DiG! (2004)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Ondi Timoner

Writer:

Ondi Timoner (writer)

Release Date:

13 April 2005 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.

Plot Keywords:

Music Industry | Rock Band

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Anton Newcombe	...	Himself
Courtney Taylor-Taylor	...	Himself
Joel Gion	...	Himself
Matt Hollywood	...	Himself
Peter Holmstrom	...	Himself
Zia McCabe	...	Herself
Brent DeBoer
Eric Hedford	...	Himself
Dean Taylor	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Dandy Warhols	...	Themselves
Jeff Davies	...	Himself
Frankie Emerson	...	Himself
Erik Gavriluk	...	Himself
Nic Harcourt	...	Himself
Kristen Kerr	...	Herself
Genesis P-Orridge	...	Himself (Interviewee) (as Genesis P'Orridge)
Miranda Lee Richards	...	Herself
Adam Shore	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug use.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | UK:15 | USA:R | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Interloper Films

Quotes:

Eric Hedford: They're stalking us now. I will not have them anywhere near me again.
Peter Holmstrom: I'll still buy their albums though.

Soundtrack:

Genius

Fascinating, Captain.

Excellent documentary, ostensibly about the friendship and subsequent rivalry between two West Coast retro rock'n'roll bands: The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. What it actually turns out to be is a portrait of a borderline psychopath - Anton Newcomb - and his tortured relationship with the rest of the world. Interestingly, for a music documentary, there is hardly any music. What there is - snatches of songs, more often than not aborted by the performers - is incidental rather than central. Although the protagonists are musicians, the story is not about music but rather about a particularly American version of a British myth of a cartoon lifestyle, ie, one where nobody has to take responsibility for behaving like spoiled adolescents on a full-time basis. Tantrums, drugs, violence, grossly dysfunctional attitudes, egomania on a truly epic scale - all of this is excused or positively encouraged because it conforms to some collectively held idea about what rock'n'roll is about. As a film this is a first-class documentary but it raises more questions than it answers. For example, why is Anton's music so conservative? For someone so wild and outrageous (and he IS wild and outrageous) his music never seems to have progressed beyond the most obvious derivations of his 60s idols (The Stones, Velvets etc.) For someone who claims to be able to play 80 instruments he has never bothered to learn to play any one of them beyond the most rudimentary level. Similarly, the Dandy Warhols burning ambition is based on a vision of rock'n'roll which is astonishingly fossilised in 1969. Nothing wrong with pastiches, of course, but surely there's more to musical life than perpetually acting out a cartoon from the late 60s. Why don't they take some risks with their music - in the way that their role models did? Because, one suspects, this is not about music. Music is just an accessory, a prop, or an excuse, to lead completely dysfunctional and irresponsible lives. But why? In the Dandy Warhols case, the answer is obvious: to make lots of money and be famous. Big deal. Anton Newcomb's case is more interesting. He is obviously very talented, but every time he is given an opportunity to reach a wider audience he sabotages it, usually in the most dramatic way possible. He is terrified of success, and at the same time, deeply resents anyone else who has it - especially his former friends the Dandy Warhols. Fascinating movie. Highly recommended.