- Actors: Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Danny Fields
- Director: Jim Jarmusch
- Producers: Carter Logan, Fernando Sulichin, Rob Wilson
- Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Rated: R
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: January 31, 2017
- Run Time: 109 minutes
Despite an
anarchistic title and the chaotically unprofessional band that the documentary
is about, Gimme Danger ends up a
rather bland film experience. The biggest problem is that this film is far more
interested in Iggy Pop than all of the remaining members of The Stooges
combined, with his interview taking up at least 85 percent of the run time.
There are large sections of the film which simply contain Iggy recounting
stories from his past, which may be of interest to his biggest fans but doesn’t
serve the documentary’s narrative well. Even as we trace the origins of the
influential punk band in a conventionally linear fashion, the film often feels
as distracted as the band during their many drug-fueled years.
I can understand
why the focus remains on Iggy, as he is the most recognizable name and face to
emerge from the success of The Stooges, but this one-man show is not always as
interesting as one might hope. Some of the stories are priceless, though there
are just as many moments that simply feels like filler. For instance, what was
the significance of the story Iggy tells about the one time he thinks John
Wayne nearly ran him over in Los
Angeles? And how many of his stories of drug use seem
to end without a clear understanding of their relevance? These scattered
thoughts keep the film from being more than edited together ramblings from a
rock legend, when nothing Iggy says in interviews is half as entertaining as
the vintage concert footage of him performing.
Director Jim Jarmusch
and his editors, Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz, seem to understand how
lifeless this documentary would be with only Iggy’s interviews, so they amp up
the visuals to counter often lethargic narration from the front man. There are
overlapping images, cutaways to psychedelic posters and still shots of the
band, old performance clips, and even a few sequences of fairly inconsequential
animation created by James Kerr. And when that doesn’t work, occasionally they
even let one of the other Stooges talk.
My criticism of
this film may be somewhat harsh, but that is only because I don’t approach the
film with the benefit of being a fan. This is a film clearly made by a fan for
the fans, and it doesn’t do much to convert non-believers. Even if some of the
concert footage proves that The Stooges were a cultural phenomenon, there is
not nearly enough focus on the music itself to defend Jarmusch’s argument that
they are the greatest rock band of all time. They may have been more important
to the history of rock and roll than I had imagined, but this documentary still
feels as apathetic as the punk rock performers in their prime.
The DVD release
includes no extras.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Special Features: 0/10
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