clips of performances of various songs and interviews with the couple.

No Image Available

0.0

Wirklich alles?!

Nov 30, 2002

No overview available.

8.0

Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Here to Make Music

Jan 1, 1989

Emmy Award winning documentary, directed by Peter Rosen, about the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, featuring interviews with the contestants and jurists, and footage from rehearsals and performances, including by competition winner Alexei Sultanov.

Songs of War: Music as a Weapon

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Songs of War: Music as a Weapon Trailers