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March 28, 2024, 09:46:00 PM

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Worst and best band movies

Started by steveh, July 29, 2017, 11:36:38 AM

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steveh

Somehow I ended up watching the 1988 Run DMC vehicle Tougher Than Leather last night. It's one of the most terrible band movies I've seen in a long time. The budget is minimal and it drags in pretty much everyone associated with Def Jam as actors - including Rick Rubin's dad Mickey (a shoe wholesaler in real life) who gives a better performance than most of the musicians. The Washington Post describes it as "vile, vicious, despicable, stupid, sexist, racist and horrendously made".

It makes you wonder how on earth Rick Rubin thought he could co-write, direct and act in a movie with seemingly no prior experience - Run DMC and the other musicians possibly regret their royalties going to fund it too. The plot barely stands up. It opens with a prison release, ripped straight from the Blues Brothers, meanders through a load of cliched drug dealer / corrupt cop nonsense before getting to the high point of a shoot-out in a deserted factory where the script calls for someone to turn out the lights, except there's a huge window at the end of the room so it has practically no effect and they cut quickly to try and disguise this. You do at least get early performances from Run DMC and The Beastie Boys.

So what are your worst and best movies done primarily as promotional vehicles for a band?

Sebastian Cobb

Most of them aren't very good. I think Kiss are shite, but recall Detroit Rock City being ok.

On the hiphop front:
Wild Style
Style Wars
Rubble Kings
CB4?

Sin Agog

That Guitar Wolf alien zombie movie is pretty fun: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267116/

And Jubilee had some good early performances from bands like The Slits.

As to shit ones, I've not seen it but the Peter Frampton Bee Gees Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band movie from the 70s has quite a reputation, but then my step-dad was singing its praises recently as some sort of classic piece of outsider art.

machotrouts


slicesofjim

'Roulette Stars Of Metro Detroit', which is Electric Six: the movie.

I'm a big fan of the band, but it's terrible. Incomprensible successions of scenes (I can't call it a plot) and some of the worst acting I have ever witnessed. The only consolation is that I was too hard up at the time to contribute to the kickstarter that funded it, so in no way can I be held responsible for it's existence in any way.

Lemming

Bula Quo! is simultaneously the best and worst

non capisco

I recall 'Slade In Flame' being decent, and far more kitchen-sinky/Ken Loach-esque than you might expect. I did see it about twenty odd years ago, though. There's probably a galactic ton of stuff I thought was good when I was in my late teens that it turns out is utter dog eggs.

Sin Agog

Idjut me forgot to mention Head, didn't he? And it's one of the best movies ever.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: non capisco on July 29, 2017, 06:22:23 PM
I recall 'Slade In Flame' being decent, and far more kitchen-sinky/Ken Loach-esque than you might expect. I did see it about twenty odd years ago, though. There's probably a galactic ton of stuff I thought was good when I was in my late teens that it turns out is utter dog eggs.

Naa, it's still good. The David Essex films are similarly grim.

DrGreggles

Quote from: Lemming on July 29, 2017, 06:16:18 PM
Bula Quo! is simultaneously the best and worst

Mainly the latter.

DukeDeMondo

Yes, Slade In Flame is excellent. Also Rude Boy. I could watch that morning till night.

Sin Agog

Rude Boy's the one with Burning Spear?  Love that, and Babylon and Harder They Come.

There's this bunch of bollocks from the Pet Shop Boys https://vimeo.com/93065049 Unfortunately it did happen.

buzby

Breaking Glass is quite good, though it features none of Hazel O'Connor's band (Megahype) and has actors or other musicians taking their place - Mark Wingett (Carver from The Bill) as the guitarist, Gary Tibbs (Adam & The Ants) as the bassist, Jonathan Pryce as the smackhead saxophonist, character actor Peter Hugo-Davey as the drummer and Phil Daniels as their manager. It also features a raft of British actors in bit parts (Mark Wing-Davey as the slimy A&R man, Jim Finch as the shady svengali,  and Ken Campbell, Jim Broadbent and Richard Griffiths in smaller roles), and some musicians like Rat Scabies, Jeremy Healy, Shrink and most of the Blitz Kids appear as extras. Fortunately some kind soul has uploaded the whole film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR5BXDqO_CQ

It's basically a cautionary tale about the seedy world of the music business, all set against the industrial and political chaos of late 70s Britain (it was released in 1980), though the plot shares some similarity with Pink Floyd's The Wall (which Alan Parker turned into a film a couple of years later). It was the debut feature film of ex-BBC TV director Brian Gibson (he also wrote the script). He later revisited the music business, directing the Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got To Do With It?, and Still Crazy, starring Bill Nighy as an ageing rock star reuniting with his old band.

The film itself is surprisingly good, considering the low budget and inexperience of most of the main cast.
It's probably the reverse of most 'band' films in that it was responsible for launching Hazel's career, but the fate of her character proved oddly prescient as she had signed a contract with Albion Records just before auditioning and landing the role, and wrangles between the label and A&M (who put out the soundtrack, which she wrote for the film) meant her career stalled soon after her initial success.

One thing that is quite remarkable is the staging of the concert performance of  'Eighth Day' at the climax of the film. O'Connor wears a silver spandex bodysuit with plastic overlays. When it's lit with UV light onstage patterns of UV-fluorescent material are revealed, which bear a striking similarity to the costumes for Tron t(which went into pre-production with Disney later that year). It does make you wonder if Steven Lisberger had seen it.

bomb_dog

Quote from: Delete Delete Delete on July 30, 2017, 12:09:56 AM
There's this bunch of bollocks from the Pet Shop Boys https://vimeo.com/93065049 Unfortunately it did happen.

Bollocks maybe, but enjoyable bollocks. Grimy, bleak, partially English seaside-set (come nuclear bombs?) but I give it a watch every now and again. Plus Biggles is in it.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on July 29, 2017, 09:57:55 PM
Naa, it's still good. The David Essex films are similarly grim.

Stardust is wonderful. Great performances and great lines.

Interesting that things used to move so quickly, they were confident enough to promote a film in 1974 along the lines of "Remember the 60s?"

Though interestingly, it's quite anti-nostalgia. 

Good poster art too



steveh

On that surprised me by not being rubbish is the Dave Clarke Five vehicle Catch Us If You Can. I know Dave gets a lot of stick for having an over-inflated sense of how great and important he is, but director John Boorman gets a decent performance out of him and the story is a lot less lightweight and more thoughtful and critical of fame and the culture of the time than you'd expect for such a movie.

Many of the sixties ones are interesting more for the locations than anything else. One that springs to mind is Dateline Diamonds - featuring the Small Faces helping defeat a gang smuggling diamonds via the offshore Radio London, complete with Kenny Everett DJing. Think it turns up fairly regularly on Talking Pictures TV.

Peru

Best: Blues Brothers

Worst: Blues Brothers 2000

studpuppet

For the best, if you want me to look past Hard Day's Night (but why would I?), it's Head or Catch Us If You Can.

Worst? Spiceworld.

Dr Syntax Head

I'm of the opinion that band movies are bad in general. Blues Brothers excepted

JoeyBananaduck

Quote from: DrGreggles on July 29, 2017, 10:44:53 PM
Mainly the latter.

Often wondered how the hell Jon Lovitz ended up being in Bula Quo

lebowskibukowski

Does the Fat Boys in 'Disorderlies' count? I think it had Randolph or Mortimer Duke in it as an added bonus...

SteveDave

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on July 29, 2017, 09:57:55 PM
Naa, it's still good. The David Essex films are similarly grim.

I showed the wife "That'll Be The Day" a few months ago and forgot that he rapes a girl but it's fine.

AllisonSays

My favourite band movie is Half-Cocked.

non capisco


Simultaneously best and worst:
The Song Remains the Same

thenoise

Vampire Killer Barbys (sic) - 1996 Jess Franco stinker starring a forgettable Spanish punk band called 'The Killer Barbies' fronted by a young lady who is willing to get her boobs out.  Interminably generic horror film stylings - van breaks down and they are forced to spend the night in a haunted castle hosted by a mysterious Countess who stays forever young etc - punctuated by awful songs.  Ends with a text screen explaining that it's all ok really, the band hasn't all been killed and they are still touring (thanks for explaining that).  Franco made worse films in the 90s, but it's still dreadful.

Was so 'successful' that they made a follow up 'Killer Barbys vs Dracula' in 2002.  Or maybe they just retitled the old DVDs to try and shift old stock.  Who the hell knows.

I didn't mind Spiceworld, Richard E Grant was quite amusing at least.

billtheburger

The White Room by the KLF is best watched on ketamine.

holyzombiejesus

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982)

QuoteLadies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains is a 1982 film about three teenage girls, played by Diane Lane, Laura Dern and Marin Kanter, who start a punk band.

It's dead good and there's a brilliant song called I'm A Waste of Time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nt-a81AlCw

Not sure if Gonks Go Beat fits. I used to really like it although it was mainly watched whilst on acid. Ace Lulu title song though.

QuoteAn alien (Kenneth Connor) hopes to create peace between Ballad Isle and Beat Land by fostering a romance between a guy from one place and a gal from the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RchY1zJWjqU

And then there's We Are The Best, which is fucking great.