My movie is inspired by the title of the classic Dostoevsky novel. I haven't actually read "Notes from the Underground", that's why I say its only based on the title, but I have read "The Brother's Karamazov", which is pretty good. People on the internet seem to think "The Brother's Karamazov" is life changing, but the translation I read was didn't do much for me. Don't get me wrong, it was very good, well written, and engrossing despite the fact that little happens in 900 pages. It's basically the antithesis of this book, where a lot happened and it was all stupid. To summarize I'd say The Brother's Karamazov is very good, but it isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. I would say it is (at best) the greatest thing since Wonder Bread(r), which is certainly nothing to scoff at, but there are a lot of other things that can say the same thing.

Anyway, back to "Notes from the Underground," which was inspired by the title of the book. I like to think of it as an animated movie, either traditional animation or 3d Animation but I'd prefer traditional because there isn't enough Disney magic today. The movie opens with the picture of sheet music. The main character, a quarter note, is bouncing joyously along the line, his father, who is a whole note, coming after and a line above. While the father and son are laughing, there is a younger brother (an eighth note) chasing both of them.

The father finally tackles the quarter note and they begin to talk. The quarter note asks the father what happened to his mother, and by this time the eighth note catches up and they listen to him tell a vague story about how she disappeared in a terrible time. A single is note is played during the end of the story, and the father immediately stops. There is a pause. Another note plays, then another. The father looks at his sons in abject terror. Run! he says. The two sons look around quickly, as a song is beginning to be heard in the background. At this point the father absolutely bellows RUN! the kids begin to hop down theirs line, and the father follows after them. The camera pans down the line to see that the song is coming from the notes, and is their death rattle. As every note dies they scream a certain pitch according to the line, and that is how music is made: it is the systematic mass murder of musical notes. The camera follows the mysterious force as it kills dozens and dozens of notes. The song being played should be "Your Song" by Elton John. The camera finally moves to the end of the sheet, to show the father and sons running towards the edge of the page. They are close to making it to the edge, but the line is coming too quickly. The father looks at his sons running ahead of him and stops. His long deep death rattle is heard. The eighth note looks back: the father has sacrificed his life for the life of his kids. The quarter note pushes his brother off the edge and jumps himself. The music stumbles.

The eighth note and quarter note are unconscious on a rug. From behind a piano leg several other notes take them and drag them off screen.

Everything is black. The quarter note's eyes open. A fortissimo and staccato note are leaning over above him. The Fortissimo backs away. The staccato hops as if he is on a pogo stick, shouting things in Italian. The quarter note rolls up. There's a giant G Clef in front of him, to his left is his younger brother, playing with two connected eighth notes. Also in the room, which seems to be some kind of cave, is a half note sulking in the corner (or the closest thing a cave has to a corner) and a flat and a sharp signal.

LIST OF CHARACTERS from this point on:

G Clef- British sounding dude who becomes a bit of a mentor  to the quarter note and teaches him how to write. No one knows how G Clef got off the sheet (and it doesn't even really make sense outside of the movie because G Clefs aren't REALLY played and therefor aren't REALLY killed but lets not think about this too much).

Fortissimo - Never talks, but somehow can communicate with G Clef. Largely in the background, although he seems to look kindly on everyone. He is also G Clef's right hand man.

Sharp and Flat: French husband and wife that are always bickering. The two eighth notes are their kids. They are good at heart and adopt eighth note.

Eighth One and Eighth Two: Connected Twins and daughters of Sharp and Flat. They are cute and naive and bubbly and always playing games

Half-note: A girl note, and a bit emo and antisocial. She's pretty much your stereotypical teenage character. Quarter note has a crush on her for a while and she is where he gets some of his more subversive tendencies.

Staccato: Italian crazy person that really only exists for comic relief. Every action of his should solicit an "Oh, that staccato!" remark.

So at this point of the movie quarter note begins to grow up and learn more of the outside world. At one point another (female, hellooooo love interest) quarter note falls off the piano (about 30 minutes into the movie) and a 5/4 time signature does also. Lots of legends are told, including one about a female whole note who went out in the world outside the cave (which is scary and only ever done to look for survivors when music is being played), and theories about why humans would mass murder their fellow notes.

Through a combination of his lessons with G Clef on writing and rhetoric, and more esoteric things taught to him by the half note emo person, eventually the quarter note decides that he's had enough and recites an inpromptu speech to the rest of the survivors. The survivors decide to rally behind him, and they go out to convince the piano player to stop playing music. Quarter tries to talk to him and it doesn't work because the man can't hear him, and for a while nobody knows how they will talk to the man. Lo and behold while everyone is out being concerned, Fortissimo speaks for the only time of the movie and is so loud the man hears them. When the man talks to him he refuses to stop playing music, and the subversion from the notes begins.

The notes begin writing letters and sending them out to news agencies. They also write manifesto's calling music immoral and start a society to the banning of music. Eventually the issue gets all the way to the supreme court, and there are photos of the notes standing in a v like formation that makes them look bad ass. The court finally rules live music obscene but the playing of old recorded music isn't.

And that's the story of how snuff films became nationally distributed.