Sonic Outlaws

Running time: N/A

Craig Baldwin makes documentaries the way David Lean made small, intimate little dramas. Don't go into this film with preconceptions; you'll be disappointed. The subject matter - fair use, intellectual property, copyright-infringement - may seem dry, but certainly not in this inventive director's hands. Court TV this ain't. It all started when the alternative Bay Area band, Negativland, sampled the work of - one- time alternative band, now mega-group - U2. U2's label, Island, soon brought suit. It lead to Negativland losing it's contract with SST Records and, eventually, bankruptcy. Why did giant Island Records care so much about this fringe band and what, if any, was U2's role in bringing this suit? These important questions are addressed; but Sonic Outlaws is about much more than just these two bands and there legal differences. The film also delves into the work of John Oswald, the Tape-beatles, the Barbie Liberation Organization, the Situationists, and more. From the incipient anarchy of Dada, to the guerrilla billboard alterations of today, Sonic Outlaws covers the territory. And it's all brought to you via a dizzying range of visual forms. Among them: Super 8, found-footage, Pixelvision, video and computer animation. Like an over-stuffed closet the moment the door's thrown open, Sonic Outlaws' contents tumble forth in what approaches sensory overload. Baldwin takes his montage - or what some call "collage essay" - style to new heights of inspired lunacy. John Porter