Product Details

• Actors: JOHNNY THUNDERS
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: CHERRY RED
• DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001
• Run Time: 58 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000058TIA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,730 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Acquired but Worthwhile Taste, January 19, 2004

By 

Edward D. Terhune "Ed T." (Basking Ridge, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: THUNDERS, JOHNNY - DEAD OR ALIVE (DVD)

For the uninitiated, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers aren't everyone's cup of tea, or glass of beer. At his worst, John could be awful, looking and sounding like a wasted Ratso Rizzo. Watching or listening to him perform strung-out or, worse, stoned was voyeurism of the saddest and most guilt-inspiring kind, a witnessing of another human being's drug-induced self-destruction. John's addictions in time became a self-fulfilling freak show, a frequently tiresome routine and shtick, and as depressingly infamous as Iggy's self-mutilation during the legendary Stooges days. And yet, at his best, his music was magical and transcendent. His best songs are like finding nuggets of pure gold in a vast musical wasteland of sediment, particularly when one considers the truly insipid nature of what passes for rock music these days. Does this collection represent John and the boys at their most lucid, inspired best? Probably not, but it does include the greatest version of "So Alone" I've ever heard. Walter Lure's guitar has never sounded more hauntingly effective and Johnny's junkie stream-of-conscious monologue is chillingly-rendered and powerful. I loved the Dolls, and I loved the Heartbreakers, and I still do. John may be gone, but for those who appreciate the kind of visceral, vibrant music no one seems capable of making anymore, he will never be forgotten. A maudlin thought, perhaps, but true nonetheless.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Johnny is great, but this DVD isn't, January 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: THUNDERS, JOHNNY - DEAD OR ALIVE (DVD)

This DVD is mostly footage from a later concert in Paris. Johnny is sloppy (of course) and it seems that they went back in and overdubbed almost all of Johnny's guitar and vocal parts later. In my opinion this pretty much ruins the live feel of the video and it becomes more of a let's watch live footage while listening to a poorly synced studio recording. This is unfortunate because the moments when they leave the original sound alone are great. I love Johnny Thunders and I'm glad to have seen this video, but I would recommend renting it not buying it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars born to lose? nah, just BORING., August 21, 2001

By 

NICHOLAS I KEISER (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: Dead or Alive (DVD)

What a massive disappointment. ... I agree with the guy below who says that there's way too little '77 footage or interview stuff ... And you don't even get the performance, it seems! There are plenty of times when Walter Lure strums his guitar and there's no sound emited. And a lot of the footage doesn't quite match up with the music. "Born to Lose", for instance, STARTS with a snippet from the studio cut, then goes into a live reading of it. And most of the time, when there is "live" audio, it's not clear whether it's from the same date the '84 footage was shot -especially since things happen musically that don't go with the visual and vice versa. What a waste. I wish I would've hung on to my money...I could use it whenever the hell the Thunders documentary _Born to Lose_ hits DVD...