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MOVIES / ON DVD / GREAT WORLD OF SOUND
Great World of Sound

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Great World of Sound (2007)

82%
82%
100%
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82 %
Reviews Counted: 39 Fresh: 32  Rotten:7 Average Rating: 6.9/10
 
Consensus: The Great World Of Sound is a charming and unassuming film, thanks to breakthrough performances from Pat Healy and Kene Holiday.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Theatrical Release: Sep 14, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: In today's American Idol culture, the road to success and fame is paved with deceit and manufactured talent. The Great World of Sound astutely addresses the growing trend of people looking for a shortcut to fame, as well as examines the people who promise such an easy path. The story follows... In today's American Idol culture, the road to success and fame is paved with deceit and manufactured talent. The Great World of Sound astutely addresses the growing trend of people looking for a shortcut to fame, as well as examines the people who promise such an easy path.

The story follows Martin, who answers an ad from a company training prospective "music producers." During training, he pairs up with Clarence, a middle-aged man trying to change his career path. As record producers, the two travel to towns where the company has placed newspaper ads to find undiscovered musicians. They're seeking talent for the record label, signing new artists and giving them a chance to let their music be heard…for a small fee. It's going great until cracks start appearing in the company's sheen, and Martin and Clarence begin to question whether the company is as virtuous as it claims to be.

Pat Healy fully inhabits Martin, using the depths of his talent to channel a contemporary Willy Loman. When paired with the equally impressive Kene Holliday, the two form an unlikely duo with an uncanny chemistry. Director Craig Zobel seamlessly incorporates footage of real people into his painfully authentic story of achieving wealth and success by exploiting the hopes of others. With humor and pathos, The Great World of Sound critiques the dark side of the American Dream.
--© Sundance Film Festival [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Pat Healy, Kene Holliday

Director: Craig Zobel
Screenwriter: Craig Zobel, George Smith
Producer: Craig Zobel, Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard A. Wright
Composer: David Wingo

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 5, 2008

[DVD Details]

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Reviews

 
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Full Review | comment Comment
07/17/08
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
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3.5/4

Great World of Sound is a corrosive antidote to "American Idol."

Full Review | comment Comment
02/09/08
Christian Toto
Washington Times
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/14/08
Newsday
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N/A

The film's agenda becomes clear so early that the middle hour or so seems to be marking time until we get to the end.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/11/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
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N/A

Zobel ultimately comes down on the side of the suckers, whose need to make music -- even bad music -- gives them an unimpeachable dignity

Full Review | comment Comment
01/11/08
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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3/4

A confident, sure-handed exercise focusing on the American Dream, turned nightmare.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/26/07
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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2.5/4

It's evident early on that this is a scam, though the extent of the movie's con is surprising.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/21/07
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly
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3/4

Displays all the trademarks of a true indie effort, especially in its refusal to sentimentalize either the characters or their situations.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/17/07
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
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N/A

Everybody's got a song to sing, and we'll all believe exactly what we want for just as long as we can.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/17/07
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly
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2/4

Anyone who has enjoyed laughing at the bad singers auditioning on American Idol, consider the independent film Great World of Sound your penance.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/12/07
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
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N/A

The pros and cons of the film are in direct proportion to the personalities of the two main characters, whose relationship is the story's anchor.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/12/07
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
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2.5/4

Director Craig Zobel and co-writer George Smith imbue our two misfits with plenty of character depth and an intriguing camaraderie.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/11/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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4/6

If there’s justice it should move plenty of viewers—those aching to see a recognizable conscience behind our fashionable American idolatry.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/06/07
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York
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3/4

The laughs flow.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/06/07
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
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3/4

A quiet, clever and sometimes moving film about an unusual grifting lifestyle.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/05/07
Ted Fry
Seattle Times
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B

Great World of Sound exposes the scams of so-called talent scouts who fleece gullible songwriters answering their misleading advertisements.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/04/07
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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A-

"Great World of Sound" is a sleeper independent film destined to become an underground classic.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/29/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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3/4

Funny, often cringe-inducing and, at heart, a real moral drama, Great World has a lot to say about the state of culture, commerce and self-delusion in our celebrity-craving society.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/28/07
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
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3.5/5

...an involving, offbeat and truly unusual American independent film.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/28/07
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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N/A

Zobel’s directorial debut is as bleak a look at working as Miller or Mamet’s efforts, but what’s most striking about this bittersweet drama is its absence of indignant rage.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/27/07
Tim Grierson
L.A. Weekly
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