14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Added concert footage brings her story full circle, March 16, 2005
This review is from: Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams (DVD)
Viewers unfamiliar with Marianne Faithfull may wonder what all the fuss is about: her voice seems like a ruin, and her songs a gothic landscape of unfulfilled longing. Yet it's just these qualities that her long-time fans find redeem her pop-star past. The DVD doesn't add anything to explain this appeal (you either enjoy Marianne's voice and songs, or you find them inexplicable) but it does trace a line from past to present with a directness that even Marianne finds astonishing in the telling: how did I get here from there?
It's an old twist on the celebrity tale when Ms. Faithfull -- after being at the center of the cultural '60s storm, thanks in part to the Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham -- admits that "what I'd really like would have been a nice suburban life." You can take that remark at face value, or it can serve as the ultimate cautionary tale of wretched excess survived, from the co-writer of "Sister Morphine."
The bonus concert footage is from her appearance on "Sessions at West 54th" (2000), a summation of Marianne's recording career at the time, and her full-length interview is intercut with archival footage from the mid-sixties and parts of the concert at St. Ann's Church in NYC that make up her live album, "Blazing Away." If there's a fault to this production, it seems somewhat short at sixty minutes (the added concert footage does, however, stretch it to an hour-and-a-half): her '90s history seems a bit rushed, and there's Keith Richards to sit for an interview about Marianne and yet just two brief quotes, although great ones. The DVD is a good look at the flip-side of rock stardom and a showcase for Marianne's extraordinary career.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marianne Faithfull: A Legend, December 3, 2000
This is an excellent documentary of a legend in her own time. Friends and family talk about Marianne's rise to fame in the 60s and her decline. Vintage clips of the young star singing and in interviews show a lovely young girl who was so animated and beautiful. Faithfull herself in interviewed and is frank and honest about her rise to fame. Her husband, Nicholas Dunbar, also talks about Marianne and his need to take their son from her due to her decline into drug addiction. Keith Richards, Anita Pallenberg, and Beverly Mayal speak about the drug busts while Marianne was with Mick Jagger and there is plenty of input from Faithfull and film clips. Marianne's return to music and creativity is an intriguing part of the documentary. Finely paced and indepth look at one of the most intriguing female artists to emerge from the 1960s who is more fascinating today than ever before. One need not be a Marianne Faithfull fan to enjoy this well produced documentary which takes us from a most unusual childhood to a woman who is well in charge of her artistic talents. This video ends with a special treat of a few songs performed in concert this year. I highly recommend this video as I was glued to the screen.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good material, but stripped down re-release, December 5, 2007
This documentary is a budget re-release of the 2000 DVD of the same name. It has the same documentary material, but the 30-minute bonus music track has been stripped out. Oddly--or misleadingly--the songs are still listed on the back of the keep case.
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