Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

I Dream of Wires

2013 1h 42m Documentary History Drama Music List
Tomatometer 2 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
The resurgence of the modular synthesizer.

Critics Reviews

View All (2) Critics Reviews
Paul de Barros Seattle Times The film tells some good yarns and it has a lovely and lively soundtrack. But there's not enough nitty-gritty explanation about how things work to make anyone but a devoted fan really care. Rated: 2.5/4 Sep 18, 2014 Full Review Nathalie Atkinson National Post The movie is an interesting, sometimes confusing tangle of opinions. Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 22, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (10) audience reviews
Audience Member Good movie, but it's completely disingenuous for Trent Reznor to badmouth cheap Japanese synthesizers since he earned millions for Pretty Hate Machine using Turbosound and an Emu Emax -- a pretty minimalist, inexpensive setup. Sure, there are nice features to modular analog equipment, but there's also new sonic territory being explored with digital synthesizers and software synths. Two examples of sonic areas that modular synthesizers can't touch: 1) Reaktor is a construction kit that allows users to make whatever device they can imagine, or for the noob, they can download thousands of musical devices that others have created. 2) IRIS works with any sound to make it playable, and expressive using a plethora of controls. ALSO the movie ignored the major drawback to both modular and eurorack modular gear -- most of these systems are MONOPHONIC. Sorry, boys, but I play keyboards with 2 HANDS so polyphony is one of the requirements of my songwriting. As Rich Hilton (of Nile Rodgers' studio and band) says, "They're machines that go Bleep and Bloop". Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Really cool. Awesome look into the world of synthesizers, their start, and where they are now. Cevin Key is interviewed in it, along with many other prominent musicians. And in the first part of his interview, Fisherman is also in the movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Great documentary on modular synthesizers, giving a bit of their early history, their eventual use in modern rock, and how they eventually went to digital as time progressed. It covers some of the early analog pioneers of synth music like Morton Subotnick and some of the early creators, to some of the new wave bands of the 80s, up to the present day. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Liked it a lot, some interesting people interviewed and the East Coast/West Coast comparison made me smile. Who needs keys! :-D Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Modular synthesizers: The History, present, and future. Everything you ever wanted to know. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member If you like the electronic music, this film is for you. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
I Dream of Wires

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis The resurgence of the modular synthesizer.
Director
Robert Fantinatto
Producer
Jason Amm
Screenwriter
Jason Amm, Robert Fantinatto
Genre
Documentary, History, Drama, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 7, 2017
Runtime
1h 42m