Michel Franco’s “Chronic” is a deep, slow-moving yet thought-provoking film. Recommended.
© 2016 Low Mind Films. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Gimme Danger
FILM YEAR: 2016
DURATION: 109 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, Subtitles: English, English SDH and Spanish
COMPANY: Amazon Studios/Sony Pictures Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: R (Drug Content and Language)
AVAILABLE ON: January 31, 2017
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Written by Jim Jarmusch
Produced by Jose Ibanez, Carter Logan, Fernando Sulichin
Executive Producer: Jon Kilik, Serge Lobo, Robert S. Wilson
Edited by Affonso Goncalves, Adam Kurnitz
Starring:
Ewan McGregor as Curt Wild (Archived Footage)
Iggy Pop
Mike Watt
James Williamson
Ron Asheton
Scott Asheton
Danny Fields
Kathy Asheton
Steve Mackay
David Bowie (Archived Footage)
Ed Sanders
American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s documentary love letter to punk icons Iggy Pop and his band, The Stooges. Michigan-born Iggy’s youthful music career wavered, until he found his Stooges soulmates in Dave Alexander (bass), and brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums). Three ground-breaking albums and just a few years later, the band was literally falling apart. Iggy gleefully relates the story of those crazy years from “I Wanna Be Your Dog” to “Raw Power.” Gimme Danger is brimful of music, clips and anecdotes, including Bowie, Nico and the crowd-surfing Iggy himself.
In 1967, an American band from Ann Arbor, Michigan known as The Stooges was formed.
Consisting of vocalist Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander, the band would be known for being controversial for their style of rock music and also Iggy Pop doing self-mutilation and suggestive dancing.
As the band went through various band members, they were known for their proto-punk music and were known for their involvement in the developing a style which many would consider as punk rock, alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music.
Because of their importance in American music history, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 2016, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (“Ghost dog: The Way of the Samurai”, “Dead Man”, “Broken Flowers”, “Only Lovers Left Alive”) created a documentary showcasing the Stooges from their beginnings, through each decade with interviews with surviving members and also showcasing archived footage.
Showcasing the challenges the band faced, from performing in concerts and people throwing objects towards Iggy Pop to growing in popularity and the challenges the band faced in the music industry and working with major recording labels.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Gimme Danger” is presented in 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and English 5.1 Dolby Digital. Picture quality is good, as one can expect on DVD but it’s important to note that this is a documentary with various archived footage. So, one should expect footage to be vary in terms of quality.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Gimme Danger” comes with no special features.
Prior to the popularity of punk music and alternative rock music, there was one band known as The Stooge who was not playing traditional rock music. In fact, they were a band that did their own thing, when it came to performance and presentation, that they were considered as controversial.
Iggy Pop known for his vocals, his dancing and wearing a dog leash during performances (as well as practicing forms of self-mutilation), the band reflected his carefree style and every band member, who performed as The Stooges, were just the same and not giving a care in the world for anything else but performing their style of music.
With Jim Jarmusch’s “Gimme Danger”, Jarmusch’s documentary in essence is a true documentary on rock music and getting to know a band’s history, from challenges to tragedy, the band would continue to reinvent themselves musically for every album release.
And “Gimme Danger” is a documentary that was well-researched, as Jarmusch was able to obtain a good number of archived performances and news sources and creating a timeline from when the band was created to the band reuniting. Even when their music was falling apart. But also paying an ode of respect to the surviving and deceased members of The Stooges.
Discussing the challenges in the music industry and the creation of their music albums, “Gimme Danger” does a great job of showcasing the band’s music throughout the years and how the band would evolve.
And it helps to have interviews with Iggy Pop and original members, via archived sources or modern/recent interviews, and giving wonderful perspective of each band member and the band and the creation of their hit music.
Having Iggy Pop discussing the music and history of the band is invaluable and he gives wonderful insight.
As for the DVD review, as on can expect on a documentary, picture quality varies depending on the archived sources. Audio is primarily a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack but most of it is primarily dialogue-driven. And there are no special features, unfortunately.
Overall, “Gimme Danger” is a fascinating and entertaining documentary. Jim Jarmusch definitely gives viewers a chance to relive or discover the fantastic yet rebellious rock music of The Stooges. Recommended!
