Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band (2019)

A confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robbie Robertson's young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band.

Director:

Daniel Roher

Writer:

Daniel Roher

Stars:

Martin Scorsese, Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Springsteen

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Martin Scorsese	...	Self
Marilyn Monroe	...	Self (archive footage)
Bruce Springsteen	...	Self
Bob Dylan	...	Self
Levon Helm	...	Self (archive footage)
George Harrison	...	Self (archive footage)
Eric Clapton	...	Self
Peter Gabriel	...	Self
Chuck Berry	...	Self (archive footage)
Robbie Robertson	...	Self
David Geffen	...	Self
Rick Dano	...	Self
Van Morrison	...	Self
Taj Mahal	...	Self
Jann Wenner	...	Self

Storyline

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band is a confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robbie Robertson's young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band. The film is a moving story of Robertson's personal journey, overcoming adversity and finding camaraderie alongside the four other men who would become hi brothers in music and who together made their mark on music history. Once Were Brothers blends rare archival footage, photography iconic songs and interviews with many of Robertson's friends and collaborators including Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison Martin Scorsese, Peter Gabriel, Taj Mahal, Dominique Robertson, Ronnie Hawkins, and more. In a career spanning six decades, Robbie Robertson has continued to create as a songwriter, producer, performer, actor, author and film composer. A half-Mohawk, half-Jewish kid from Toronto, Robertson would travel from the dives of Yonge Street to ...

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Plot Keywords:

life | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robertson and Hawkins remark in the film that Robbie Robertson composed two songs that Hawkins recorded with his band, The Hawks, for their 1959 album, Mr. Dynamo - titled "Hey, Baba Lou" and "Someone Like You" - when he was only 15.

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Quotes

Robbie Robertson: [regarding the name, The Band] It felt unpretentious, un-jivey, un-cute.

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Connections

Edited from The Last Waltz (1978)

User Reviews

very good

The film is told from the vantage of RR. His story is very different from Levon Helms version of things. Great archival footage. The title--RR and the Band, to me is off-putting. Even more off-putting is the absence of the other surviving member of the Band, except in archival footage. garths opinions are more important than Eric Clapton. Who cares that EC was in the Last Waltz? 10 stars for most of the archival footage, 6 stars for the 'star gazing'--which is what some dismiss the Last Waltz as.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,828, 23 February 2020

Gross USA:

$449,561

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$536,534

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shed, Bell Media Studios, Imagine Documentaries

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1