Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) User Reviews

The best Cobain focused documentary I've seen.

[ecmelton-186-105049 · 8/10 · 17 July 2015]

Some will complain that the documentary doesn't focus enough on Nirvana, and there's a very good reason for that. It's not a documentary about Nirvana; the film is intended to provide a more intimate look at Kurt Cobain as a person and provide insight into his more private and guarded moments. In that respect it is pretty successful. Nirvana's history is very well publicised, and the film assumes it's viewers are already fans that know a lot about the band (Why else would you watch a movie about the band's frontman?)

The films biggest selling point is that for the first time a director had the full cooperation of Cobain's family and access to the archive of materials he left behind, much of it had never been seen by the public eye before. These include home movies dating back to him as baby, behind the scene footage, and audio recordings. There is also going to be a companion book dedicated to never before seen photos and other materials that were unearthed. Unfortunately, it's not as exciting as it sounds. There may have been information I had never heard before, but none of it was surprising or profound. It all falls in line with what you would expect if you knew anything about Kurt going in. (I'm sure some people will disagree and say they found it shocking, but I didn't.) That being said the archival materials were well utilized and had a good presentation that fit into the story that was being told. It was nice to see them even if it was an over- hyped aspect of the movie.

From a technical standpoint the film really is a marvel. The animated transitions were a great way to incorporate the drawings and doodles that littered Kurt's notebooks. There are also scenes featuring puppetry and stop motion that are also inspired by his art and/or song lyrics. These are all really cool and actually provide more insight to his artistic style and writing process than you would think.

Additionally, several segments are entirely animated, and they look beautiful. Doing this is much more captivating than just just showing people talk about events or have a voice-over with a slideshow of pictures. It was a very good choice, and adds a lot to the viewing experience.

The film's soundtrack features live Nirvana recordings, covers and remixes, as well as music by other artist that fit the scenes, such as the Buddy Holly song that plays over his parents home movies from the '60s. This is well executed and I particularly love the violin rendition of "Smell Like Teen Spirit" that was used to mimic an orchestral score in the longest animated sequence.

Overall the film is an energetic and seemingly honest look at Kurt Cobain and the man he was. It was well made, entertaining, and a worthwhile documentary that stands head and shoulders above any other documentaries about him.

A refreshing documentary that presents Kurt Cobain as a human not a victim.

[riaghan · 9/10 · 21 June 2015]

By far this is the most comprehensive look into Kurt as a human being, without the sole focus being on his drug addiction and his depressive moods.

For the last 21 years the majority of what has been published has focused on Kurt's last few years and his impending demise but it was refreshing to see a documentary that tried to look at the big picture which included home footage of Kurt with his family as a young kid and as an adult, just being himself.

The inclusion of so much of Kurt's art and personal journals added so much depth and insight into his feelings at different times over his life, even though editing can skew what we see and what we don't.

It is fantastic that Frances Bean Cobain had an integral role in producing a more accurate representation of who her father really was rather than who the media/tabloids wanted him to be.

Intense portrayal which relies on source material

[crocolm · 7/10 · 10 April 2015]

It's 21 years since Kurt Cobain's death by suicide and his status as a legendary alternative rock figure and totem for a disaffected generation has not dimmed in the intervening period.

Although I had been eagerly awaiting this documentary, at the same time I approached it with a wariness more than half expecting it to be a depressing encounter. Given what I already knew about the mental difficulties and addiction problems Kurt faced during his short life and the eventual sad outcome it was hard to believe that anything of a positive nature could be wrung from seeing this.

This is the first official documentary made about the life of Kurt Cobain. It has been made with the co-operation of his family. His daughter Frances Bean is an executive producer. His parents, sister, wife- Courtney Love, first girlfriend and fellow band member Chris Novoselic (the third band member Dave Grohl is the notable absentee) have all contributed, allowing themselves to be interviewed.

The expectation of access to intimate home videos as well as Kurt's own drawings, writing, outpourings etc and other previously unseen footage bringing with it the possibility of gaining a clearer view on Kurt Cobain's life is probably the thing which will entice most viewers to go see this. This heavy reliance on this intimate source material makes for an intense portrayal of the subject. It's also what makes it a success. It's noticeable how often for instance on screen we are shown up-close, his own words in his hand-writing in the original copybook complete with stains and other words and sentences crossed out. It's the closest place the director can bring us, next to occupying Kurt's mind. Much of the writing is angry and nihilistic but there are lots of lists too- of things to do for example; it all suggests a wildly active mind and one not easy to keep a rein on.

Home videos himself and Courtney produced, both while pregnant with, and then after Frances Bean was born similarly get us up-close and personal. It's excruciating to watch but compelling too- a couple wrapped up in each other but also in their drug dependency. When Frances Bean is born his love for her is touching but then the videos also reveal the declining health as the heroin addiction spirals.

As intense and personal as it is there are no major revelatory insights into the life or death of Kurt Cobain in this documentary. This is not a failing of the documentary as I don't think any revelatory new angles or expositions could have been expected. As well as this the title (taken from the name of a mix-tape Kurt put together) does indicate obfuscation or a lack of clarity or certainty about a picture drawn. So it should be; where a life ends so tragically definitive answers can never be presented and any distillation of his life or death into neat summations is thankfully and rightly avoided.

The documentary tells us the following (which in essence we already know or suppose we know). Kurt was an energetic, intelligent child who became withdrawn and angry as he got older, probably owing largely to his parent's divorce. He was often a lone, self-hating teenager who found a release from his angst in smoking pot and then at a certain age he discovered punk music which lit a torch and he began to teach himself guitar and write music. He was disaffected enough and genius enough to write brilliantly disaffected genius songs. His music struck a chord, Nirvana became huge almost overnight and then he struggled with the idea of being held up as a spokesperson for a generation. Desperately insecure, above all else he craved love and a need for rootedness- a family to belong to. He found this with Courtney Love and later their daughter. He sought refuge in them away from what he saw as a hostile world but tragically he also sought refuge in heroin.

An incredibly intimate and emotional portrait of a rock icon.

[BrentHankins · 9/10 · 4 May 2015]

It's been more than 20 years since the death of Kurt Cobain, and while there have been numerous documentaries, books, and television programs devoted to telling his story, it's difficult to point to any one account as being the definitive portrait of the Nirvana frontman. But Brett Morgen's fascinating film Cobain: Montage of Heck is more than worthy of that title.

Chronicling Cobain's life and career through never-before-seen home videos, sketches, audio recordings and diary entries, Montage of Heck provides an unprecedented look into the mind of one of rock music's most iconic figures. This is the first film to have the full support and cooperation of Cobain's family, and the wealth of material resulting from this partnership is staggering.

Most of the journal entries featured in the film have been animated and set to music, providing a unique and frenetic energy that seems to distract the audience from the fact that they're being forced to read in order to keep up with the narrative. Sometimes they're nothing more than a few short words, other times they're entire pages of ideas and song lyrics and scribbles, but they all showcase a mind that functioned with the same sort of reckless abandon with which Cobain played music.

But the animation isn't just limited to the words on the pages of Cobain's many journals. Indeed, there are several fully-animated sequences that are combined with recordings of Cobain recounting anecdotes from various periods in his life. These scenes, from animators Hisko Hulsing and Stefan Nadelman, have an almost dreamlike quality, and breathe an incredible amount of life into Cobain's own narration.

Montage of Heck is also peppered with interviews, with frequent quotes from Cobain's parents, his first serious girlfriend, former bandmate Krist Novoselic, and even his widow, Courtney Love (conspicuously absent is Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who served as the band's drummer for the bulk of their short career). Once again, the cooperation of these individuals provides tremendous insight into the series of events that led Cobain into his downward spiral.

But the most emotional material, and certainly the most difficult to watch, is a lengthy segment during the film's second hour devoted to home video footage of Cobain and his wife. We see them holed up in their apartment during a heroin-fueled binge, with frequent cuts to news headlines about their drug problems, and Cobain's angry handwritten retorts. We see them at home after the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, taking baths together and cracking jokes, obviously in love despite the undeniable toxicity of their relationship.

Far from the sort of talking head style that is so common with other music documentaries, Montage of Heck instead offers the most intimate look at Cobain that we've ever seen. From the casual listener to the hardcore fan, every viewer can expect to learn something about Cobain that they didn't know before, leaving with even more appreciation for his art, and more sorrow over his tragic self-destruction.

The Quintessential Kurt Cobain Doc

[KnightsofNi11 · 8/10 · 7 May 2015]

Some say that you're not a true rock and roll legend until you've had an extensive authorized documentary made about your legacy. Just kidding, nobody says that. Kurt Cobain was a legend as soon as Nevermind hit record stores, and his legacy continues today, immortalized by Nirvana and the massive impact his genius had on punk rock. But not only was he one of the best rockers who ever lived, Kurt Cobain was one of the most extraordinary and misunderstood minds of his generation, whose own brilliance caused his self destruction. He's a complex and intricate spider web of a person, and Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck goes on the deepest and most intimate exploration of this enigmatic genius that has ever been done.

Montage of Heck chronicles Cobain's entire life, beginning with his parents meeting and Kurt's childhood, all the way up to his suicide in 1994 which is nothing more than a title card at an abrupt end of the film. Don't think that this is a Nirvana documentary, or a Courtney Love documentary, or any other kind of documentary other than a Kurt Cobain documentary. Montage of Heck examining his relationship with his family, his lovers, his band, and Nirvana's massive following which played on Kurt as a blessing and a maddening curse.

Montage of Heck is directed by Brett Morgen, the director of my personal favorite ESPN 30 for 30 episode, June 17th, 1994, a sports documentary that only uses news footage from one particular day in sports to tell its story. Morgen employs similar techniques here. The amount of home video footage that exists of Cobain from his adolescence all the way through his relationship with Courtney Love (which includes some pretty disturbing drug induced home video), is astounding. Montage of Heck is brilliantly pieced together through this home video footage, interviews with people close to Kurt, audio recordings of Kurt and friends, and Kurt's own journal writings and drawings, gloriously animated in what makes for the most fascinating look into the mind of this troubled genius.

Some of the best parts of the film take us through his journals where his mad scientist scribbles and macabre H.R. Giger-esque drawings show us his reactions and feelings towards the band, their rising popularity, Courtney Love, etc. all to paint a fascinatingly intricate portrait of this man. To call Montage of Heck an examination of Kurt Cobain would be doing a disservice to this great doc. Montage of Heck is less of an examination and more of a journey, a violent yet graceful boat ride into the seas of one of rock and roll's most dynamic minds. It's a film that is as beautiful as it is brutal, and as sentimental as it is visceral.

This is the most honest and in depth insight into a man who seemed to have everything, yet battled demons all his life to find what really could make him happy. Sadly, those demons won, but not before Kurt Cobain could be immortalized as a rock and roll icon. And now we're lucky enough to have this film which celebrates all that he left behind. A film that shows us not only who Kurt Cobain was on stage, but who he was as a passionately flawed human being who wanted nothing more than to love, be loved, and rock the f out.

An enjoyable film, but with a questionable focus

[natamity · 6/10 · 22 June 2015]

This documentary told me little I didn't already know about the great Kurt Cobain. With supposed access to numerous home videos, journals and members of Kurt's immediate family, friends and band mates, I find it curious the aspects of Kurt's life the director chose to focus on. It is evident that the aim of the documentary is to portray Kurt as a troubled and depressed soul, yet it doesn't provide any real insight into the events that created such a feeling in him. One such oddity is the interview with Kurt's mother which never delved deeper than the surface points of some of the major events of Kurt's life (ones that we've already learned more about from other journalists in years past). For instance: They touch on Kurt's homelessness as a teen, yet don't venture into the circumstances that caused his homelessness or have any depth of discussion about this major point in Kurt's life. How Kurt came to be the man and artist that captivated so many is still as mysterious now as it was before I watched this documentary.

Apart from the documentary's questionable focus and content, the style in which the story is told is well done, with fluid interchanges between Kurt's journal entries, old home videos, photos, sound recordings and interviews. The use of animation helped pull everything together and added a dreamy dimension to the story telling.

All in all an enjoyable, well made film, but an informative and insightful documentary it is not.

Simple but worth a watch

[magicmarker-37731 · 8/10 · 30 April 2015]

I have read a couple Bios of Nirvana and found this doc to be fairly simplistic. Still I enjoyed seeing the unseen footage and cartoon montages. What I was really hoping for was a bit more focus of Kurt when he lived in Evergreen and was dating Toby Vail(would have liked to of seen her in the doc). The experience he had during that time is what inspired him to write many if not all of the songs from Nevermind. What the doc did include was well done. I also wish there was a few more people included in the doc. Dave Grohl, Chad Channing, Toby Vail, to name a few. Still A must watch for any Nirvana/Kurt Cobain fan. The story of Kurt Cobain is a frustrating one his personality mixed with his addictions was what ultimately led to his downfall. I really wish he would have sucked it up and stuck around a bit. I will admit the Doc did a good job capturing just how sensitive and awkward he was before during and after his fame.

Great,, super.

[Eric_Cubed · 7/10 · 24 June 2015]

This is a documentary that presents another side of Kurt Cobain unseen by the public. What many don't understand is that, like Dylan's 3rd album, "Another side of Bob Dylan," this is simply all this movie is, another perspective of the great grunge genius. Kurt was never a man, always a boy with the gift of genius. Unfortunately, all the risk factors for suicide were there: childhood abandonment, genetic family history of bi-polar illness and suicide (two uncles committed suicide), addiction to heroin, stress of fame, Severe Depression and, of course, a highly unhealthy and destructive relationship with Courtney Love. He never had a chance really, and those who loved him had no clue, couldn't have, at the path of destruction he was on. And yet, he left us with perhaps the best rock songs ever, especially on Nevermind, and I am sure his legacy will last for a long, long time. The scenes in this movie depict a Cobain at his best and his worst, strung out in his daughter's presence and raging on the stage. Like Amy Winehouse, Cobain was on a mission to self-destruction. We've seen this before. Syd Barrett,Ian Curtis, Nick Drake, the list goes on. For those blessed with genius, the normal developmental milestones don't mean quite so much. At 21, most of us are struggling with independent living skills, young adulthood, etc. Not so with Kurt Cobain. He was busy proving to the world his potential, which like Dylan, he was very aware he was predestined for. The Blade-runner line, "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long" is all too applicable to the life of Cobain, especially in light of his bi-polar illness. When I heard, "You Know You're Right," I couldn't help but to feel helpless, angry at what might have come had he somehow lived, had he accepted Duff mckagan's invitation to chill with him that night (a Mckagan knew he was suffering). But like Poe, his creativity came from a well of mental illness, and that is the frame we must view Cobain in, for the kind of illness he suffered from is the kind that cannot last in it's piercing incarnation, at least without medication, be it heroin or lithium.

"Tell me where did you sleep last night?"

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 12 February 2016]

I've been an admirer of Brett Morgen's work for a while, and throughout his films (Kid Stays in the Picture, Chicago 10, 06/17/94), he's constantly displayed a great gift for how to do montages and to expand the form of the documentary, whether it's through voice-over that is (and isn't) right out of a book with corresponding imagery for Robert Evans, or with rotoscoped animation for the trial of the Chicago 7 in the late 60's. So it is logical that if he'd take on a documentary on Kurt Cobain it would be in montage form. The question is is it any good? That of course will depend on how attached you might be to the Cobain "mythos" that has sprouted since (or even before) his death.

I didn't have that kind of attachment - I love the band and like his work as a lyricist and musician, but it stops there - so went in to this fairly fresh and only knowing scattered facts about Cobain (all of them petty and none of them really mentioned here). What made the movie work for me is that Morgen sets up empathy with his subject and the audience very quickly, and it's thanks to a treasure trove of archive material. This director had access to so much 8mm home movie footage, hand-held camcorder video from the early 90's, old Nirvana band tapes, audio cassette recordings that Kurt made as a teenager, even a couple of voicemail messages and conversations (if the movie doesn't make you want to check out Over the Edge, it's doing something wrong).

But most of all are the journal entries, which is where much of the real meat of Morgen's film comes through. You get a complete purview into who Cobain was, from youth up until just near the end, with these journals and they're full of so many words but also drawings - Cobain was an incredible drawer and artist, and maybe in another life could've been a comic book guy with the sensibility of a more deranged Mike Judge or something - so Morgen uses these to his advantage and leaps off from creating animations from these drawings into animations based on Kurt's words. Possibly the highlight of the first half of the movie comes with Cobain's story of being disaffected, smoking pot, and trying to have his first sexual experience with a messed up fat girl, and it's startling to see how these images unfold.

But unlike Chicago 10, the movie's not anchored in this style. Morgen is all over the place at times with his montages, going from behind the scenes footage of music videos to Kurt and Courtney's own home movies. The latter becomes borderline invasive in some way, not too far removed from watching the Tommy Lee/Pamela video from years back, minus the sex (though Courtney Love cant help but show some boob). Perhaps it is necessary to see just what their relationship was like without any media bias; this part is also brought forward with articles that I found fascinating for what could very well have been totally true... or a bunch of BS, and probably the truth was in the middle. They were junkies, they were in love, and the degree to how much they were using colors perceptions for people.

Oh, and the movie is with wall-to-wall Nirvana music, from very deep, obscure, super-early-career cuts from punk shows to Kurt recording the Beatles 'And I Love Her' on a little cassette. Morgen has a natural ability to combine images with rapid succession, but I never really felt lost so long as I was paying attention to what was going on on screen. I saw it on HBO, but now regret I didn't get the full visual-aural experience in a theater, since it seems made for that kind of maximum impact.

I don't even think Montage of Heck gives a 100% clear view of things that happened for Nirvana or in all of Cobain's life, and yet that's kind of fine - it has enough time to go through the major accomplishments, but it doesn't matter the how completely except that he did it, and at that point now what? But by the end of it I felt like I got enough to see the man in a slightly new way. Before my impression of Cobain was of some cooler-than-thou dude who lived the rock and roll lifestyle too fast. In reality, he was a sensitive dude who loved punk rock and skyrocketed much too quickly to fame. Had Nevermind somehow not been so good, one wonder if he'd still be alive - or what else might've taken him down after a childhood of persona non grata status.

The controversial idol

[ffvlahos · 7/10 · 2 June 2015]

A controversial image. An uncompromising revolutionary artist or an adolescent with psychological problems? The truth is that Kurt Cobain was, is and will be an enormous figure. A man milestone in music history. In the film they made very good efforts to approach such a complex personality and in a great degree they succeed. Very nice scenes with animation. I'd like some more interviews of Cobain so I could understand him better. The only thing that annoyed me were the scenes with Courtney Love. That approach gave me the feeling that i watched a soap opera. Nevertheless, a remarkable documentary which from we learn more of that wonderful musician, Kurt Cobain.

Review of Montage of Heck

[edrx-15144 · 10/10 · 19 October 2015]

When Montage of Heck, a Sundance Film Festival award winning movie directed by Brett Morgan, was released, Rolling Stone Magazine called it "the most intimate rock doc ever made". This could not be more true. Frances Bean Cobain was credited as a producer for the project which was terrific news for Morgan. Courtney Love is, quite frankly, a nut case, all of the rights to Kurt Cobain's music, recordings, notebooks, and home movies are in Frances' name. These rights are exercised to their fullest extent in this movie.

Many other documentaries focus on one story, told in different parts by people related to the subject. There is very little music or excitement in them. A documentary about Kurt Cobain had better be playing Nirvana nonstop. Not only that, but the film features popular music from his childhood and live performances, and even includes arrangements of songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit. Certain guitar parts or vocals are isolated and played to create certain moods over a scene. The entire soundtrack is quite genius actually.

The interviews are told by people that are generally well known to Nirvana fans and the public. Krist Novecelic (Nirvana's bassist) and Courtney Love (Cobain's wife) are amongst several people who contribute to the story, along with Kurt's parents and the muse of Nevermind, Kurt's ex-girlfriend Tracy. Each person has another heartbreaking piece of the Cobain legacy. As stated before though, this isn't the only way the story is told.

The home movies and recordings are pieced together in this amazing time line that lay most of Kurt's life out on the screen. Kurt Cobain was a mystery to the world. He told such extravagant stories and lied because, as the voice of Kurt explains, he was bullied as a child and wanted to make himself "cool". First of all, hearing him talk about being bullied possesses such a humanizing effect, Kurt seems like another run of the mill faceless kid, which is exactly what he was before Nirvana. And also, it is such a refreshing way to hear a story. Rather than be told one opinion of the man by people who knew him, the viewer can watch, god like, over the story and form their own opinion.

For the parts of his life that were not recorded, Kurt's digital journal was used as the narration for an animated version of 1980's Aberdeen, 1990's Seattle, and everywhere he was in-between. The story is interesting to be heard with an artists rendition to help the viewer visualize the story better.

Listening to Kurt's voice on these stories is amazing, while being a little demented. It's a great strategy to get the audience closer, but while some of the audio clips were from interviews, some sounded as if they were recorded journal entries. Almost as if everyone watching the film was reading his diary.

Kurt was quoted saying that he never wanted all the fame. People constantly trying to figure him out and get in his head made him uncomfortable all the time. Had Cobain himself seen the film, he probably would've hated it. Every aspect of this poor man's life was too chaotic for a perfectly strong person to handle. Kurt was a sad boy at heart who had a broken brain and a rotting stomach. Every single morning, he would wake up to a swarm of thoughts constantly stinging him like yellow jackets. Which makes Montage of Heck a perfect title for a story about the tragedy of Cobain. Rather than focus on the band and his contribution to rock and roll, Montage brings the viewer into the enigmatic mind of Nirvana's front man. From the beginning where he was a giddy, creative, and loving little kid, to the end where the weight of being the worlds biggest rock star makes him want to taste the shell of a shotgun blast. The legend of Kurt Cobain is a difficult thing to capture, but Montage of Heck does an exceptional job of telling it.

First 20 minutes you feel sorry for him, but then.....

[ottoinct · 7/10 · 27 May 2015]

Tough upbringing as a teen especially, no one wanted him at their home. He bounces from one relative to another, all kicking him out sooner than later. You feel sorry for him, seriously. I'm guessing Dave Grohl didn't participate since the film does not really flatter the departed. And would only beg the question, "Why didn't you see it coming?" "And why didn't you do something?" Who needs that awkwardness from the past coming back up? This flick actually makes Cobain out to be exactly what you think a young major rock star would be like after going from a nobody to really famous overnight.

Some of the footage with Cobain's kid is riveting only because you think something bad is going to happen to the child. It does not paint the parents as responsible very often.

The key lesson is even though someone may really be extra sensitive and hurt by criticism, or by being embarrassed, or by being mocked, etc., when they clearly are on a crash course with an early demise, say f*cking "something" people! No doubt the bass player is haunted by his inaction.

100% sad. You've been warned.

I'm disappointed in this movie and the hype surrounding it.

[tonepv · 5/10 · 30 April 2015]

I am saddened at how so many critics, journalists and fans are irresponsibly throwing around the phase "the definitive documentary" in regards to Kurt Cobain. This film is absolutely not definitive. It offers a very narrow slice of Kurt's life and has little to no focus on his craft, which is the one thing Kurt wanted people to examine more than anything.

The title "Montage of Heck", taken from one of Kurt's old mixtapes, is surely a fitting name. The film makes use of several clips from Kurt's home videos, drawings, notebooks, poetry, love letters and more. The editing in these montages is gorgeous and alluring, and there are some animation segments that are absolutely beautiful. Nonetheless, these sections of the film often dragged on too long and felt like they were unnecessarily repetitive, distracting from the narrative instead of serving it and over-selling us on parts of Kurt's mind and inner turmoil which were already very clear.

Speaking of narrative, the one story this film tells is a story we already know and understand too well. The film has a single theme only, which is to use personal media graciously offered from the Cobain family to tell the story of a talented, hyper-sensitive tortured soul and drug addict who killed himself, and the cloud of chaos that lead up to that point. There is little to no insight on his art, only the struggles that propelled him to make his art, which are much less interesting because as an audience we are well aware of what negative habits can do to the psyche or physical health, but the real intrigue is what a person creates or does despite those issues. Perhaps that's my opinion, though.

The irony here is saddening. This film, somehow managed to spend over 2 hours on highlighting the product of a failed marriage and broken upbringing, drug abuse, Courtney, ridicule and the pressures of press, all of which are the exact same things that ultimately lead to the recluse Kurt became and fed into his tragic suicide. This film somehow managed to become the enemy and mirrored everything Kurt tried to run away from.

All that being said, I guess in the spirit of Rock and Roll, there is no real justice. Kurt won't get the movie he deserves, even after his death we seem to continue to focus on the obvious redundant clichés of the dark sides of his life. Although those things are real and an important part of his story, they are indeed only one part. That isn't definitive at all. As Kurt always said, "Just listen to the music, everything I have to say is there". He wasn't lying.

I don't think I have words to describe how good I thinks this documentary is

[lexi-guiot · 10/10 · 3 May 2015]

It really does take the myth out the man, and you are able to see him as real person who was super talented and unfortunately was never truly happy with himself and you see glimpses of happiness when he is with his family and band mates or playing music. I loved it, and it has stayed in my head for days because I always had this idealism towards who Kurt was, that seeing him as just a human being with severe self-acceptance issues, and at the same time, a very honest and sensitive guy who loved his wife and daughter, but could only love them the way he knew how, it was really cool and refreshing.

People who do not like this documentary are of course entitled to their opinion, but I have never watched any nirvana or Kurt documentaries and I thought this one was a great presentation of the man he was and how he saw the world, so I don't get why you would not like this and think other documentaries are better.

It is all about perspective and what the documentaries focus on, so I don't understand why people think they needed to see more footage of this or that...

I 100% recommend this one!

Made Purely for Kurt Fans

[jimalan · 10/10 · 17 July 2015]

His daughter was so happy with this film that she was crying and thanking Brett Morgan at the Sundance Festival. It's sad that her only birthday that he was alive for, he accidentally got too high for. Then again, he is human and that's why we stand by him.

Other than that, it was very enjoyable being able to finally hear Tracy speak. I have only seen pictures or heard of her, for the last 21 years, prior to this film.

I had heard the cassette tape started by Kurt Cobain in which he called 'Montage of Heck' where you can hear Kurt vomiting and urinated (at one point) so the title of this documentary kinda scared me, but they did not play the cassette.

Aside of home videos and other footage, they showed videos in which Kurt once put together, unreleased journals and drawings of his (provided by Miss Tracy), his mom even gave them drawings that he drew when he was little, and some of his audio diary was put in there, although he did already speak of the train track suicide attempt in the About A Son interview.

Unfortunately, his life shows the reality of heroin addiction, but he was a very talented young man.

Falls a little short of its potential.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 7/10 · 23 June 2015]

I like Nirvana, but I've never loved them. Maybe too much oversaturation in childhood keeps me from finding much of Nevermind particularly special, but I do adore their MTV Unplugged show. That's when I got it. I hoped Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck would further my appreciation for the band and the icon, but it fell a bit short. It's a frenetic documentary as expected, but instead of feeling raw and passionate, it can feel overcooked and overcalculated. Granted, that's what you get when you invite a montage. It is an impressive blend of archive footage, home video, talking heads, original animation. It lacks focus, taking anecdotes in chronological order and it doesn't feel like a full picture.

The film doesn't come to fruition until Frances Cobain is born and you see a different shade of Kurt. To be frank, from the home video and interviews, Kurt is nothing more than an average irritating and mopey guy in his mid-20s. I don't know why I expected more of him, but his standoffishness was annoying before it became tragic. I can't say it illuminated his talent or any pioneering spirit in the music industry, but I guess it's lightning in a bottle. The best moments are the rise to success montages where you really feel their influence. Solid doc, but you can only do what you can with what you're given.

7/10

Ultimately, Montage of Heck is the most honest window into the troubled and tortured soul of Kurt Cobain.

[mdroel20 · 8/10 · 12 August 2015]

Never has there been a more intimate film produced about the trials and tribulations of Kurt Cobain until now. Director, Brett Morgen, has been hard at work since 2007 rummaging through Cobain's diaries and home movies to take us through Kurt's trajectory from childhood to super stardom and finally to his untimely demise. Ultimately, Montage of Heck is the most honest window into the troubled and tortured soul of Kurt Cobain.

Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselic, sets the tone early with the heartbreaking and remorseful statement, "With 20/20 hindsight, you think, Why didn't I see it? or Why didn't I say something?" Though a sentiment, his ultimate end seemed inevitable.

It is no secret that Cobain's childhood was dreadful and home was broken. This film shed further light on the fact, having been displaced from his and multiple family members' homes in his teenage years. He was an outcast and loner through his formative years, to the point where he attempted suicide for the first time, by way of a train, but fortunately fate went the other way. There is solace that his upbringing inspired such beautiful, though at times, twisted, art.

If you're not fond of Courtney Love, this film will add more fuel to the fire. The most uncomfortable scene to watch is an array of clips of Kurt and Courtney clearly out of their minds of heroin, being ludicrous. Kurt and Courtney's drug use was no secret, but seeing the effects is undoubtedly the most troubling and painful scenes to watch.

One of the overarching themes throughout Montage of Heck was Kurt's overwhelming sensitivity. Novoselic recounts Kurt feeling humiliated and devastated by a small time critic's negative review of their first single. Courtney echoed Novoleslic's claim in telling the cryptic and infamous tale of the Rome incident. Love sheds light that Kurt felt severely betrayed when his wife almost cheated on him, responding by taking 67 Rohypnol pills, overdosing, and going into a coma. This was a month before his untimely suicide at the age of 27.

For better, Montage of Heck, ends without going into any detail of his suicide, as it fades to black and merely states the fact on a plain, black screen.This brilliant film does a splendid job of not withholding the gritty details and benefits from exposing the most intimate view of Cobain. There is no other subject as complicated as Kurt Cobain, but Montage of Heck will live as unequivocally the closest idea of the inner demons of Kurt.

Digging for the Damaged Soul Behind a Cultural Icon

[drqshadow-reviews · 7/10 · 25 June 2015]

An uncomfortably close look at the private life of Kurt Cobain, short-term rock superstar and unwilling voice of a disgruntled generation. In the decades since his untimely suicide, Cobain's become an almost mythical figure, which isn't to say he was anything less at the height of his mid-90s popularity. To that end, it can be useful to ground his legacy in this way: intimate home video footage shows him unguarded behind closed doors, but also captures his steady state of mental decay. Where there's a gap in his video history between childhood (and it's heartbreaking to watch this happy little boy, knowing what tragedies his life held in store) and early adulthood, journal entries, artwork and beautiful animated segments keep the narrative moving. Clearly he was hanging on by a thread for longer than most could manage, pushed into a pit of despair by a bleak combination of abandonment, physical frailty, intense media scrutiny and constant, desperate drug abuse. It's not the Cobain many of us might want to see, or to believe in, but it feels so close to the truth that I could almost feel his breath on me. As an extreme close-up on one of my era's biggest names it's significant, with a killer soundtrack of course, and unexpectedly real. It frequently feels invasive, though, especially in the interviews with his parents (his stepmother's continuous, awkward smile is particularly unnerving) and I'm not sure I'm totally okay with the way it made me feel. Powerful in many good, and many bad, ways.

Misunderstood

[a_aziz_tarek · 8/10 · 31 December 2015]

This movie suffers from misleading advertising. This is NOT the definitive documentary. If you were looking for a story about Nirvana, the songs or the rock stardom then you will be heavily disappointed. I think this is a story about Family, Parenthood and Addiction. The tragedy of 2 generations in the same family that were cursed with dysfunctional relationships, selfishness, irresponsibility, self-destructiveness and of course addiction. Kurt was abandoned as a child, and he was tossed around between his parents and other family members, because as they themselves put it in blaming each other "couldn't handle him". And then there is Courtney and Kurt the married couple, the parents, the addicts, and the damage they could have inflicted on their baby. I used to think that Cobain killed himself because of what was happening with the music, and the stardom that he never desired, but after seeing this movie, I am more inclined to think that he was torn between his love for his child, his yearning for building a family that didn't resemble the one he had as a child, and his inability to raise her, mainly due to his addiction -some of the footage was immensely disturbing- I don't think he could bear the idea of the inevitable future of her being taken away from him. But then again, if this was true, he chose to give up and abandon her all together. This a beautifully made film, tries to go inside Kurt's mind and relive the events in his life that led to his tragic death. It is also the saddest movie I have ever scene.

Baringly humanizing and intimate look at Kurt's personal life

[retroguy02 · 12 July 2015]

Let me say it beforehand that I've never watched a Kurt/Nirvana documentary before this nor read any of the books about him and I'm not a Kurt obsessive, although I've admittedly read up on his death and admire Nirvana's music and their contribution to 90s pop culture (which I am a fan of).

This documentary is a surprisingly humanizing look at him, with pretty much zero focus on the circumstances of his death (only a two-second note about it appears on the screen right before the credits roll) - which was quite refreshing since there seems to be a macabre obsession about Kurt's death, almost to the point of overshadowing what he was like as a person. And that's precisely what this documentary does - bring him from this deified rock legend pedestal to the level of a man, what he was like as a son, as a father, as a brother, as a husband and ex-boyfriend.

The interviews with his father, sister (it's the first time his immediate family has agreed to one), ex-girlfriend Tracy Marander and his mom Wendy in particular - along with more familiar faces like ex- wife Courtney Love and bandmate Krist Novoselic - are touching, at times uncomfortable and revealing. They map out a sensitive and talented but vulnerable artist who was a little too conscious of himself.

Although there's also performance footage here, Nirvana's music is almost a minor footnote and the focus strictly remains on the man himself. The stylized animations of Kurt's journal entries, drawings and narrations of his teenage years fill in the rest of the details about his youth, although the most effective parts are conveyed by various home videos at different points in his life - including some very intimate and unnerving ones that depict his domestic life with Courtney Love and their daughter Frances.

In a memorable scene, Courtney is giving baby Frances her first haircut as a visibly impaired Kurt nods off on heroin while holding the baby. It's a baring, unfiltered look – their messy house and unwashed appearance depicts a chaotic domestic life that's far from idyllic. It also shows that despite the rumours, Kurt and Courtney were very much in love and somehow made naturally suitable partners (despite, or because of, their drug habits). Morgen makes the brave decision of letting Cobain come across as a flawed character rather than a romanticized tragic anti-hero, without denigrating him or making him seem unsympathetic.

I was also quite surprised by how meticulously documented virtually all his life (even pre-fame) seemingly was - by his family members' home videos since he was a little child to the way he meticulously preserved his possessions, feelings and thoughts (artistic, mundane to-do lists or otherwise) in his journals and the 'treasure trove' of boxes upon boxes of tapes (among other belongings) that director Brett Morgen used to fill in the details of what went on in his mind. Of course, not to mention the baring, rather unflattering home videos of his personal life with Courtney and his daughter. It's as if he was anticipating the opportunity for legend-status fame and preserved his life for it just in case.

This documentary is a humbled, humanized view that goes into the deep end of what made Kurt the person he was, rather than the ideal that he was made out to be. It also provides a fairly unfiltered, at times disturbing window in the mind and life of the 90s' quintessential rock star and so-called voice of a generation - without any baggage of the romanticizing fandom that surrounds his tragic death.

Into the mind of Kurt himself

[Seraphion · 6/10 · 3 May 2015]

The movie makers nicely direct the movie to be the animation of Kurt Cobain's own mind, at least his mind which is expressed out through his scrapbook scribbles, and early on diary type notes. I really like how the early parts use a bleak and crude animation form to really give life to the story of Kurt's early adolescent life. Yet the movie goes too long in duration. Most of the home videos could have been edited away to cut on duration, just as the scene's idea gets delivered. The other that makes the movie quite weird is that in using all those scrapbook scribbles directly into the screen, the movie really didn't add more clarity so that people can read it. In resorting to maintain the original look of Kurt handwriting, the presentation lacks clarity thus disabling proper reading. The movie should have done a zoom and some kind of rolling marquee on those scribbles so that people can read most of them better.

Montage of Heck: The Story Changes Again

[goldcobra1984 · 8/10 · 1 May 2015]

This movie was great but it only enhances the murder theories as it does not show a man who was suicidal, the one twisting that is Courtney, and its obvious to anyone that shes lying (body language) when she talks about certain things. This film just raises more questions than anything. I will be looking forward to the other documentary 'Soaked in Bleach'.

You have to hand it to Courtney Love. The official story of Kurt Cobain's death, that the man was congenitally suicidal and finally committed suicide in April, 1994, has been springing leaks for over 20 years. But this woman continues to work hard, really hard, to plug them up. And Montage of Heck is her latest, and in my opinion, her weakest attempt to maintain the lie.

In Montage of Heck. Wendy O'Connor, Don Cobain, Kim Cobain and who knows, perhaps even Krist Novoselic-are all people who have long been under Courtney's thumb. But for me, the most troubling interviewee is Wendy O'Connor.

The reality is that Wendy never supported Kurt's music career, which she freely admitted to Azerrad two years before Kurt's death.

"A lot of people ask me: 'When's he going to buy you a new car? When's he going to buy you a house?' says Cobain's mother. "I couldn't even accept it if he offered it. We could have helped him along if we would have realized that this was really going to be something. We thought he'd get over it. I wish we would have helped him out a little more. He owes us nothing." ["Inside the Heart and Mind of Kurt Cobain", Rolling Stone, April 16, 1992] Apparently Kurt agreed because he never gave Wendy a cent after he became successful and had only occasional (and always reluctant) contact with her. So it should surprise no one that Wendy made no attempt to locate Kurt after he went "missing" in April, 1994.

The weird thing is that Courtney quickly cultivated a close relationship with Wendy after marrying Kurt, for reasons that remain unclear. In fact, for years Courtney has been directing Wendy on what to say and to whom about Kurt and his death. For example, when Courtney filed a false Missing Person's Report in Wendy's name on April 4, 1994, just days prior to the discovery of Kurt's body, Wendy publicly went along with the lie. And during the ensuing days and months, Courtney continued to exert complete control over Wendy and even prohibited her from speaking to Tom Grant.

In 2001, Courtney issued a press release in Wendy's name viciously disparaging Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and Wendy went along with it.

I don't know what's going on between Wendy and Courtney because they have certainly had their share of disagreements, most notably in 2006 when Courtney foreclosed on the home she bought for Wendy a few years after Kurt's death. But for some reason, they seem to be getting along again.

Any good criminal investigator will tell you that innocent people do not change their story much over time, while guilty people tend to alter their alibi often to cover their tracks. In due course, the most interesting thing about Courtney's interview in Montage of Heck is how she changed her story regarding Kurt's alleged Rome suicide attempt on March 4, 1994, and not for the first time.

In 1994 Courtney told Rolling Stone that she fell asleep and awoke sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 AM and found Kurt lying on the edge of the bed with $1,000 in his pocket and a note. A couple of months later Courtney told SPIN Magazine that she woke up at 4:00 AM and discovered Kurt lying on the floor with blood coming out of his nostril, holding $1,000 in one hand and a note in the other. In any case, the ambulance did not arrive until 6:30 AM. Why the two to three hour delay in calling the ambulance? It's a gaping hole in Courtney's alibi... a hole Montage of Heck tries to fill by claiming that Courtney woke up at 5:30 AM that day.

Sneaky.

Moreover, Courtney told Rolling Stone that Kurt had ingested 50 Rohypnols in Rome. But in Montage of Heck she claims that Kurt took between 60 and 70 Rohypnols. Courtney also claims, for the first time, that Kurt attempted suicide in Rome because he thought she was cheating on him and felt betrayed. "I never, never cheated on him, but I certainly thought about it one time in London."

Although Courtney never uses his name, that person in London was Billy Corgan, and Courtney most definitely did cheat on Kurt with Corgan in London. She even went on vacation with Corgan a few weeks after Kurt's death, even though she was still playing the grieving widow in public.

In fact, we still maintain that the Rome overdose was really the first attempt on Kurt's life, not only because Courtney's entire story about what happened that night remains highly suspicious, but because it continues to change. However, it is important to note that Tom Grant has never once changed his story about his investigation into Kurt Cobain's death over the last 21 years.

One gets the sense from watching Montage of Heck that it won't be long before this massive pile of lies comes crashing down on them.

Screenshots of a sampling from the MOH review posts on our FaceBook page at: HTTP://www.facebook.com/tomgrantpi

Great biopic! 7/10

[leonblackwood · 7/10 · 23 May 2015]

Review: This is a great in depth look into Kurt Cobain's life and his battle against his inner demons. Its the only documentary that has comments from his family and his wife, Courtney Love. It doesn't describe how he took his own life or show the events that happened before the shooting because the director wanted to concentrate on the happy moments of his life, which is different from many other documentaries. There is a lot of footage of him as a child and with Kurt & Love alone in there house and it documents there newborn baby which shows the happier times for the couple. The many drawings which are shown throughout the movie, documented Cobain's troubled frame of mind and how his battle with fame really affected his life. I would have liked to have seen interviews from the band members and how they dealt with Cobain's mood swings because it must have been hard to hold a band together when the lead singer is hooked on heroin, with a self destructive attitude. Anyway, it's a very well put together biopic about a complex entertainer who blew up in the music world. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: After seeing a lot of Nirvana DVD's, it's great to finally see a movie which documents his life in true form. The director had access to all of the things he left behind, which included footage of him as a child, many drawings and footage of him with his wife and child, so it's very real and touching in parts. You can't help feeling that it's just a waste of excellent talent, but he really lost the battle against the demons in his mind, at the young age of 27. There hasn't been a rock star, or band, of that calibre since he took his life in April, 1994 but the drummer, Dave Grohl, who isn't in this movie, has become extremely popular with his band the Foo Fighters. Anyway, if your a fan of there music, then this is definitely worth a watch because you really do get to see Kurt Cobain in a different light.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their biopics about Kurt Cobain and his fight against his inner demons whilst becoming famous in the music world. 7/10

If you love Kurt & Nirvana like I do.... Please pass on this crap.

[jruotolo24 · 3/10 · 5 May 2015]

Money is a necessary evil, this I understand. However, when it involves one of the most iconic and loved artists of the 90's, a line should be drawn. This was 2 hours of drawings and video footage that were not donated to this documentary, they were sold by Courtney and his family. The overall direction they took with this film puzzles me. At the time Mr. Cobain was exactly what the music industry needed.... a voice for the different, the young and confused. They never came close to expanding on any of that. Instead, they went with "unruly-child- with-a-drug-habit".Really? 'cause that only describes a few rock stars childhoods from the last 50 years right. Our society always looks for flaws to exploit, even in death. When they should be celebrating what the dead accomplished. Where was Dave Grohl? Not only was he one of Kurts best friends but he was also 33% of the friggin band. If he had the smarts to stay away from this mess, so should we. This review is just my opinion. I have heard and seen everything about Kurt n Nirvana and encourage you to judge for yourself.

Geeky Randy's summary

[Geeky Randy · 8/10 · 26 May 2015]

This documentary about Kurt Cobain focuses on the life of Nirvana front man rather than his death or legacy. The film's start focuses on Kurt's birth and early childhood in Aberdeen, and proceeds to follows his successes and troubles all the way up to Nirvana's iconic unplugged performance. Director Morgen does an excellent job blending footage, art, music and interviews into a coherent story without any need for a narrator; its style ultimately (and intentionally) dragging the viewer into Cobain's emotional state. The soundtrack makes use of faves, outtakes and a surprising portion of ROCKABYE BABY! LULLABY RENDITIONS OF NIRVANA. Montages are used liberally to help shift tone, but it causes the film to go on way too long.

*** (out of four)