LOUD VISUAL NOISES is not the one of the strongest of Stan Brakhage's films, but worth a viewing none-the-less. One of his multitude of hand-painted short films made within the last two decades of his life, the most unique feature that this particular piece highlights is the use of an actual musical score (the vast majority of Brakhage's works are completely silent).
Utilizing the repetition of a short section of abstract imagery, with a different musical accompaniment each successive time, the 'trick' achieved in the eye and mind of the viewer is in the matching of particular shapes, colours and movements to various notes in the soundtrack. An interesting experiment, and a nice pairing of largely experimental musical sources with the non- representational qualities of the imagery. (Please click on the Alternate Versions sidebar for a complete list of the musicians utilized on the soundtrack.)
If the film can be said to suffer in any way, it is from a direct result of what Brakhage avoided sound for anyway; the aural takes away from the visual power of the film, subjugates it, if you will. It remains a nice "change of pace" for a Brakhage film though, and also peaks one's curiosity as to how he might have come across some very obscure and/or underground musical selections to attach to this film. 6/10.