Edgeplay - A Film About The Runaways
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Actor: Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox, Joan Jett, Kim Fowley, Lita FordBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Edgeplay - A Film About The Runaways
DVD Review: STILL WAITING FOR A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE RUNAWAYS
Summary: 2 Stars
Now, I don't mean to be cruel -- it's just that I'm REALLY disappointed with "EDGEPLAY". I eagerly tore the wrapper off of this DVD, popped it in the machine, and sat back, waiting for the magic. It never came. Of course, it was nice to see and hear from MOST of the original members of the Runaways (but, very sadly, NOT Joan Jett, the true heart and soul of the band). However, none of it seemed to be in any sort of context; it was just an endless stream of anecdotes. And there was precious-little b-roll to go with those stories -- only two or three VERY SHORT clips of vintage Runaways concert film from the 70s. And what did they play? "Cherry Bomb"? "American Nights"? "Blackmail"? "Is It Day Or Night"? Nope -- none of those songs. The 3 minutes of concert clips contained COVER TUNES! Yep -- "Wild Thing" was one of them.
Well, okay...how about the "incidental music" running under the interviews and Hollywood scenes? Surely, that MUST be nothing but classic Runaways songs. Sorry, no -- for some reason, the soundtrack is loaded with Suzi Quatro songs. Now, I *love* Suzi Quatro, but the incongruity of HER songs on a documentary about the Runaways is indeed baffling. Perhaps director/producer Vicki Blue (the Runaways's second bass player, replacing founding member Jackie Fox) should've considered doing a film about Suzi instead.
Another reviewer suggested that Blue may have been refused permission to use Runaways music in her doc. But I agree with that reviewer that EVERYONE has a price, and Vicki Blue would've vastly improved her film with the use of relevant music, no matter HOW MUCH it cost her to secure the rights for usage. That, along with some tighter editing of the girls's stories, would've turned this TWO-STARer into at least a FOUR-STAR, if not a FIVE-STAR documentary.
DVD Review: +1/2 -- A look back at the teenage diaries of the Runaways
Summary: 3 Stars
The Runaways were both an actual all-girl rock `n' roll band and a realization of their impresario's promotional imagination. Their run of four studio albums in the 1970s (The Runaways, Queens of Noise, Waitin' for the Night, And Now... The Runaways), a live LP (Live in Japan), and a few odds `n' sods collection (Flaming Schoolgirls) yielded some terrific glitter-flavored rock, a great deal of publicity, but only a modicum of commercial success. Though they provided inspiration for bands like the Go-Go's, Pandoras, and Donnas, and two of the original members (Lita Ford and Joan Jett) went on to international acclaim, the group's original publicity still casts a shadow over the Runaways' musical accomplishment. They remain more infamous than famous.
The band's second bassist, Vicki Blue, developed a post-Runaways career as a producer/director (under the name Victory Tischler Blue), and is the visionary behind this documentary. Blue's inside connections with the band is both a blessing and a curse, as the group members are candid with her on some subjects but appear to close down on others. She tells the interior story of the band's interpersonal dynamics, focusing on the shifting friendships and tensions between band members, and the abuse heaped upon the then-teenage girls by management and assorted hired hands. This is more a diary than a history.
Even those familiar with the Runaways public career would have greatly benefited from an explanation of where these girls came from, a brief discourse on the culture of the Sunset Strip and San Fernando Valley, the musical times, and the family lives that allowed teenage girls to tour under the reportedly abusive and non-watchful eyes of Kim Fowley and manager Scott Anderson. Signature events, signings, and concerts are alluded to but never fully highlighted, and the band's peers and fans are omitted from the picture. The lack of context or third-party perspectives saps some of the power from the first-person interviews. The largest blow of all, however, is the lack of participation by Joan Jett, the band's heart and soul, and the inability of the filmmaker to license any of the Runaways studio recordings. Live performances of Lou Reed's "Rock `n' Roll" and the Troggs' "Wild Thing" give you a taste of their power as a band, but little sense of their original music.
Blue's interviews with four of the original band members, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West, are supplemented by interviews with songwriter Kari Krome, impresario Kim Fowley, latter-day manager Toby Mamis, and inspiration Suzy Quatro. Blue is able to get some startling admissions from her former bandmates, particularly Cherie Currie, and their on-going damage is revealed in the bitterness they harbor and the anger that remains towards one another (they're each interviewed separately) and for the adults who abused them. Blue doesn't successfully confront Fowley on the group's allegations, but interviews with Currie and West's mothers go a long way to solidifying his dark reputation.
Kim Fowley saw the band's demise as a product of the members' lack of friendship, but what's clear from the interviews is that neither Fowley nor Scott Anderson had an interest in the group's long term well-being, and used the teenage girls' immaturity as weapons against them. The band's demise, after a disastrous album with British producer John Alcock, produced a short-lived solo recording and film career for Cherie Currie, chart success as a pop-metal star for Lita Ford, and a major international music career for Joan Jett. Drummer Sandy West fell into a series of jobs outside the music industry (construction, bartending, veterinary assistance) and rackets (protection for drug dealers) before succumbing to cancer and a brain tumor in 2006. West remained haunted to the end by the Runaways' breakup, angry at those who manipulated the band and unable to understand why a reunion couldn't be pulled together.
Blue's film editing is very busy. The dizzy, hand-held interview footage quickly turns from v?rit? to distraction, as does the constant presence of music beds, and the jump cuts and video effects. Her choice of sunny outdoor locations for many of the interviews prompts her subjects to wear sunglasses, hiding the expressiveness of their eyes. Blue is to be lauded for getting this film off the ground, dealing with numerous limitations, and sticking with it to completion. Her insider's perch informs but also colors the story she tells, and without the broader context of the band's life and times there remains a definitive biography to be made. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [?2009 hyperbolium dot com]
DVD Review: Wonderful... Though Something Significant is Missing.
Summary: 4 Stars
The significant is Joan Jett. All the Runaways participate and Fowley even rears his arrogance for all to see but Jett is nowhere to be found outside of the historical footage. This is still a great behind-the-scenes retrospective through interviews (the girls still look great today) and quick flashback glimpses through concert and touring footage. It could have been spiced up with more Runaways material from the era; the footage of the Velvet's "Rock and Roll" live is a highlight. I grew right along with them and though I was a male in the audience, felt their ups and downs. I also took offense at Mr. Fowleys assessment of The Runaways' male audience at the time... he missed me by a mile. Ms. Blue is to be commended for her efforts. DVD Review: Great...where are the originals?
Summary: 4 Stars
I'll admit, I loved "watching" the Runaways far far better than listening to them ~ but I absolutely adore Joan Jett. (Sometimes, though, ask me what happened when my guitar player purchased Lita Ford's, I think, second album...) Still: WHEN IS SOMEBODY GOING TO MAKE AN ABJECTLY SYCOPHANTIC MOVIE ABOUT FANNY, who not only were there first and did it much better, but were infinitely more attractive? YO, David Bowie, R U listening?DVD Review: Where's Joan ?
Summary: 3 Stars
I was so excited to see the DVD. I've been a fan of Joan Jett & the Runaways for as long as I can remember. The documentary was interesting enough, but I couldn't stop wishing that Joan Jett was in it. Why wasn't she in it & so on. This became very distracting. It was cool to hear the points of view from the other ladies & see where they all wound up.
Description of Edgeplay - A Film About The Runaways
See the gripping rise of the first all-girl hard rock band, its hopes and dreams, and its eventual disintegration as the result of media belittling, in-fighting and drug use amidst rumors of verbal and emotional abuse by the band's management.General DVDs
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