Niki N. Phaser

            Heavy-metal icon, Lemmy Kilmister, the frontman of Motorhead and the genuine poster boy of true rock’n'roll living is the subject of a new documentary, hitting the festival circuit soon. The movie is titled Lemmy and it is directed by Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver, who spent a period of roughly three years with the legendary rocker, following him through numerous gigs with Motorhead, as well as in more peaceful and intimate moments.

            Important names, like Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and plenty more (actor Billy Bob Thorton, wrestler Triple H), make appearances in the film, confessing their admiration for the ‘ace of spades’ of heavy metal and sharing funny stories, as expected. Hopefully, there’ll be more to the documentary than a dithyrambic portrait of the bassist, but also a bit of an analysis of the true consequences of a compromise-free rock’n'roll life, Lemmy’s being one for sure.

TRAILER

        A new documentary about The Doors is about to hatch out of its festival-circuit shell. When You’re Strange was written and directed by indie veteran Tom DiCillo and has been seen at some of the major festivals, but is still awaiting general release. Contracts for France, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan and Germany have been completed, so if you live there… lucky you. The movie documents the period between 1965 and 1971 and uses ONLY real footage (no  reenactments), including never seen before material. There’s stuff from the studio, from gigs, a lot from their personal lives (for example, I’d never have imagined Jim Morrisson driving). When You’re Strange has the endorsement of the remaining members of The Doors, who weren’t too happy with Oliver Stone’s version. But bands never are, so don’t give too much thought to it. 

Trailer

The legend grows… A new documentary about Manic Street Preachers has reached its final stages and is… “coming soon”, to quote the latest trailer. No Manifesto is directed by Elizabeth Marcus, produced and (most importantly with documentaries) edited by Kurt Engfehr, who has quite some experience with editing documentaries: Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. It promises to change the world of rockumentaries, focusing both on the band and the fans. It doesn’t really sound so new, but what’s important is that this film goes to show once more what modern rock legends Manic Street Preachers really are. They deserve all the attention and all the movies one can make about them, though, to be entirely honest, I am still waiting for a biopic about them or, at least, about Richey. The 2002 Sidney J. Furie comedy Global Heresy seemed like a nod to the whole Richey disappearance episode, even though no one admits it officially. Still, No Manifesto does offer some enticing material, like the band’s time in the studio working on Send Away the Tigers. That alone promises to be very interesting.

No Manifesto TRAILER