Music and documentary films. A dialogue between Errol Morris and Philip Glass: The Thin Blue Line (1988)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/Fotocinema.2020.vi21.10013Keywords:
Music and Documentary Films, Reenactments, Minimalism, InterdisciplinarityAbstract
The Thin Blue Line is one of the key works on Errol Morris’ filmography. This documentary achieved the uncover of Randall Adams’ innocence, who had been charged of police officer murder in 1976. Nevertheless, studies on this film hasn’t focused yet on its music, composed by Philip Glass: it plays a major role as a constructor of Adams’ innocence, as well as it takes part in revealing corruption of U.S. justice. Reenactments used by Errol Morris and music by Glass dialogue along the documentary, in an ironical way as well as through repetition. Starting from documentary film essays as those published by Bill Nichols (2013, 2016) or Jonathan Kahana (2016), and those concerning musicology as well as music in documentary film like Holly Rogers (2016) or Tristan Evans (2015), this article aims to stablish bounds between Morris and Glass’ creative methods: through a dialogue between reenactments and musical minimalism’s hypothesis they achieve to prove Randall Adams’ innocence.
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