Jeff Mills – Influences

Art & Culture

Jeff Mills – techno innovator, DJ maestro, producer extraordinaire, and- now- film director. From his current Parisian base, Mills has partnered with the French film maker Jacqueline Caux to create a cinematic self portrait, a one off examination of Mills' music and inspirations, touching on the futurism of techno, his obsessions with the concept of metropolis, and ruminations on travel through space and time.

"Understanding what Man From Tomorrow could possibly mean and say to others," Mills writes, "we greatly discussed the ways of how we could go about materializing this in a manner that detaches the subject away from normality. We wanted to show what deep thoughts, dream escapes and unconventional expressions of our future could look, sound and feel like through ever-expanding and dimensional lens of Techno".

Director Caux added her take on the film's genesis:

“Some time ago, Jeff Mills asked me to make a film with him. Before anything else, and even though I knew his music for two decades, it was first necessary to have a series of conversations with him in order to better identify the subjects that inspired and motivated him the most, as well as his questions and preoccupations. These conversations were even more important because, from the very beginning, we wanted to make a film that would have a certain aesthetic quality, something more than just a portrait in the strictest sense. Consequently, I wanted to be able to imagine images that would be inspired as much by his words as his music. We also agreed to only use images that wouldn’t identify the actual locations – place and time – in which we were in. This film is a playful and visual journey intended to lead us through the music of Jeff Mills in a different way. The first part of the film is entirely without words; through a combination of music and images, it is left up to viewer’s imagination and personal projections to create meaning. It was my desire that music would replace words, in this part of the film, so that the viewer could “penetrate” into the sound."

In advance of the film's DVD release, we asked Jeff to take us through his cinematic influences, giving us some insight into the process behind Man of Tomorrow – flick through them on the menu to the left, and watch the trailer for Man of Tomorrow below.

LISTEN

Star Wars: Original Trilogy - Epic Retrospective

Growing up on these films, I can’t help to note how influential they’ve been on my work. I recall, months before the debut and release of each one these films, there would always be such a huge build up in terms of American promotion and advertising in public view. Everything would be Star Wars oriented. It is still that type of hysteria today, but what made the earlier films so intense was that closing of the last century heading into the 21st Century and films like these were a view into the future of mankind.

Star Wars: Original Trilogy - Epic Retrospective

Growing up on these films, I can’t help to note how influential they’ve been on my work. I recall, months before the debut and release of each one these films, there would always be such a huge build up in terms of American promotion and advertising in public view. Everything would be Star Wars oriented. It is still that type of hysteria today, but what made the earlier films so intense was that closing of the last century heading into the 21st Century and films like these were a view into the future of mankind.
6 Reasons Why 2001: A Space Odyssey Is The Most Important Sci-Fi Movie Of All-Time

This is one of my favorite films. It’s seemingly simplistic and minimal, but Stanley Kubrick’s defined sense of symbolism and realization is what makes the film so extraordinary. Above all films that I’ve ever seen, this one still stands out as the most impactful.
Mission To Mars (2000) 7 The End

I’m not very fond of the whole film, but there is one part of the film that really struck me quite hard that I’ll always remember. It’s a part where three astronauts (two are married) are stranded in open space above Mars. Only connected by a tether, one of the astronauts had to chose between her husband or saving herself and the other astronaut. A gripping scene that was imitated in many other films, nevertheless, I think it really explains how fragile and dangerous humans being in Space could be.
Fritz Lang - Woman In The Moon - 1929. Countdown 1/3

I’ve always been a huge fan of Fritz Lang films. More than his most famous, Metropolis, I still favor Lang’s last science fiction film “Woman In The Moon”. About 6 years ago, I was commissioned by Cinematheque Francaise’ to create a new soundtrack of the film for a Fritz Lang retrospective. It was during this time of creating the score, I had to closely watch and memorize the film, while noticing all the amazing detail and work that went into making the film sets and production.
Unbreakable - Trailer

Not a huge blockbuster, but this film was quite interesting. Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis weren’t exactly science fiction regulars when it first came out, but they’re fine acting made up for dark story and the obscure concept of what a hero is supposed to be. I wish Hollywood would create more films like this.
Altered States - Cleverest Scene/Hallucination

The subject of human transformation has always been one of my of interest as well. I remember these type of films were shown regularly in the US (sunday matinee films). The idea of turning into
something else seemed like fun and a personal escape away from the norm. This could partially explain why Americans are so fond of costume holidays like Halloween or any chance to dress up in character.