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IMDbPro

Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King

  • 19931993
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
283
YOUR RATING
Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King (1993)
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Documentary
From their underground days recording songs in their bedroom to their rise as one of rock music's most alternative bands, this documentary chronicles Jad and David Fair's formation of Half J... Read allFrom their underground days recording songs in their bedroom to their rise as one of rock music's most alternative bands, this documentary chronicles Jad and David Fair's formation of Half Japanese.From their underground days recording songs in their bedroom to their rise as one of rock music's most alternative bands, this documentary chronicles Jad and David Fair's formation of Half Japanese.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
283
YOUR RATING
    • Jeff Feuerzeig
    • Jeff Feuerzeig
  • Stars
    • Byron Coley
    • David Fair
    • Jad Fair
    • Jeff Feuerzeig
    • Jeff Feuerzeig
  • Stars
    • Byron Coley
    • David Fair
    • Jad Fair
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

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    Byron Coley
    • Self
    David Fair
    Jad Fair
    • Self
    David Greenberger
    • Self
    Penn Jillette
    Penn Jillette
    Maureen Tucker
      • Jeff Feuerzeig
      • Jeff Feuerzeig
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Featured in Visionado obligado: The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2012)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    hilarious but also very touching
    I had heard of the band Half Japanese before seeing this film in the out-of-print Spin Alternative Record Guide, but nothing written about them could prepare me for this amazing documentary. Picture this: two brothers from Ohio get the bug to start a band. Neither Jad or David Fair has any clue as to how to play their instruments, but in 1980, they ink a deal to release a three-LP debut box set from an English label. Over the next ten years, Half Japanese earns enormous accolades, especially among other musicians, ironically. I can't think of how anybody could possibly watch this film all the way through and not come to endear Jad Fair. The best scenes are the interviews with Jad and David's parents ("Our house is the birthplace of punk rock") and a staged interlude where the two brothers explain where why they started writing songs about ghosts and dead pirates. You owe it to yourself to see this movie.
    helpful•3
    3
    • vlvetmorning98
    • Apr 14, 2005

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 7, 1993 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 30 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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