Product Details

• Actors: Peter Stampfel, Steve Weber, Sam Shepard, Dennis Hopper, John Sebastian
• Directors: Paul Lovelace, Sam Wainwright Douglas
• Format: DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Carnivalesque Films
• DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001D5F380
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,361 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS:BOUND TO LOSE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, joyful and sad..., April 5, 2009

By 

George T. Parsons (Nevada City, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (DVD)

This gives you a good glimpse into the creative core of this wildly stoned folk band. It's got some wonderful musical moments, the West Coast years are just grazed, and Michael Hurley is barely mentioned, but it tells you all you need to understand why it worked and didn't work out between Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. I laughed out loud when former drummer Sam Shepard said incredulously "We were on Laugh-In?"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank heavens for The Holy Modal Rounders, January 31, 2010

By 

Shannon Weil (Cool, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (DVD)

Loved this film but it sure confirms that if you don't take care of yourself, you come apart at the seems. Have been a fan of the Rounders since the 1960's and have their music on my iPod today. Do you know what it's like to have "Moving Day" played especially for you? It felt great!!!

The film was very good and yes, I would have liked to have seen more early footage but...maybe it just doesn't exist! Nevertheless, great job on documenting this exquisitely out-there bunch of musicians. Thumbs UP!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Can't Believe This Movie Ever Got Made!, July 14, 2009

By 

Sussex Pond Pudding (Somewhere in the desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (DVD)

I would have given five stars to anyone just for the very fact that they had made a documentary of the Holy Modal Rounders, one of the best unknown bands to come out of the 1960's NYC folk scene. However this film deserves this high rating anyway, fortunately.

A critic for the Village Voice says in an interview for this movie that the Holy Modal Rounders were second only to Bob Dylan in importance. As far as I am concerned they blow Dylan out of the water. Their honesty, passion, complete absence of pretension and appreciation for tradition while still being strikingly original make Bob Dylan sound like a Greenwich Village Bono, so full of himself that he thinks that he is more god and less musician. There is no danger of that with the Holy Modal Rounders. They epitomize "humble musician". They are anti-stars; just real, regular guys having a great time playing the music that they want to play, with absolutely zero thought of commercial success.

As far as the actual documentary, it is for the most part very well-done. I would have liked to see more biographical information, more early footage (that may not even be possible I suppose), and a bit more information on the actual experiences of life in the band in the 1960s NYC and their early post-NYC years in Portland. To put it simply, the film should have delved a bit more into the past. Other than that it was a pure joy to watch and contains great extra features, including interviews and performances. Any fan of the band truly must see this.