So Wrong They're Right

So Wrong They're Right
Directed byRuss Forster
Produced byRuss Forster
StarringMalcolm Riviera
Abigail Lavine
Tim Hunter
Phil X. Milstein
Doug Von Hoppe
Duane Thamm Jr.
CinematographyDan Sutherland
Edited byRuss Forster
Music byLary 7, Wally Pleasant, Bob Jordan, Mr. Bucks, Duane Thamm Jr.
Release date
  • 1995 (1995)
Running time
92 mins
CountryUnited States

So Wrong They're Right is a 1995 film by Russ Forster. It is about the latter day 8-track scene, the people who are part of it and their passion for the technology.

Background

Film makers Russ Forster and Dan Sutherland travelled to various places in the United States to interview aficionados of what is considered to be an obsolete audio format, the 8-Track tape cartridge.[1][2]

The 8-TM production was Produced, directed, edited, sound-recorded by Russ Forster. Dan Sutherland handled the lighting chores while the sound chores were handled by Jerrell Frederick.[3]

The film won an award for best feature-length documentary at the 1995 Chicago Underground Film Festival.[4]

The film was available in both Betamax and VHS formats for $25 and in PAL format for foreign buyers at $35.[5] It was released on DVD in 2005 by Other Cinema.[6]

Russ Forster was the founder of the magazine, 8-Track Mind[7] as well as one of the founders of the 8-Track Heaven website.[8]

Reception

Dennis Harvey of Variety reviewed the film and it was published on 12 August 1996. After pointing out that the film was about audiophiles who were obsessed with a defunct format, he wrote that it was edited in a lively style, but he suggested that it could be edited down to accommodate its showing in other venues.[9]

The film had a review in volume II of Zines!. The reviewer wrote that it wasn't about nostalgia, but it rather served as a statement of outrage by consumers who were tired of being told what to consume.[10]

The film was reviewed by PopMatters in 2005. Reviewer David Sanjek wrote that director Forster demonstrated the exuberance of a true believer and the film proved to be more entertaining than edifying. He also wrote that the subjects in the film possessed an exuberance that was giddy and parts of the film were outright engaging.[11]

In 2007, Gary Genosko of Culture Machine wrote that the film "may be viewed as a psychoanalytic case study of a neurotic 'cartridge family'".[12]

It was reviewed by 5Mag in 2014, with the reviewer writing, "This film is a treasure, one of the strangest, most bizarre, most fascinating music documentaries ever made".[13]

The film now on DVD was reviewed in XLR8R magazine. It wasn't complementary.[14]

Credits

Cast (selective)

[15]

Crew

  • Producer, Director, Sound Recordist, Editor: Russ Forster
  • Cinematography, Lighting: Dan Sutherland
  • Sound Mix: Jerrell Frederick
  • Soundtrack Music: Lary 7, Wally Pleasant, Bob Jordan, Mr. Bucks, Duane Thamm Jr., Scott Konzelmann

[16][17]

Screenings

According to Underdog magazine, issue XIII (autumn 1995), the showings for the film were 9 September at Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia, San Francisco, CA; 12 September at Paris Theatre, Portland, OR (tentative); 19 September, 8 and 10 pm at Edison Gallery of Moving Images, 916 Commercial Dr, Sep. 19: Vancouver, BC; 21 September at Cuppernicus, Minneapolis, MN (tentative); and 24 September at Delilah's, Chicago, IL.[18]

References

  1. ^ Variety, Aug 12, 1996 - So Wrong They’re Right an 8-Track Journey by Dennis Harvey
  2. ^ Things Magazine, Friday, December 23, 2005 - So Wrong They're Right
  3. ^ Variety, Aug 12, 1996 - So Wrong They’re Right an 8-Track Journey by Dennis Harvey, So Wrong They’re Right an 8-Track Journey (DOCU)
  4. ^ The Chicago Reader, January 16, 2003 - MUSIC, Music, Movies, and a Life Outside the Mainstream, Russ Forster/A Tributary of His Own by Peter Margasak
  5. ^ Zines!, Vol II 1996 - Page 66 8-Track Mind
  6. ^ WorldCat - So wrong they're right : an 8-track trek
  7. ^ Riot Fest, April 22, 2019 - Behind the Zines, Vol. 2: An Interview with Russ Forster - Joshua Amberson
  8. ^ Things Magazine, Friday, December 23, 2005 - So Wrong They're Right
  9. ^ Variety, Aug 12, 1996 - So Wrong They’re Right an 8-Track Journey by Dennis Harvey
  10. ^ Zines!, Vol II 1996 - Pages 78 - 29 So Wrong They're Right, About the Film
  11. ^ Pop Matters, 3 October 2005 - So Wrong They’re Right (1993) – PopMatters Film Review By David Sanjek
  12. ^ Culture Machine, Vol 9 (2007) - Recordings, 8 TRACK RHAPSODY - Gary Genosko
  13. ^ 5Mag, February 28, 2014 - NEWS, When 8 Tracks Were Underground: An Early Shot In The Format Wars
  14. ^ XLR8R, (issue unknown) - ADVENTURES IN STEREO, SO WRONG THEY'RE RIGHT
  15. ^ Imdb - So Wrong They're Right Full cast & crew, Cast
  16. ^ Information File and Frequently Asked Questions List, March 2004 - 9. WHAT ABOUT THAT 8-TRACK MOVIE....?
  17. ^ Zines!, Vol II 1996 - Pages 78 - 29 So Wrong They're Right, About the Film
  18. ^ Underdog, Issue XIII (autumn 1995) - Page 8 SO RIGHT THEY'RE WRONG: FILM