IMDb > Twist (1992)
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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   50 votes
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Director:
Ron Mann
Contact:
View company contact information for Twist on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
17 November 1993 (France) more
Genre:
Documentary | History | Music more
Tagline:
How rock 'n' roll got its soul.
Plot:
The history of post-World War II popular dance up to the mid-sixties is explored with the focus being on the Twist. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Entertaining and valuable more (2 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Cholly Atkins ... Himself
Frankie Avalon ... Himself
Hank Ballard ... Himself
Gary U.S. Bonds ... Himself
Chubby Checker ... Himself
Joey Dee ... Himself
Fats Domino ... Himself
Joe Fusco ... Himself
Buddy Holly ... Himself (archive footage)
Gladys Horton ... Herself

Susan Horton ... Dancer
Little Richard ... Himself
Mama Lu Parks ... Herself

Elvis Presley ... Himself (archive footage)
DeeDee Sharp ... Herself
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
74 min
Country:
Canada
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White | Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Australia:PG
Filming Locations:
Hong Kong, China
Company:
Alliance Entertainment more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
References Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Entertaining and valuable, 23 December 2002
8/10
Author: Dave Godin from (Sheffield, England)

Not only is TWIST a remarkable documentary film, it is also an invaluable social document, charting not only the various dance crazes that swept the USA in the 60s, but reflecting too the social attitudes of the dominant ideology of those times.

As a European, it is amazing to me that on a cultural level, white and black American seemed in those days to inhabit two separate planets, and equally amazing that when white folks finally came to embrace `Rock 'n' Roll', so few of them were aware that this indigenous music of black America had been on their doorsteps, (those of the back porch, sadly) for many years already, only it was known as `Rhythm & Blues'.

To some extent, this documentary goes some way in redressing this cultural injustice, and had more footage of R&B performers been made at the time, no doubt they could have done it even more cogently. But time and again, this documentary shows that white folks repeatedly appropriated black culture as if it were their own invention, and even to the bitter end of the era, seemed to prefer the diluted over the authentic and the real. This was well demonstrated by the well chosen recordings used which were performed by black artists - not only were the rhythmic patterns more complex, seductive and compelling, but the sheer musicality was nearly always vastly superior to the ersatz white versions.

Apart from illustrative clips of the many dances that first sprang from the streets and then from the executive offices (which of course spelt the beginning of the end), the comments from those who lived to dance and who made the records, are always revealing and lucid. Although these dances were called decadent and immoral, towards the end of the film we see glimpses of Nixon, Kruschev, missile launches and other decadent and immoral items, until finally we see the ultimate appropriation and theft of black American musical culture, the British musical invasion.

Although in the main the film is a glorious celebration of dance culture, it also left me saddened, because beneath the smooth surface of American Bandstand and The Peppermint Lounge, it seemed to suggest that no matter what black folks do in America, they're never going to get the real credit all the while others can leach off their creativity and musical genius. For revealing this truth alone, this film deserves the highest possible praise. And to this day, what a great record The Marvelettes' `Please, Mr. Postman' is!

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