I Dream Of Wires (The Modular Documentary) Review

We knew that I Dream Of Wires, the upcoming documentary on modular synthesis, was going to be a must-see for synthesists, just based on the variety of synthesists interviewed for the film.

But, based on an early review of the film, I Dream Of Wires is more than just a collection of great interviews – it’s a great film:

Having just finished watching an advance copy of the utterly breathtaking 4 hour “Hardcore version” of the documentary I Dream of Wires (IDOW) one cannot help but be caught up with the sheer love and passion that flows throughout this film, and be enraptured by this eccentric and obsessive subculture. The film outlines the history of synthesis and electronic music and takes us on a journey from the pioneering work of Moog and Buchla to rise of digital synths and the near-death of monster modular systems. Then onto the movement away from laptops and software and the phenomenal global resurgence of modular systems that we have today.

Films with this high level of craft and quality and care are increasingly rare. Films that draw you in with their passion and subject matter rarer still.

See Sunil Solanki’s full review of I Dream Of Wires at the Waveformless site.

See the IDreamOfWires site for more information on the film.

23 thoughts on “I Dream Of Wires (The Modular Documentary) Review”

    1. Try making your own documentary and see how long it takes to do it. I personally have been making my own doc for three years now. And probably still have another 6 months of productive filming to do BEFORE it goes into the editing bay.

      This is not just a documentary, it’s a labor of love that one person dared to dream.

      1. Huh? What’s wrong? I know that MY copy has already been sent, and so do 2,000 of people who paid for theirs. If you haven’t ordered it, okay then, but then there is no need to leave comments about how long this movie been coming out and how it will never be released!

        I know it’s Internet and everybody has their right to complain about anything, but bitching about release of a film that was just released is beyond pointless. I for one know that I will have my copy on hands in days.

  5. I know they will send the DVD, the question is will the U.S. Postal Service loose it? Like they seemed to have done with my Corsynth 104 oscillator.

    I can’t understand why they are having fiscal troubles at the USPS…

    1. Because the effing a-holes in the GOP forced them to pre fund their retirement health plan for 10 years at a cost of 50 billion dollars in an attempt to cripple the USPS in favor of private companies like FedEx.

      That’s why….

  6. I ordered the hardcore edition on blu-ray, knowing that when it finally arrives I’ll have to finally buy a blu-ray player. It was a way to trick myself into buying new technology.

    1. Hi,

      As far as how long this film has been in production… Director Robert started it on his own approx 3 years ago. I came on board as producer about 2 years ago, and that’s when production really started to ramp up. We started taking pre-orders late-2011… We have 2 versions:

      1. The “Hardcore Edition”, which is the limited edition 4-hour cut, that was available to purchase as a pre-order-only DVD/BluRay from late-2011 until April 30 2013). These pre-order purchases funded the entire production of the film. It is shipping to pre-order customers now. It’s no longer available to purchase. See the latest shipping update below.

      2. The theatrical cut… completed, and set to be widely released (selected theaters, iTunes, Netfix, etc), although currently the release date is TBD. Likely November at the earliest, possibly early 2014.

      thanks

      Jason

      SHIPPING UPDATE for Hardcore Edition / module / shirt pre-order customers:

      Hi… I know a lot of you are watching your mailboxes for your IDOW shipment, so I wanted to explain what is happening. We shipped out some, but the Canada Post shipping costs were killing us, so we’ve opted for a service that will ship our goods out via USPS. I’ve got a truck scheduled to come pick up the motherload early next week, drive it all down to the US and ship from there. Based on this, it looks like the vast majority of orders will be received mid-August for North American orders, late-August for International orders. I hope that this post doesn’t lead to an outcry of it being a “delay,” because it is still in line with our Shipping Update post (see link below). OK, back to the grind…

      http://idreamofwires.org/shippingupdate

      2. My home address has changed since I preordered this many months ago (I think it’s been more than a year actually). I have emailed IDOW twice to ask them to update my address but have never received any reply. I really don’t want to have waited all this time for the movie to ship and then have it shipped to my old apartment. Any suggestions?

        1. I don’t know what email address you contacted but I respond to all emails about change of address that are sent to info [at] idreamofwires [dot] org. Though in all likelihood it has already been sent.

  7. I was at the event where they filmed the modular concert footage at Mutek in Montreal.

    The Keith Fullerton Whitman set was one of the most wonderful and purists examples of electronic music i’ve ever witnessed in my life. (and i’ve seen a lot of stuff)

    j

    0=0

  8. I just got my copy of IDOW:HE a couple of days ago, and I frikkin loved it!!! Now I’m seriously GASing for a modular, and this while I’m trying to figure out how to DOWNSIZE so I can live on the road. Oh, the irony!

    But seriously, kudos to the crew of this film. The dedication behind it is immediately evident.

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