#BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO NETFLIX MOVIE#

Maybe subconsciously, films that are really formative to you get under your skin. That was one of the first films I really, really got into. Eraserhead was a huge influence on me when I was younger. The jarring and unsettling nature of the sound led me to wonder whether David Lynch's Eraserhead was a direct influence. But what if you give it a different context? It can be completely weird.' You have the very innocent sound of someone stabbing a cabbage, what you have when you cook a meal in the evening. 'It's also about the nature of sound - and how context and association can change it. How do you position yourself between those two extremes? It's very interesting to see with an audience. but what came out of that film was this idea of two extremes - having a highly unpleasant violence on the screen but on the other side having this kind of pantomime element. Where did the original idea for Berberian Sound Studio - or the short film it was based on - come from? People are a lot more actively involved in the film when you give them less.' Sometimes it's a lot more disturbing for that. I think the human brain is a lot more powerful than what we can put on the screen and the audience can readily compensate for what they don't see. but the main thing to achieve was to have the intensity that horror films have. When you don't see blood and so on it's not going to be scary to everyone. 'I thought, 'Why not do the complete opposite and not show anything whatsoever?' but still follow the same dynamics as a horror film. I think in the last few years horror has become so extreme and you do feel that people try to outdo each other and you don't want to get into that. 'No, it was always clear from the start that it had to be that way.

#BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO NETFLIX MOVIE#

'Haha, it didn't occur to me but maybe subconsciously it might have been there!'Īs for addressing the needs of disgruntled horror movie fans, were you ever tempted to shoot any scenes for the film-within-a-film The Equestrian Vortex?

You mentioned The Office - could you see a parallel with the work-induced frenzy of David Brent doing his famous dance and Toby Jones in Berberian Sound Studio stabbing cabbages in front of workers? The only reason I wouldn't call it horror myself is because we had a couple of screenings where horror fans came along and they were really, really pissed off, so I'm just very weary.' 'But if someone called it horror I'd be more than happy. It's about work, it's about hierarchy and all the problems with work - some very ancient problems to do with nepotism, corruption, bullying and sexism and so on. For me, it's got a lot in common with The Office - that Ricky Gervais character is from Reading as well. In the film, the shady director Santini didn't want his work The Equestrian Vortex classified as a horror movie, which leads to the inevitable question - how would you want Berberian Sound Studio to be classified? However, Gilderoy’s bewildered, lost expression soon starts to look more sinister as his mental health unravels like a spool of tape.Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play Him - his mother’s footsteps, his doorbell, the ticking of his clock. Knowing that he will feel homesick, he takes the soundtrack to his homelife with You are not meant to like Gilderoy, but I did feel sympathy towards him - particularly at the start of the film. The way he dresses, his reserved character, the fact that he doesn’t speak Italian - all of these aspects

Toby Jones gives an absolutely superb performance. We see Gilderoy becoming increasingly disturbed by the film’s images - they begin to corrupt his mind. I loved the scenes of Gilderoy’s sound equipment - all those wonderful buttons, whirs and clicks.īefore long, this simple enjoyment is replaced by a sense of unease and dread. The film also gives us magical shots of machinery. Is infused with the violence that Gilderoy can see on screen. This is quite funny at first but then becomes horrific as it Meanwhile, the sound effects for the more gruesome parts of The Equestrian Vortex are created by the smashing of fruit and vegetables. It is amazing to see how something so commonplace can create such an otherworldly For a start, the way Gilderoy creates sound effects is just fascinating.Īt one point, Gilderoy is asked to demonstrate his craft by creating the sound of an UFO from a light bulb.

Berberian sound studio netflix