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| CS |
A critic picks the best rock movies
08/26/2002
1. Gimme Shelter (1970) � "Who's fighting and for what?" Mick Jagger asks just before a fan is stabbed to death. In one of the saddest documentaries on any subject, it's as if sensitive-eyed pioneers Albert and David Maysles anticipated what was going to happen. Their all-access pass to the poor planning and cavalier execution of the notorious Altamont concert documented another end of American innocence.
2. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) � Largely improvised, this dead-on satire of rock-star pretensions is one of the funniest films ever
3. Stop Making Sense (1984) � Feature director Jonathan Demme wisely stays out of Talking Heads leader David Byrne's way, keeping his cameras almost still for the concert of a decade.
4. A Hard Day's Night (1964) � The Beatles' first movie is rock's most influential film, anticipating music videos with slapstick antics, including silly escapes from screaming girls, as the Fab Four have fun with fame.
5. Don't Look Back (1967) � One of the best examples of cin�ma v�rit� chronicles Bob Dylan's bad-boy act, including his hilariously discomforting encounters with the confounded press.
6. Woodstock (1970) � Can't we all just get along? The flip side of Gimme Shelter showcases the peace-love-dove era with groovy wide shots that drink it all in.
7. American Graffiti (1973) � George Lucas once had a clue. Here he carefully diagrams the intersection between cars, girls and music when rock was young.
8. The Last Waltz (1978) � Martin Scorsese brings his bravura filmmaking tricks to The Band's last concert, and everyone shows up: Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. "The Weight" with the Staples and "Further Up on the Road" with Eric Clapton are particularly riveting, and Robbie Robertson's description of rock is brilliant in its simplicity.
9. The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) � Los Angeles' punk scene was the most brutal since the Sex Pistols, but it's director Penelope Spheeris' jokey breakfast with X that wins the day.
10. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) � Star and director James Cameron Mitchell beautifully balances humor and pathos to tell the story of a tortured artist.
� Manuel Mendoza
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| Saint Sway |
should add this years Wilco documentary "I'm trying To Break Your heart" � GREAT ROCK MOVIE |
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| gypsymofo60 |
The Filth & The Fury, Great Rock n' Roll Swindle,?.....How about Ladies & Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones? The Kid's Are allright?......"It's a swin----dle!" |
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| JaggaRichards |
quote:
gypsymofo60 wrote:
The Filth & The Fury, Great Rock n' Roll Swindle,?.....How about Ladies & Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones? The Kid's Are allright?......"It's a swin----dle!"
L&G has been kept out of general circulation for so long that most critics have probably never seen it!
DVD release please! |
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| stonedinaustralia |
shows you how ridiculously subjective these lists are at times 'tho i have to agree with the first two nominations
i'd also include "don't look back" from that list but basically i'd forget the rest - aside from hendrix at woodstock - admittedly there's a couple (9. & 10.) i haven't seen and the sound track to american graffiti is pretty cool (imo)
for mine
"performance"
joe boyd's "jimi hendrix" featuring mick, clapton, little richard and others
"jimi plays monterey"
"hail! hail! rock n roll"
"mystery train" - joe strummer, screamin' jay hawkins, the voice of tom waits and the ghost of elvis presley
an elvis movie probably out of "king creole", "jailhouse rock" or "elvis on tour")
"the harder they come" (well i know it's reggae music but its all rock n roll attitude)
"high school confidential" (or am i thinking of "the girl can't help it")
and the aforementioned "great rock n roll swindle" & "ladies and gentlemen"
oh yeah, almost forgot "one plus one", "charlie is my darling" and "let the good times roll"
as for the longest, the most dense and difficult (to the point of incomprehensibility) and as out of it as possible there is no other contender but "Renaldo & Clara"
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |
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| Nasty Habits |
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:
"high school confidential" (or am i thinking of "the girl can't help it")
Are you thinking of Jerry Lee Lewis playing insane rock on the back of a moving flatbed truck like he was the Rolling Stones? Or are you thinking of Jayne Mansfield walking down the street with a camera glued to her ass while Little Richard screams?
Can't forget the TAMI Show or the Big TNT Show - those movies are heavy.
There's also Wild in the Streets - rock 'n' roll bandleader elected president and puts all the adults out to pasture!
And Pink Flamingos - The bird is the word in more ways than one
And Beyond the Valley of the Dolls - This is my happening and it freaks me out!
Hey SIA - Have you actually SEEN Renaldo and Clara? All four hours of it? I've never seen a copy that was at all legible.
But HARD RAIN - There is some mighty fine Bob Dylan right there I am here to tell you!
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| stonedinaustralia |
hey there nasty
yeah, i did see "renaldo and clara" - all of it - when it was released here circa '79
as you say, "hard rain" was simply magnificent and i went along to to see "R&C" expecting heaps of similiar concert footage... well i didn't quite get that but i sat through the whole thing anyway being,as i was then, a genuinely certifiable dylan nut (or perhaps just simply a certifibale nut - funny how some things don't change)- now my attention span has seriously diminished and (i hope) my critical faculties are a little sharper i doubt i would make it to the end
i've also seen "charlie is my darling" which, i gather from previous threads here, is quite the rarity
cheers
and thanks for clarifying - i was thinking of "the girl can't help it" and btw i almost put the "tami show"in my list
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| TheSavageYoungXyzzy |
"The Kids Are Alright"? Where is it?!?
Where? Where? Where?
As for Rock'n'roll films... take out "A Hard Day's Night" and replace it with the forgotten classic "Let It Be".
-tSYX --- dah dah dah DAH dah... (Can't You Hear Me Knocking onomonopiatically speaking) |
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| gypsymofo60 |
quote:
TheSavageYoungXyzzy wrote:
"The Kids Are Alright"? Where is it?!?<"Buried in the silk sheets of time by looks of it; never seen a video!
Where? Where? Where?
As for Rock'n'roll films... take out "A Hard Day's Night" and replace it with the forgotten classic "Let It Be".
-tSYX --- dah dah dah DAH dah... (Can't You Hear Me Knocking onomonopiatically speaking)
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