It can take a long time for humanity to figure out the best use for a new technology. Hedy Lamarr imagined the radio-frequency–hopping technology she invented would be used for torpedoes, not cell phones. The Internet was around for 30 years before it changed the world forever. And now, 120 years after their first public exhibition, Peter Salomone has perfected motion pictures. As is so often the case, the secret turned out to be Dire Straits.
Salomone is the mad scientist behind the Walk of Life Project, a rigorous experiment designed to test a simple hypothesis: “‘Walk of Life’ by Dire Straits is the perfect song to end any movie.” Although his research is in its infancy, the results have been undeniable. Slate contributor Isaac Butler tweeted about the project’s revolutionary effect on Michael Mann scholarship yesterday:
It’s undeniable that Salomone’s version finds hidden depths in the final shots of Mann’s masterful exploration of dueling codes of masculinity. But Salomone’s groundbreaking discovery has broader implications, and will no doubt set the entire field of cinema studies on its ear. Here’s a brief tour of some of the greatest films ever made, the way they were meant to be seen.
City Lights (directed by Chaplin, 1931; perfected by Salomone, 2016):
Casablanca (dir. Curtiz, 1942; per. Salomone, 2016):
The Birds (dir. Hitchcock, 1963; per. Salomone, 2016):
Seconds (dir. Frankenheimer, 1966; per. Salomone, 2016):
Chinatown (dir. Polanski, 1974; per. Salomone, 2016):
The Matrix (dir. the Wachowskis, 1999; per. Salomone, 2016):
There Will Be Blood (dir. Anderson, 2007; per. Salomone, 2016):
Mad Max: Fury Road (dir. Miller, 2015; per. Salomone, 2016):
