Customer Reviews

Live Forever

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I watched a new to DVD documentary called "Live Forever" this weekend and it's entertaining as hell. Most of the interviews feature the big names of the era: Damon, Noel, Liam, Jarvis and other assorted talking heads and pundits.

In addition to the 90 min main film, there is a supplement with all the interview bits they didn't edit in, and that section has some priceless moments, especially from Liam. Two examples:
Interviewer: You've often been described as androgynous..
Liam: What's that mean?
I: You have a feminine quality...
Liam: What's that mean?
I: You have a look that's neither masculine or feminine exactly...
Liam: You mean I look like a bird?
and he goes on to explain that he does care about how his hair looks cuz that's important.

I: "Live Forever" has been mentioned as a song that cystalizes the mid 90s. What's that song about?
Liam: It's about living forever, innit?

Lots of good music and vintage footage, but overall a somewhat surface look despite getting all the main participants to agree to on camera interviews.

Worth at least renting.

I would also recommend John Harris' more insightful book about BritPop in the 90s called "The Last Party."

"Live Forever" takes a sleek, well-documented look at "Cool Britannia," the British pop movement of the 1990s that briefly filled the void left by the demise of Nirvana and provided a soundtrack for the new era of Tony Blair and the Labour Party.

Though the DVD box promises looks at great bands such as Radiohead, The Verve, Elastica, Massive Attack and Portishead, those groups are just name-checked. The movie is actually dominated by Oasis, Pulp and Blur, three of the era's most popular bands who flew high for a while, got bogged down by feuding and excess and eventually tanked out. My only quibble is that the movie pokes a stick into the old Blur/Oasis rivalry; the feud was a marketing gimmick but the movie lingers on it too long and structures its coverage so that Damon Albairn (who famously came out on the bottom) gets kicked while he's down.

Seemingly taking its cue from the Experience Music Project's excellent musical history "Rock and Roll," "Live Forever" offers well-negotiated & stylishly arranged interviews (check Noel Gallagher being questioned first in the study of a posh estate, then later in what appears to be a ship's cargo hold), period clips and also sends a cool, composed camera into the areas from which the music came -- the streets of Manchester, the highways of Bristol and carefully tended suburbs.

Though the movie scatters details in a somewhat disorienting way that almost demands a repeat viewing, the interviews and the music are excellent.

Nicely packaged documentary not only about Brit pop, but 90's Britian period. The main focus is on Oasis & Blur, with some Jarivs/Pulp (but not nearly enough). Live Forever runs a little over an hour and also touches on politics, fashion, and art of the time. I had nearly forgotten about that horribly cheesey Vanity Fair cover with Liam and Patsy, but there it was--along with a flood of memories of the time.

I was at university in Wales at about the time when this all took off and this DVD filled me with a warm nostalgic glow, with occasional goose bumps, remembering how vital the whole scene was. The Oasis and Blur duel really was an important national news story. People actually bothered to watch Top of the Pops every Thursday. British music and film seemed to matter internationally and was finally taking over from Nirvana-alikes like Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden. Whilst detailing the main players in the music scene, you also see how the whole Britpop phenomenon was tied up with the political paradigm shift in the mid-90s from Conservative to New Labour and Alistair Campbell's Machiavellian meddling.
One caveat, for "Britpop", read Blur, Oasis and Pulp, as no one else really gets a look in. Given that the whole documentary weighs in at a mere 86 minutes, maybe that's as wide ranging as you could make it. That said, I'd like to have heard other Blur members' takes on events, or even just more from Jarvis Cocker or (the lovely) Louise Wener . It would certainly have benefited from heavier editing of the ramblings of fashionista, Oswald Boeteng and that bloke from Loaded magazine. The Gallagher brothers both make riveting viewing, as ever, even if they can't stand to be in the same room these days- Noel waxes lyrical about his working-class roots from what looks like one of the more elegant rooms of Balmoral Castle.

For an acid take on how Britpop was already in decline by the time of the Vanity Fair cover I'd recommend Hugo Young's book, "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People". He was one of the people responsible for getting the unlikely cover stars to the photo shoot and is not shy in describing the monstrous, coke-fuelled egos involved.

I heartily recommend this to anyone with even a fleeting interest in Blur, Oasis or Pulp. It offers a fair amount of insight into the 90s British music scene and while it could be more thorough and take in more bands, it does cover a lot of ground in a short time. If you've never watched a UK documentary and have grown up with VH1's Behind the Music or even Michael Moore, then you should watch this just to see that you don't have to cram in 30 different camera angles per minute to keep viewers interested. A very tastefully-presented film peopled with interesting characters and with a top-notch soundtrack.

If you enjoy the music of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, the Verve, this DVD will be entertaining. Granted some of its theories revolving the BritPop movement seem overextended, it still provides a bit of entertainment. You might not agree with some of the theories, but its still worth a listen. Anyway, the DVD devotes a most of its time to the 3 biggest bands at the time : Oasis, Blur, and Pulp. (Well, I guess the Verve should also be included, but I doubt the reclusive Richard Ashcroft was willing to give an interview). The DVD is worth a go just for the great MUSIC, the hilarious (and on-the-spot) GALLAGHER Bros. interviews, and Jarvis' insight. BTW, Damon Albarn comes off as a real tool.
Its also interesting that they interviewed two delusional members of an Oasis tribute band. I'm still baffled by that one.

Although a bit scant and lacking in depth overall, this rock doc about the rise and fall of Britpop deserves an "E" for effort, trying to encapsulate What It All Meant in just over 90 minutes. The golden era of "Britpop", as defined by the filmmakers, begins in 1994 with the release of Oasis' "What's The Story Morning Glory?" and is bookended by the death of Princess Di in 1997. The "movement" involved not only music, but a sea change in British fashion, movies, and politics. Present-day interviews with the brothers Gallagher (Oasis), Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and Damon Albairn (Blur)take up the majority of screen time, with teasingly short performance clips of key acts sprinkled in. The reflections range from thoughtful (Jarvis Cocker) to exasperating (Liam Gallagher, whose unintelligible mumbling and belligerent glare adds little insight to the precedings). The filmmakers spend too much time trying to rekindle the infamous (and silly) Blur vs Oasis "rivalry" hype by pushing an obviously reticent Damon Albairn to put in his two shillings worth (Noel Gallagher, on the other hand, readily takes the bait). The only real revelation for this viewer was the filmaker's interesting conjecture that this cultural explosion was primarily a "rebellion" by a new generation of Brits against the creeping "Americanization" of thier pop culture (Sort of a Boston Tea Party in reverse?! Discuss.) Worthwhile as a collectible for Anglophiles and/or fans of this specific music genre, other non-Brits will likely just shrug and think "Why an entire film on this subject?".

The idea of this DVD appealed to me greatly. As someone who was in college during what many consider to be the height of the 90's BritPop craze, I was totally immersed in this music! Having had no particular interest in the grunge scene of the early 90's, to me, the BritPop renaissance was a Godsend!
Having said that, when I saw this DVD at the store just the other day, I figured I would give it a try. While there are terrific moments, the whole affair comes up short.
Sure, it's great to see such in-depth interviews with the likes of The Gallagher Brothers from OASIS, Damon Albarn from BLUR and Jarvis Cocker from PULP, but there is so much missing!
I guess I was hoping for more live performance footage. The breif excert they show of PULP singing COMMON PEOPLE from Knebworth was a real highlight! But, as I said, it was breif.
My biggest problem is the fact that the film focuses a little too much on the old OASIS vs. BLUR argument. What about all the other great bands of that era? Sure, they talk a bit about PULP and they do give some credit to the STONE ROSES, but there were so many other bands that were either mentioned breifly or not at all. It would have been nice to see and hear more from amazings bands like SUEDE, THE VERVE, and RADIOHEAD.
Still, there are moments that make this DVD at least worth renting. It's worth it alone to see Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn sadly discuss the demise of this great movement in music.
In closing, this DVD is not a must to avoid. If you are a fan of BritPop, you will enjoy it, but you will inevitably be craving more when it is over.

I recieved this DVD for my birthday. I was currently in college in england when this all took place and it brings back great memories to see various brit bands. Unfortunately I think the documentary lingers too long on the thoughts and opinions of the Gallagher brothers, making it very one sided. I think for a documentary to work a view from various sides of the story have to be covered, and to a ceratin extent it was, with views from Jarvis Cocker, Damon Alban, and some very snooty music journalist who seemed very out of place, but there was very little input from one of the most important parts of the equation; the fans. The DVD mentions music by various brit bands, but barely plays a few seconds of each. Before you know it the documentary is talking about the appearance of Robbie Williams and the Spice Girls. Come on..... thats quite a jump, not to mention the a lack of discussion about how these bands of the 90's have been so influential to the music of the day.
I think any Britpop fan around in the mid 90's could have written a better diary of events than this documentary. There just seems like a little is missing.

it does capture the essence of the era...that being the 80s-90s of the brit pop/rock era. its a cliffnote version of the times with the well noted stars of the brit music business, noel and liam gallagher(luv ya blokes) as usual are dead on and funny as hell, damon of blur, the guy from pulp(too ugly to remember his name) and many more. i gave it 4 stars because it was an in depth look at the rise and fall of "swinging london and reigning brit rock" interesting, but i must say i took away that 5th star because they booed at all the american music...giving the impression that all of british rock was superior, when all of it is not...i've heard alot of brit music and i must admit alot of it is good and alot of it is rubbish as well. overall my 4 stars recommend this film to music lovers.

This was a great time for British music, and if you are of a certain age, you will enjoy this. If you like Dizzee Rascal and girls aloud, I probably wouldn't bother with it. However, if you have GOOD taste in British music, then this is for you. A little slow at times, but it captures the mood of the era well.