Extremely rare and long out of print
Full adaption of Soul Music. As new condition.
Special features include the full "Welcome to the Discworld" pilot episode along with an interview with Terry Pratchett and more.
Soul Music is an animated television adaptation of the 1994 book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Channel 4 Television Corporation, Cosgrove Hall Films, ITEL, and Ventureworld Films. It was first broadcast from June 6 to July 18, 1997 and released on DVD in 2001. The feature-length miniseries was developed by Acorn Media, and directed by Jean Flynn. It was the first film adaptation of an entire Discworld novel (following the Welcome to the Discworld short, which was based on a fragment of the novel Reaper Man).
The series closely follows the plot of the novel, which, like many of Pratchett's novels, introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval / early modern world of the Disc - in this case rock and roll music and stardom - with nearly disastrous consequences. It also introduces Susan Sto Helit, daughter of Mort and Ysabell and granddaughter of Death.
Cast
Andy Hockley - Imp y Celyn
Debra Gillett - Susan Sto Helit
Christopher Lee - Death
Graham Crowden - Mustrum Ridcully
Neil Morrissey - Mort
Bernard Wrigley - Asphalt
Rob Rackstraw - Glod Glodsson, The Librarian
George Harris - Lias Bluestone
John Jardine - Impy's Dad
Brian Pringle - Albert
Rosalie Scase - Owner of Music Shop
Melissa Sinden - Ysabell
Jimmy Hibbert - Additional Voices
David Holt - Mr. Clete
Maggie Fox - Ms. Butts
Soul Music is notable for having numerous allusions to various aspects of the music industry, including groupies, music-recording devices, and most notably the history of rock and roll. The Geeky Guide To Everything noted "Each new number depicted a different aspect or period of rock music ranging from the likes of beat music all the way to the Beatles. And this made for an entertaining musical and visual experience".
NeedCoffee said "the songs that The Band with Rocks In sings manage to be send-ups and faithful recreations of the various styles rock-n-roll has been through".
PopMatters notes "the whole adventure is a parody of the music industry in the world outside of the story".
The Geeky Guide to Everything described it as a "quirky celebration...of rock music's history".
Terry Pratchett said "Rock and Roll is sung about and talked about as though it is some kind of a living thing it wont fade away, itll never die. It has a meaning quite apart from a particular type of musical sound, and then consider the large number of people to whom it offered tremendous fame for a few years and then sudden death, as if there was some kind of devils bargain going on."
The series takes the association of the "Band with Rocks In" with the Beatles even further than the book does, evolving their style from 1950s rock and early 1960s beat music (and mixing-bowl haircuts) in Ankh-Morpork, to acid rock in Scrote, to spiritual hippie rock in Quirm. In Sto Lat, they sound like the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Bad Company, but are dressed in clothes similar to the Beatles on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Also in Quirm, Buddy says that the band is 'more popular than cheeses,' referring to John Lennon's famous quote proclaiming the Beatles to be more popular than Jesus. In Pseudopolis, their outfits and style resemble the Blues Brothers. Crash's band is also given the name "Socks Pastels".
Differences from the book
* Vetinari, Arnold Sideways, Lady Sara, Lady Delacross and Cumbling Michael were omitted, and Princess Jade and Gloria Thogsdaughter were reduced to brief cameos.
* Susan's two meetings with Quoth and the Death of Rats were combined into one scene.
