Product Details

• Actors: Henry Rollins
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (PCM Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: IMAGO
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Run Time: 179 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005ABVV
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,971 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Talking From the Box/Henry Rollins Goes to London" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

He's been called "the angriest man in Los Angeles," but Henry Rollins is a good deal more than that. Although best known as a singer-songwriter with seminal punk rockers Black Flag and later his own Rollins Band, he is actually something of a Renaissance man, with experience as a film actor (The Chase, Heat, and others), published author and poet, and, as this two-disc set evidences, spoken-word artist. Each disc contains a single performance, both of them essentially unscripted monologues; the hourlong Talking from the Box comes from a 1992 gig at the Henry Fonda Theater in L.A., while the nearly two-hour Goes to London was filmed in that city the following year.

There's no music here, and precious little in the way of artifice--no special effects (notwithstanding some subtle editing and the use of both color and black and white), no production numbers, no props--just Rollins and his audience, which listens raptly as he rants, reads a little verse, tells some stories, and reminisces about his childhood, his life on the road, and so on. Sure, the anger is there, and the profanity flows freely. But Rollins also reveals himself to be surprisingly smart and literate, amusingly self-deprecating, generous, even vulnerable--especially during the "Two Boys" portion of Talking from the Box, when he recounts the horrific but riveting tale of the death of his best friend. Powerful stuff. --Sam Graham

Additional features

Bonus DVD features are the same on both discs, and include a complete discography, some biographical material, a photo gallery, Rollins's notes about the shows, and a selectable menu for moving from section to section within each performance.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not all fun and games..., March 14, 2000

By	sc_demandred (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking from the Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)

To my knowledge, this video is the only piece of audio or video media that contains Rollins talking about his best friend Joe Cole and what it was like to have him murdered in front of him. Rollins has kept this subject pretty closely guarded, and if you know his history, you understand why.

"Talking.." contains some funny stuff (Tales of his pet store days about "Bun-Bun the Rabbit", Henry's observations on and experiences in the LA Riots in 1992), as well as some more intense stuff; descriptions of his father's abuse, and the story about himself and Joe Cole.

It's an intense tape, and a good one. I highly recommend it for all fans, and even some of the non-fans may find it compelling and excellent, as I do.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Amusing...typical Hank, August 17, 2002

By	"paradigmsd" (Drunk, Tequilaville) - See all my reviews

Contrary to a certain previous review, Henry Rollins' spoken word is not about Henry whining about his past....his point isn't to prove his punk cred at all. Instead, Henry's stories are often filled with empathy towards those with a kind of strength not recognized by an anti-intellectual society that is raised on beer and football, and sees life on a one-dimensional level. His more personal moments occasionally bear the purpose of poking fun at himself, something that gives him more credibility as a thinking and searching human being than as a punk icon. As a musician, he can move a handfull of us, and exorcise his rawest angst. As a person, as a human, he can move mountains.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hank bears his soul and his weight on DVD..., May 28, 2002

By	Nate S. "sputnik7" (Bethlehem PA) - See all my reviews

This two-fer for Rollins fans is an easter egg. Half the stories he tells on both discs are tales told already on his spoken albums, but now have a nice visual touch added in for an even more intense view of Rollins' wonderfully twisted psyche. From travel stories, to personal enlightenment, to the death of friends..., Rollins has a superb gift for making the most mundane experiences we all share, to tight and personal stories you were miles away from, into events the audience can take away as a present, feel they were walking with him, laugh and hate, and feel good overall. Very good, very funny, very touching. A must for anyone who likes to hear a good story.