This is an amazing and trippy 11 minute music video short film (in two parts) made by Roger Mainwood for Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ in 1979.
An interview with the maker here.
I remember wanting to specifically not have conventional cars in the film. I wanted a sense of a repetitive journey, and alienation, which I took to be what the music was about,…………hence the solitary futuristic figure, protected by large goggles, moving through and trying to connect with the journey he is taking. The automobile “monsters” are deliberately threatening ( I have never been a big fan of cars or motorways ! ) and when our “hero” tries to make human contact (with different coloured clones of himself) he can never do it. In the end he realises he is making the repetitive and circular journey alone but strides forward purposefully at the end as he did in the beginning .
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
that is deadly.
Very interesting video, thanks Niall. By the way it’s Roger Mainwood, not Madewood. His website says he also worked on The Snowman!
Watching Autobahn I got to wondering if he had seen René Laloux’s surreal animated film Fantastic Planet from 1973. There’s a similarity in style, and the central characters could be cousins. FP was set to an unofficial electronic soundtrack a few years ago, it’s worth a look.
Mainwood thanks dude. changed.
have to check that electronic soundtrack thing when i get the chance!
i saw it on channel 4 as a child and i still have dreams about it.
RTE used to use this as filler alongside the east european cartoons and footage of gannets nesting on Achill. Captivating still.
love these videos. reminds me of a chad vangaalen video a bit with the guy falling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLw5b70OJH8
..requires log in for some reason?!
As Colz pointed out, RTE used to play this a lot, usually around 6 o clock, maybe on a slow news day when there wasn’t enough news to fill up the half hour they had assigned for the news program.
I remember beginning hypotised by it in the time, but obviously not having a clue what it was about, just thinking it was some wierd cartoon.
they were also fond of showing bizarre Czech cartoons (as Colz also points out) which were nothing more than scribbles flying around on a plain background with a half screeched/half muttered audio track, most disturbing.
Another one was a cartoon frog singing a song that was very similar to “All you need is love” by the Beatles but wasn’t. again quite bizarre.
But back in the early 80s it seemed normal enough.
The Angelus – Bloke killed in Northern Ireland – 1000 jobs lost – Kraftwerk video – weather forecast
Fenster, Colz – That’s mental about the RTE thing!
forgotten video??!!?? rte used show it incessantly when i was a nipper, i don;t think i could forget it if i tried
as the chaps above mentioned, rte used to show a lot of cheap animation from the czechs, poles, and canada. Most of it not very good, even to a kid
And don’t forget ‘Hamilton The Musical Elephant’.
here’s the video to the singing frog if anyone’s interested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oADfmYQWmW8
Saw it when they played at coachella last year was quite cool
Another cool vid is the one for Roger Waters leaving beirut should be on youtube somewhere, strange kind of cartoon storytelling.
Ive never been able to find this video,little point searching for it on google if you didnt know it was kraftwerk,this is a great find nialler9,i remember the czech cartoons aswell one was about cars,too many cars!anyway thanks for this i havent seen that green alien in ten or more years