The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead

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The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead
Damned-doc.jpg
Directed byWes Orshoski
Written byWes Orshoski
Produced byWes Orshoski
Starring
CinematographyWes Orshoski
Edited byWes Orshoski
Music by The Damned
Production
company
Three Count Films [1]
Release date
  • March 19, 2015 (2015-03-19)(SXSW Film Festival)
Running time
110 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States [2]
LanguageEnglish

The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead is a 2015 American documentary film about the British rock band The Damned. It was directed by Wes Orshoski and premiered at the SXSW Film Festival.

Contents

Summary

The film is a mix of archival, interview and contemporary footage of The Damned and other musicians and fans. [1] The film discusses the rivalry between members Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies with their disagreement over unpaid royalties. [3]

Production

The film was directed by Wes Orshoski, who was also the film's producer, writer, cinematographer and editor. [2] It was the filmmaker's follow-up to his previous documentary Lemmy . [1] The Damned provided the music for the film. [2] The film was shot over a three-year period. [2]

Release

The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on 19 March 2015. [2] At the screening, The Damned's lead guitarist Captain Sensible shouted commentary in the auditorium whenever a moment or a former Damned member he did not like appeared in the film. [1] Damned frontman Dave Vanian did not attend the premiere. [4]

The film received its premier in the United Kingdom on 3 June at the Prince Charles Cinema. [3] [5] Rat Scabies and Brian James were present for the London premiere of the film, where Scabies stated that he hopes the film will bring closure between himself and Captain Sensible. [3] [5]

The film was released on Blu-ray (which also included the DVD) on 20 May 2016.

Reception

Variety gave the film a positive review, stating that even an audience unfamiliar with the group may find sufficient entertainment value in the documentary, noting "the Damned's unpredictability only endeared them further to a diehard fan base, and it makes this documentary all the more entertaining". [1] The Hollywood Reporter opined that the director "struggles to impose dramatic shape on a sprawling subject, but at least he finds an emotional hook in the decades-old rift between Sensible and Scabies" [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harvey, Dennis (25 March 2015). "Film Review: 'The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead'". Variety . Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead". SXSW Film Festival. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dalton, Stephen (8 June 2015). "'The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Leonie (19 March 2015). "The Damned attend world premiere of biographical documentary at SXSW". NME . Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 Bonner, Michael (28 May 2015). "The Damned documentary gets release date". Uncut . Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
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