Sisters with Transistors

2020

Action / Documentary / Music

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 73% · 31 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 73%
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 1138 1.1K

music history pioneer women electronic music experimental music

Plot summary

Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys' club, the truth is that from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come.

Director

Lisa Rovner Photo
Lisa Rovner

Top cast

Suzanne Ciani Photo
Suzanne Ciani as Self
Brian Hodgson Photo
Brian Hodgson as Self
Bebe Barron Photo
Bebe Barron as Self
Charles Amirkhanian Photo
Charles Amirkhanian as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
785.66 MB
1280*964
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds 3
1.58 GB
1424*1072
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by bln-37131 7 / 10

I want more of this

But only with more diversity of women.An article made me aware that this movie only features western European descendent or white women.While it is an omage to people being overlooked it overlooks others.A woman to many people is still mainly a white woman.But even in electronic music there were many women of none European descendent who contributed.I am myself fascinated with the amount of women in electronic music and this movie came out when I started to understand that I as a woman feel home in modular synthesis and electronic music.Even more fascinated was I when seeing that there were woman like me before literally pioneering the field I feel home in.Even more women who were and think or thought like me. Like role models I was always craving as I grew up.I don't look at people based on their appearance. To me every woman is a woman and I was flattered seeing other women doing wonderful things. But know I am left wondering why there are only white women in the movie.I don't think anyone had any racial intention here. It is just the white women were more easily to be rediscovered. But there are so many more out there. Women of all cultures.It is only reflecting how much more powerful we women are if we keep digging deeper.The reasons women of color are overlooked are the same why women in general were oberlooked. Stereotypes.Now they try to break with stereotypes of white women thinking they were representing all women. But no.This movie is an attempt to break with stereotyoes but it is not going far enough and is deepening stereotypes.To be honest, I was a bit bored by the movie. I felt there was so much more to all those stories of great women and at some point I felt the makers ran out of money or so.I think if more money would gave been 8nvested they could have and wpuld have be allowed to dig deeper.The trailer was great, but the movie lacked the same power.If this had been a documentry about men much more money would have been invested toshow their stories in the exciting way it was.I recommend the movie, because for it to be of so much importance. But I believe this is just the beginning of something bigger giving all the talented women of electronic music the light they deserve to be represented in no matter what origine they were or are.7 stars for I love how the existence of that movie moticate me becoming a woman of electronic music.
Reviewed by jp7570 10 / 10

One of the best doc's on the subject

This film history was LONG overdue and tells the important story of the influential creators in electronic music.It is true that Wendy Carlos has been one of the most recognized American forces in this genre. When Carlos' break-through popular LP "Switched-On Bach" was released in 1968, it was done so as "Walter Carlos". (Carlos would have gender reassignment surgery in 1972, changing her name to Wendy.) Why bring this up?The film includes a clip from a French documentary that shows a crowd in the Sam Goody store in NYC in 1968 buying "Switched-On Bach", mentioning it's popularity exceeding even the Beatles. But the English subtitles in that French film refer to Carlos as her. That's correct today, but in 1968 Carlos's work was released under her birth name. How could the French documentary know what was to happen 4 years later? Obviously they didn't - the subtitles had to have been changed long after that documentary was shot. This film should have discretely noted the difference instead of rewriting history, no matter how well-intentioned it may have been. That would take absolutely nothing away from Carlos' talent, creativity and influence.
Read more IMDb reviews

10 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment