LEMMY Review
[With rock doc Lemmy freshly out on DVD in the UK and coming soon in North America, Brandon Tenold checks in with a review.]
Heavy metal has long interested documentarians, with both the genre's larger than life figures and fanatical fanbase inspiring everthing from the short film "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" and the anthropological "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", to mockumentaries like Canada's own "Fubar" and the original mock-doc, "This is Spinal Tap". Because of the nature of the music, films about heavy metal often treat their subjects with a wide-eyed reverence even while acknowledging their excesses and eccentricities. Such is the case with Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver's "Lemmy", a film that is clearly made by fans of the man, but also one that's still accessible to anyone who may be unfamiliar with the Motorhead frontman.
Culled from 3 years of footage, "Lemmy" is a profile of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who has been the bassist/vocalist/driving force behind the band Motorhead for the past 35 years, and the movie simultaneously mythologizes the man while also humanizing him. In interviews, everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Slash to Billy Bob Thornton and Ice-T gushes about how awesome Lemmy is, yet the filmmaker's also show him in several quiet, everyday moments. Indeed, the first scene in the movie shows Lemmy shirtless, playing xbox and making french fries in his cramped LA apartment. Moments like these are contrasted with things like Lemmy taking a World War II German tank destroyer out for a spin and firing off a round, and both help to illustrate the fact that Lemmy is simultaneously larger than life and down to earth. Despite his intimidating appearance and reputation, Lemmy comes off as honest and good humored, a man who despite his numerous excesses has a strong sense of morality, albeit one with his own unique rules. Simply put, he lives life on his own terms, and doesn't give a fuck what anyone else thinks.
Lemmy's life growing up and his time in British space-rock pioneers Hawkwind are delved into, but only briefly. Orshoski and Olliver are more concerned with Lemmy as he is today, from his relationship with his son, to his huge collection of war memorabilia and perhaps most of all, his steadfast refusal to slow (and turn) down after decades of making records and touring. What's most striking about Lemmy is that for a man who is in many people's minds the living embodiment of Heavy Metal, musically he's quite atypical of the genre. He's seen buying Beatles albums in a big box store. He lists his biggest influences as Little Richard and Elvis Prestley. He's seen discussing female country singers with Billy Bob Thornton. When he demonstrates his signature bass sound, behind all the volume and distortion he's essentially playing blues. Indeed, Lemmy doesn't even consider his music to be heavy metal, but merely "rock n' roll". One gets the sense that it's this unique approach, along with his refusal to follow trends while simultaneously setting them that has allowed the band's popularity to last for so long.
Those looking for live performance footage might be a little disappointed with "Lemmy", as the filmmaker's save most of that for the latter part of the film. These includes scenes of Lemmy rehearsing and performing with Metallica in a huge arena and, of course, some footage of Motorhead in concert. These scenes show that Lemmy is most at home on stage and in all cases, it's great to see the man singing and playing with as much fire as he did 30 years ago.
One of the best gauges of a documentary's success is whether or not it appeals to people who aren't hardcore fans of its subject matter. I'm not the biggest Motorhead fan in the world (much like the Ramones, I find that beyond a best-of or their 2 greatest albums, they get kinda repetitive), yet I had a blast watching "Lemmy". It may not be an all-time classic rock-doc like "Woodstock" or "Gimme Shelter", but it is an affectionate and fun snapshot of one of rock n' roll's most distinctive and enduring figures.
Review by Brandon Tenold.
Heavy metal has long interested documentarians, with both the genre's larger than life figures and fanatical fanbase inspiring everthing from the short film "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" and the anthropological "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", to mockumentaries like Canada's own "Fubar" and the original mock-doc, "This is Spinal Tap". Because of the nature of the music, films about heavy metal often treat their subjects with a wide-eyed reverence even while acknowledging their excesses and eccentricities. Such is the case with Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver's "Lemmy", a film that is clearly made by fans of the man, but also one that's still accessible to anyone who may be unfamiliar with the Motorhead frontman.
Culled from 3 years of footage, "Lemmy" is a profile of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who has been the bassist/vocalist/driving force behind the band Motorhead for the past 35 years, and the movie simultaneously mythologizes the man while also humanizing him. In interviews, everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Slash to Billy Bob Thornton and Ice-T gushes about how awesome Lemmy is, yet the filmmaker's also show him in several quiet, everyday moments. Indeed, the first scene in the movie shows Lemmy shirtless, playing xbox and making french fries in his cramped LA apartment. Moments like these are contrasted with things like Lemmy taking a World War II German tank destroyer out for a spin and firing off a round, and both help to illustrate the fact that Lemmy is simultaneously larger than life and down to earth. Despite his intimidating appearance and reputation, Lemmy comes off as honest and good humored, a man who despite his numerous excesses has a strong sense of morality, albeit one with his own unique rules. Simply put, he lives life on his own terms, and doesn't give a fuck what anyone else thinks.
Lemmy's life growing up and his time in British space-rock pioneers Hawkwind are delved into, but only briefly. Orshoski and Olliver are more concerned with Lemmy as he is today, from his relationship with his son, to his huge collection of war memorabilia and perhaps most of all, his steadfast refusal to slow (and turn) down after decades of making records and touring. What's most striking about Lemmy is that for a man who is in many people's minds the living embodiment of Heavy Metal, musically he's quite atypical of the genre. He's seen buying Beatles albums in a big box store. He lists his biggest influences as Little Richard and Elvis Prestley. He's seen discussing female country singers with Billy Bob Thornton. When he demonstrates his signature bass sound, behind all the volume and distortion he's essentially playing blues. Indeed, Lemmy doesn't even consider his music to be heavy metal, but merely "rock n' roll". One gets the sense that it's this unique approach, along with his refusal to follow trends while simultaneously setting them that has allowed the band's popularity to last for so long.
Those looking for live performance footage might be a little disappointed with "Lemmy", as the filmmaker's save most of that for the latter part of the film. These includes scenes of Lemmy rehearsing and performing with Metallica in a huge arena and, of course, some footage of Motorhead in concert. These scenes show that Lemmy is most at home on stage and in all cases, it's great to see the man singing and playing with as much fire as he did 30 years ago.
One of the best gauges of a documentary's success is whether or not it appeals to people who aren't hardcore fans of its subject matter. I'm not the biggest Motorhead fan in the world (much like the Ramones, I find that beyond a best-of or their 2 greatest albums, they get kinda repetitive), yet I had a blast watching "Lemmy". It may not be an all-time classic rock-doc like "Woodstock" or "Gimme Shelter", but it is an affectionate and fun snapshot of one of rock n' roll's most distinctive and enduring figures.
Review by Brandon Tenold.
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