Product Details

• Actors: Chris D., Chris Shearer, Dave Alvin, Eddie Flowers, Chuck Shepard
• Directors: Dean Lent, Kurt Voss, Allison Anders
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios Ho
• VHS Release Date: February 2, 1989
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301216288
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,282 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As with Jim Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise, Border Radio may be a small movie, but it marked the arrival of a significant talent. (Both debuts were also shot in black and white.) Co-directed by UCLA film students Kurt Voss, Dean Lent, and Allison Anders, it's a post-punk noir with documentary interludes. Chris D. (the Flesh Eaters) is Jeff Bailey, a name swiped from Robert Mitchum's character in Out of the Past. After the LA cult rocker steals money from a man named Skelley, he sends three hip thugs to collect ("The Clash are the cornerstone of social significance in rock and roll music," one insists. "It's just like dumb heavy metal," counters the other), so Jeff hightails it for Mexico. That leaves wife Luanna (Luanna Anders, Allison's sister) in the lurch. Bandmate Dean (X's John Doe), flaky roadie Chris (Chris Shearer), and Luanna spend the rest of the film trying to track him down. As for Anders, it would take another five years before Gas Food Lodging finally made her rep. With its low budget, four-year shoot, and ramshackle acting, Border Radio may be less technically adept than Repo Man, to name another film set in a similar milieu, but shares its anarchic spirit. And Lent's sundrenched 16mm cinematography and Blaster Dave Alvin's twangy score, fortified by tracks from Los Lobos and Green on Red, make it required viewing for fans of the LA punk scene, as well as the consistently underrated Anders. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a time capsule of los angeles - and more., January 12, 2007

By 

g. speedlace "Frontier Gentleman" (Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Border Radio (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

Originally scripted as a grim film noir homage, a series of financial dry spells stretched out the film's production schedule to three years, whereupon the screen story underwent as many dramatic changes as any of the hard-living bands from the music scene the film adopts as its backdrop.

Star Chris D. insists in the supplemental features that the original script's noir aspects are what attracted him to the project, but it was only once he became involved that the thing took shape as a "rock movie," with the added participation of D.'s friends (and sometime bandmates) like John Doe and Dave Alvin. Alvin went on to create an eclectic and memorable score for the film (now out of print, sadly), with players culled from friends and colleagues from X, Los Lobos, The Blasters and other local heroes.

Not every film could survive three filmmakers AND active contributions by everyone in the cast, but then it's a rare project that manages to pack this much simpatico talent onto one movie poster.

Additional DVD extras include deleted scenes, a potent "trailer" (including several moments not in the finished film) set to a driving musical score, and a pair of loose, enjoyable commentary tracks. Another welcome addition is Chris D. and The Flesh Eaters' vintage ain't-no-WAY-this-is-running-on-MTV music video for their classic "The Wedding Dice" (comically mangled by Chris Shearer in the film itself).

Had it followed its intended "straight noir" course, BORDER RADIO may well have survived as an interesting curio; but as it turned out, the film stands as a fitting elegy to an era, both in its depiction of a musical phenomenon's sunset and for its unique collaborative approach to filmmaking. That both still feel like breaths of fresh air twenty years on only stands as a testament to their legitimacy.

Like so many of the "lost" bands of the music scene it salutes with unabashed affection, BORDER RADIO is ripe for rediscovery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars john doe rocks my socks, November 27, 2008

By 

R. Andreas "raz-a-dazzle" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Border Radio (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

amazing cinematography, beautiful shots and locations, and interesting plot. i like this film more so for those great shots and improved scenes, but all around i loved it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old Fuddy-Duddy's Review, July 12, 2010

By 

R. Swanson "promise" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Border Radio (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

My taste in music runs from Vivaldi to Bach and back again. Ok, with a little detour for Leonard Cohen. I haven't listened to pop music (do they still call it that?) since the Eagles. And LA is a place I try to avoid at all costs. So it would seem that this isn't a film for me.

The first few minutes had me convinced of that idea. But, for some reason...maybe because I do like Mexico...I got into it. There are some beautiful, lyrical shots, especially in Mexico that are almost poetic. I liked a lot of the music, too. The acting was funny; you could tell that these folks were improvising. The story picked up and I grew fond of the characters, especially Chris,

I have to say that I ended up liking it a lot. Don't really know why ...probably because it was a labor of love.