Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Edgar Allen Poe's tales of murder, burial, and ominous ravens have inspired movies, nightmares ... and an eclectic musical suite by saxophonist Lucien Johnson, which he first performed live with Wellington’s Village of the Idiots. With the aid of some home-cooked CGI, director Geoff Murphy mixes concert footage, fantastical imagery, interviews and spoken word to put it on screen. Family and friends help round out the crew. The results echo Murphy's early, genre-stretching days with ensemble Blerta, this time with themes of mortality mixing in with the horns.

The music was the source for the visuals. Usually you make the music to fit a film. This is the other way round. Poe was obsessed with madness, death and the macabre, but the music for this [film] isn't necessarily dour. Some of it's very carnival-like.

– Geoff Murphy in The Wellingtonian, 16 July 2009

Key Cast & Crew

Geoff Murphy

Director, Camera

Lucien Johnson

Producer, Composer, Sound, Performer

Anthony Donaldson

Producer, Performer

Miles Murphy

Camera Operator

Chris Palmer

Narrator

Patrick Bleakley

Performer