"I get to play it, and you get to listen to it – this instrument, this thing, this Force!" Greenwich Ent. has revealed an official trailer for an inspiring documentary film titled Let There Be Drums!, made by music doc filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann – who has years of experience in the music industry as he's the son of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. The film is a documentary about drummers, now being released in honor of the late Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, who is interviewed in this film before he passed away. The world's greatest drummers all reflect on the art of drumming and how it has shaped their lives - including the nature of how music passes from generation to generation, and the role that drumming plays in human life. Featuring interviews with Ringo Starr from The Beatles, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann from Grateful Dead,...
- 10/31/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Justin Kreutzmann set out to make a standard documentary about drummers. After all, having Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann as his dad meant growing up on the road surrounded by rock stars and hippies. But once he started interviewing musicians for the film, named after the iconic Sandy Nelson composition “Let There Be Drums,” Kreutzmann stumbled upon something much more personal, leading him to “begrudgingly” come out from behind the camera and talk about his own upbringing.
“Let There Be Drums” is not a Grateful Dead documentary, and Kreutzmann says “you don’t have to be obsessed with drumming” to enjoy it. Through archival footage, interviews with musicians and their loved ones, and, of course, music, the film uses drumming as a vehicle to tell a more universal story — about community, resilience and family.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the doc’s release, Kreutzmann detailed the filmmaking process behind “Let...
“Let There Be Drums” is not a Grateful Dead documentary, and Kreutzmann says “you don’t have to be obsessed with drumming” to enjoy it. Through archival footage, interviews with musicians and their loved ones, and, of course, music, the film uses drumming as a vehicle to tell a more universal story — about community, resilience and family.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the doc’s release, Kreutzmann detailed the filmmaking process behind “Let...
- 10/28/2022
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Taylor Hawkins reflected on his love for the drums in his final on-camera interview. On Thursday, Greenwich Entertainment released the trailer for Let There Be Drums!, a documentary about the world’s greatest percussionists, and it features a sit-down chat with the late Foo Fighter.
“The second I sat on the drums, it was like a bolt of lightning went through my body,” he says in the trailer. “I’ll never forget that day.”
The two-minute trailer teases interviews from some of his fellow iconic musicians, including the Beatles’ Ringo Star,...
“The second I sat on the drums, it was like a bolt of lightning went through my body,” he says in the trailer. “I’ll never forget that day.”
The two-minute trailer teases interviews from some of his fellow iconic musicians, including the Beatles’ Ringo Star,...
- 10/13/2022
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
A new documentary, Let There Be Drums!, will feature interviews with Ringo Starr, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, and late Foo Fighters member Taylor Hawkins. Deadline reports that the Hawkins segment may be the drummer’s final filmed interview.
Filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann, who is the son of the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann (also featured in the doc alongside the Dead’s Mickey Hart), helmed the picture, which will come out Oct. 28. Other featured stickmen include the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins, and...
Filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann, who is the son of the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann (also featured in the doc alongside the Dead’s Mickey Hart), helmed the picture, which will come out Oct. 28. Other featured stickmen include the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins, and...
- 7/21/2022
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Let There Be Drums!, a music documentary that features what may have been the final filmed interview with late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Justin Kreutzmann, son of The Grateful Dead’s drummer Bill Kreutzmann, directed the documentary which “examines the essential role drumming plays in great bands and how music passes from generation to generation.”
Hawkins, who died in March at the age of 50 while visiting Bogotá, Colombia, appears in the documentary, along with fellow percussion luminaries Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland of The Police; Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann of The Grateful Dead; Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction; Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses.
Greenwich plans to release the film in theaters on October 28. There’s a personal dimension to the documentary; the younger Kreutzmann took on the project “to...
Justin Kreutzmann, son of The Grateful Dead’s drummer Bill Kreutzmann, directed the documentary which “examines the essential role drumming plays in great bands and how music passes from generation to generation.”
Hawkins, who died in March at the age of 50 while visiting Bogotá, Colombia, appears in the documentary, along with fellow percussion luminaries Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland of The Police; Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann of The Grateful Dead; Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction; Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses.
Greenwich plans to release the film in theaters on October 28. There’s a personal dimension to the documentary; the younger Kreutzmann took on the project “to...
- 7/20/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: RadicalMedia is teaming with the Jerry Garcia Family LLC and Red Light Management on the Jerry Garcia feature documentary, directed by Jerry Garcia’s longtime collaborator, Justin Kreutzmann (Let There Be Drums!) The announcement comes on the heels of RadicalMedia producing the critically-acclaimed, Summer Of Soul edited by RadicalMedia’s Josh Pearson who joins the filmmaking team.
Dave Sirulnick, Jon Doran, and Jon Kamen will serve as producers for RadicalMedia. Marc Allan for Red Light Management and Trixie Garcia for the Jerry Garcia Family LLC will serve as Executive Producers. RadicalMedia, the Jerry Garcia Family LLC, and Justin Kreutzmann are represented by CAA.
“It’s such a wonderful honor that Trixie and the Garcia family have put that same faith in me to tell Jerry’s story. When people ask what I miss most about him not being around, I think it’s just missing Jerry, the person,” Kreutzmann said.
Dave Sirulnick, Jon Doran, and Jon Kamen will serve as producers for RadicalMedia. Marc Allan for Red Light Management and Trixie Garcia for the Jerry Garcia Family LLC will serve as Executive Producers. RadicalMedia, the Jerry Garcia Family LLC, and Justin Kreutzmann are represented by CAA.
“It’s such a wonderful honor that Trixie and the Garcia family have put that same faith in me to tell Jerry’s story. When people ask what I miss most about him not being around, I think it’s just missing Jerry, the person,” Kreutzmann said.
- 12/8/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The Jerry Garcia Foundation invites everyone around the world to help raise funds for Covid-19 relief programs.
Participants can generate funds for the project by listening to a new Jerry Garcia compilation album titled, “My Sisters and Brothers.” The album will be released Aug. 1 on the foundation’s OnlyLove record label. The music can be accessed on mobile phones and other digital devices via streaming platforms such as Spotify and iTunes.
All streaming proceeds will support the Jerry Garcia Foundation’s OnlyLove Relief Fund, which has designated to assist in Covid-19 relief. The following 501c3 nonprofit organizations will receive proceeds for their relief programs through individual grants: MusiCares, WhyHunger and the Ibma Relief Fund, an affiliate of the International Bluegrass Music Association.
In addition to the music, a giclée print of Jerry’s “California Mission” watercolor painting will be available for online auction on the Charity Buzz website. The painting...
Participants can generate funds for the project by listening to a new Jerry Garcia compilation album titled, “My Sisters and Brothers.” The album will be released Aug. 1 on the foundation’s OnlyLove record label. The music can be accessed on mobile phones and other digital devices via streaming platforms such as Spotify and iTunes.
All streaming proceeds will support the Jerry Garcia Foundation’s OnlyLove Relief Fund, which has designated to assist in Covid-19 relief. The following 501c3 nonprofit organizations will receive proceeds for their relief programs through individual grants: MusiCares, WhyHunger and the Ibma Relief Fund, an affiliate of the International Bluegrass Music Association.
In addition to the music, a giclée print of Jerry’s “California Mission” watercolor painting will be available for online auction on the Charity Buzz website. The painting...
- 8/5/2020
- Look to the Stars
In this lacklustre documentary, surviving members of the Doors reunite on stage to pay tribute to the band’s late keyboard player
Here’s a deeply uncool, almost embarrassingly un-rock’n’roll Doors documentary; it’s unlikely to get toes a-tapping let alone light a fire. It’s essentially a filmed gig, reuniting the two surviving Doors, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, on stage with assorted members of Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots and more filling in for Jim Morrison and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. The hits comes thick and fast, tightly arranged and slickly performed, but this lineup of well-preserved mostly male musicians gives the show the bland atmosphere of a celebrity tribute band.
The gig is dedicated to Manzarek, who died in 2013, and director Justin Kreutzmann pads out the gig footage with an interview the keyboardist gave and fresh input from Krieger and Densmore.
Here’s a deeply uncool, almost embarrassingly un-rock’n’roll Doors documentary; it’s unlikely to get toes a-tapping let alone light a fire. It’s essentially a filmed gig, reuniting the two surviving Doors, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, on stage with assorted members of Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots and more filling in for Jim Morrison and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. The hits comes thick and fast, tightly arranged and slickly performed, but this lineup of well-preserved mostly male musicians gives the show the bland atmosphere of a celebrity tribute band.
The gig is dedicated to Manzarek, who died in 2013, and director Justin Kreutzmann pads out the gig footage with an interview the keyboardist gave and fresh input from Krieger and Densmore.
- 2/6/2020
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Activist Artists Management has tapped literary manager Jon Kanak to work alongside the firm’s talent department.
Based at Los Angeles headquarters, he will continue to focus on representing writers and directors as well as concentrate on Activist’s film and TV development and packaging.
Last year, Kanak set up several projects, including Reset (Paramount) and Anima & Saci (Hindsight Media).
Activist’s roster of clients now includes Marcus Kryler & Fredrik Akerstrom, Nate Atkins, Bill Marsilli, Jason Zada (The Forest), Philippe Van Leeuw (In Syria), Jay Longino and Justin Kreutzmann (Long Strange Trip) among others.
Kanak will also be representing the works of The New York Times Best Seller, Stephen Frey (The Chairman), as well as international best-selling authors Richard Doetsch (The 13th Hour) and Patricia Dunn (Rebels by Accident).
“Jon...
Based at Los Angeles headquarters, he will continue to focus on representing writers and directors as well as concentrate on Activist’s film and TV development and packaging.
Last year, Kanak set up several projects, including Reset (Paramount) and Anima & Saci (Hindsight Media).
Activist’s roster of clients now includes Marcus Kryler & Fredrik Akerstrom, Nate Atkins, Bill Marsilli, Jason Zada (The Forest), Philippe Van Leeuw (In Syria), Jay Longino and Justin Kreutzmann (Long Strange Trip) among others.
Kanak will also be representing the works of The New York Times Best Seller, Stephen Frey (The Chairman), as well as international best-selling authors Richard Doetsch (The 13th Hour) and Patricia Dunn (Rebels by Accident).
“Jon...
- 2/27/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The Asbury Park Music & Film Festival announced today their film submission award winners at a ceremony held at the Asbury Hotel.
Hosted by two-time Gracie Award winner Shelli Sonstein this year’s winners included the Justin Kreutzmann-directed Break On Thru: A Celebration of Ray Manzarek and The Doors for Best Feature Film Award as well as Corinne Gray Ruff for Best Aspiring Female Director Award for The Oyster Farmers and Sarah Galloway winning the Asbury Park Press Award for Bike Riddim.
The Apmff benefits the underserved youth in Asbury Park, one of the most challenged youth communities in the country. Funds raised through the Apmff support music programs for these children. The fest continues to provide music education, instruments and social connection opportunities for children in underserved communities.
Read the complete winners list below.
Asbury Park Press Award
Bike Riddim
Directed by: Sarah Galloway
Rwj Barnabas Health Award
Stay...
Hosted by two-time Gracie Award winner Shelli Sonstein this year’s winners included the Justin Kreutzmann-directed Break On Thru: A Celebration of Ray Manzarek and The Doors for Best Feature Film Award as well as Corinne Gray Ruff for Best Aspiring Female Director Award for The Oyster Farmers and Sarah Galloway winning the Asbury Park Press Award for Bike Riddim.
The Apmff benefits the underserved youth in Asbury Park, one of the most challenged youth communities in the country. Funds raised through the Apmff support music programs for these children. The fest continues to provide music education, instruments and social connection opportunities for children in underserved communities.
Read the complete winners list below.
Asbury Park Press Award
Bike Riddim
Directed by: Sarah Galloway
Rwj Barnabas Health Award
Stay...
- 4/29/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Martin Scorsese is an executive producer on the four-hour documentary.
Amazon studios has acquired Sundance premiere Long Strange Trip, a four-hour documentary about American rock band The Grateful Dead.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the doc follows the band across a 30-year period as they experiment with music genres and eschew pop cliché.
The film will debut on Amazon Prime Video in the Us and UK in May as a six-part documentary, with additional territories to be announced at a later date.
Long Strange Trip was produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff and Alex Bavatnik, who also financed the project. Additional producers included Ken Dornstein and Justin Kreutzmann. Exec producers in addition to Scorsese were Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Thomas J. Mangan IV, and Alicia Sams.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the...
Amazon studios has acquired Sundance premiere Long Strange Trip, a four-hour documentary about American rock band The Grateful Dead.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the doc follows the band across a 30-year period as they experiment with music genres and eschew pop cliché.
The film will debut on Amazon Prime Video in the Us and UK in May as a six-part documentary, with additional territories to be announced at a later date.
Long Strange Trip was produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff and Alex Bavatnik, who also financed the project. Additional producers included Ken Dornstein and Justin Kreutzmann. Exec producers in addition to Scorsese were Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Thomas J. Mangan IV, and Alicia Sams.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the...
- 1/18/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Martin Scorsese is an executive producer on the four-hour documentary.
Amazon studios has acquired Sundance premiere Long Strange Trip, a four-hour documentary about American rock band The Grateful Dead.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the doc follows the band across a 30-year period as they experiment with music genres and eschew pop cliché.
The film will debut on Amazon Prime Video in the Us and UK in May as a six-part documentary, with additional territories to be announced at a later date.
Long Strange Trip was produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff and Alex Bavatnik, who also financed the project. Additional producers included Ken Dornstein and Justin Kreutzmann. Exec producers in addition to Scorsese were Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Thomas J. Mangan IV, and Alicia Sams.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the...
Amazon studios has acquired Sundance premiere Long Strange Trip, a four-hour documentary about American rock band The Grateful Dead.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the doc follows the band across a 30-year period as they experiment with music genres and eschew pop cliché.
The film will debut on Amazon Prime Video in the Us and UK in May as a six-part documentary, with additional territories to be announced at a later date.
Long Strange Trip was produced by Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff and Alex Bavatnik, who also financed the project. Additional producers included Ken Dornstein and Justin Kreutzmann. Exec producers in addition to Scorsese were Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Rick Yorn, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Thomas J. Mangan IV, and Alicia Sams.
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the...
- 1/18/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Amazon Studios has acquired “Long Strange Trip,” the four hour documentary about the Grateful Dead playing in the Documentary Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Amir Bar-Lev (“The Tillman Story”) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese.
Read More: Sundance 2017: Netflix, Vertical Acquire ‘Berlin Syndrome’
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead,” Scorsese said in a statement. “They are revolutionary artists who forever changed the world of touring and recording live music. They were a cultural force—a lifestyle, that continue to influence new generations of fans. This film will entertain and educate audiences about one of the most innovative and groundbreaking American bands of the 20th century.”
Amazon will release the movie on May 26 on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and UK as a six-part documentary. Band members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir, as...
Read More: Sundance 2017: Netflix, Vertical Acquire ‘Berlin Syndrome’
“I’ve always admired the spirit and creativity of the Grateful Dead,” Scorsese said in a statement. “They are revolutionary artists who forever changed the world of touring and recording live music. They were a cultural force—a lifestyle, that continue to influence new generations of fans. This film will entertain and educate audiences about one of the most innovative and groundbreaking American bands of the 20th century.”
Amazon will release the movie on May 26 on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and UK as a six-part documentary. Band members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir, as...
- 1/18/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Read More: Meet the 2014 Tribeca Filmmakers #30: Mike Fleiss Takes a Wild Ride into the Life of The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir in 'The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir' If you're unable to make it to the "Fare Thee Well" concerts marking both the 50th Anniversary of acclaimed rock band The Grateful Dead and the band's last few concerts together, fear not. Netflix is celebrating the milestone anniversary, too, with an original documentary feature chronicling the life of band member John Weir. "The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir" is directed by Mike Fleiss ("The Bachelor," "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne"), produced by Marc Weingarten ("God Bless Ozzy Osbourne") and Ep'd by Martin Hilton ("The Bachelor") and Justin Kreutzmann ("In the Attic with Pete Townshend and Friends"). It follows Weir's life and journey as a member of The Grateful Dead with interviews from family,...
- 5/8/2015
- by Becca Nadler
- Indiewire
Anyone making a movie about a member of the Grateful Dead would naturally gravitate toward Jerry Garcia. But director Mike Fleiss, best known for co-directing the 2011 doc God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, had other ideas. “I wanted to give Bob [Weir] his moment to shine,” Fleiss says. “I wanted to shine a light on his contributions to culture and rock and roll.”
Tribeca Film Festival 2014: Top 10 Movies to Check Out
Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23rd, The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir delivers what...
Tribeca Film Festival 2014: Top 10 Movies to Check Out
Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23rd, The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir delivers what...
- 4/23/2014
- Rollingstone.com
A unique documentary of the seminal American rock band the Grateful Dead is on its way, centered around a 3-hour conversation with late lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, which was shot in 1987 at the peak of the band’s success. [Deadline]
Celebrated music documentarian Malcolm Leo shot the interview on negative film, complete with studio-quality lighting and production sound. Veteran talent manager John Hartmann (brother of late SNL alum Phil Hartmann) will co-produce the doc with Leo for their Leo/Hartmann Productions shingle. Leo intends to combine the interview with “an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen performances, documentary footage, and rare home movies.”
The pedigree of the filmmakers is top-notch: Leo previously worked on films about Elvis Presley, Crosby Stills & Nash and The Beach Boys. Hartmann’s resume includes stints as personal manager for Peter, Paul & Mary, The Eagles, Cs&N, Poco, America, and others. The duo are finalizing financing and distribution with...
Celebrated music documentarian Malcolm Leo shot the interview on negative film, complete with studio-quality lighting and production sound. Veteran talent manager John Hartmann (brother of late SNL alum Phil Hartmann) will co-produce the doc with Leo for their Leo/Hartmann Productions shingle. Leo intends to combine the interview with “an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen performances, documentary footage, and rare home movies.”
The pedigree of the filmmakers is top-notch: Leo previously worked on films about Elvis Presley, Crosby Stills & Nash and The Beach Boys. Hartmann’s resume includes stints as personal manager for Peter, Paul & Mary, The Eagles, Cs&N, Poco, America, and others. The duo are finalizing financing and distribution with...
- 1/6/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Renowned music documentary filmmaker Malcolm Leo and veteran personal manager John Hartmann have secured an agreement to produce a feature length documentary on music icon Jerry Garcia. After a lengthy pursuit of the rights, Leo will direct and also produce with Hartmann. The Leo/Hartmann Productions pic will be built around a 3-hour conversation that Leo conducted with Garcia in 1987. The historic interview was shot on negative film with studio quality sound and lighting. The footage presents a compelling portrait of the cult hero at the height of his success. Leo intends to blend an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen performances, documentary footage, and rare home movies. The project has great bonafides: Leo’s previous work includes films on Elvis Presley, Crosby Stills & Nash, and The Beach Boys. Hartmann, the brother of the late comedian Phil Hartmann, was formerly personal manager of Peter Paul & Mary, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Eagles, America,...
- 1/5/2012
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
A banjo-playing Jerry Garcia and mandolinist David Grisman met in 1964 at a bluegrass gathering in West Grove, Pa. Both were very talented and loved folk and traditional music. Including forming a band in the '70s and producing several albums in the '90s, their friendship endured until Garcia's death in 1995.
Separate from and in crucial ways interwoven with his larger-than-life role as leader of The Grateful Dead, the numerous collaborations between Garcia and Grisman are the focus of Sony Pictures Classics' unpretentiously entertaining documentary "Grateful Dawg", a limited release that screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival after bowing as a work-in-progress at the 2000 Mill Valley (Calif.) fest. New York-based filmmaker Gillian Grisman, daughter of executive producer Grisman and former video archivist for the Dead, makes no claims of objectivity, and "Dawg" -- with much more "handmade" music than talking and no probing journalistic agenda -- is first and foremost an homage to her father (whose 178-title discography takes up seven pages of the film's media kit) and rock legend Garcia.
Along with concert footage and curios like a previously unreleased 1991 music video of "The Thrill Is Gone", "Dawg" includes informal but watchable video footage that Gillian Grisman and Justin Kreutzmann (son of Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann) took of the musicians in the studio and in more relaxed situations like the elder Grisman's living room.
From the creation of the bluegrass group Old and in the Way to Grisman's contributions to such Deadhead faves as "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple", the film's subject matter is educational for fans of Garcia. Likewise, many a neophyte of the duo's music will get into such elaborate, beautiful creations as the 17-minute opus "Arabia", a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's "Sittin' Here in Limbo" and a slowed-down version of "Friend of the Devil".
Although there were periods when Garcia and Grisman did not work together, with both having many other projects through the years, a consistent theme of "Dawg" is how these "beards of a feather" complemented each other creatively and even grew to look alike. Among the 20 or so interviewees and participants seen in archival footage is Garcia's widow Deborah Koons Garcia, credited as the film's creative consultant.
GRATEFUL DAWG
Sony Pictures Classics
Acoustic Disc,
11th Hour Productions & Entertainment
Producer-director: Gillian Grisman
Executive producers: Craig Miller, David Grisman
Editor: Josh Baron
Creative consultant: Deborah Koons Garcia
Color/stereo
With: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman
Running time -- 80 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Separate from and in crucial ways interwoven with his larger-than-life role as leader of The Grateful Dead, the numerous collaborations between Garcia and Grisman are the focus of Sony Pictures Classics' unpretentiously entertaining documentary "Grateful Dawg", a limited release that screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival after bowing as a work-in-progress at the 2000 Mill Valley (Calif.) fest. New York-based filmmaker Gillian Grisman, daughter of executive producer Grisman and former video archivist for the Dead, makes no claims of objectivity, and "Dawg" -- with much more "handmade" music than talking and no probing journalistic agenda -- is first and foremost an homage to her father (whose 178-title discography takes up seven pages of the film's media kit) and rock legend Garcia.
Along with concert footage and curios like a previously unreleased 1991 music video of "The Thrill Is Gone", "Dawg" includes informal but watchable video footage that Gillian Grisman and Justin Kreutzmann (son of Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann) took of the musicians in the studio and in more relaxed situations like the elder Grisman's living room.
From the creation of the bluegrass group Old and in the Way to Grisman's contributions to such Deadhead faves as "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple", the film's subject matter is educational for fans of Garcia. Likewise, many a neophyte of the duo's music will get into such elaborate, beautiful creations as the 17-minute opus "Arabia", a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's "Sittin' Here in Limbo" and a slowed-down version of "Friend of the Devil".
Although there were periods when Garcia and Grisman did not work together, with both having many other projects through the years, a consistent theme of "Dawg" is how these "beards of a feather" complemented each other creatively and even grew to look alike. Among the 20 or so interviewees and participants seen in archival footage is Garcia's widow Deborah Koons Garcia, credited as the film's creative consultant.
GRATEFUL DAWG
Sony Pictures Classics
Acoustic Disc,
11th Hour Productions & Entertainment
Producer-director: Gillian Grisman
Executive producers: Craig Miller, David Grisman
Editor: Josh Baron
Creative consultant: Deborah Koons Garcia
Color/stereo
With: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman
Running time -- 80 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
A banjo-playing Jerry Garcia and mandolinist David Grisman met in 1964 at a bluegrass gathering in West Grove, Pa. Both were very talented and loved folk and traditional music. Including forming a band in the '70s and producing several albums in the '90s, their friendship endured until Garcia's death in 1995.
Separate from and in crucial ways interwoven with his larger-than-life role as leader of The Grateful Dead, the numerous collaborations between Garcia and Grisman are the focus of Sony Pictures Classics' unpretentiously entertaining documentary "Grateful Dawg", a limited release that screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival after bowing as a work-in-progress at the 2000 Mill Valley (Calif.) fest. New York-based filmmaker Gillian Grisman, daughter of executive producer Grisman and former video archivist for the Dead, makes no claims of objectivity, and "Dawg" -- with much more "handmade" music than talking and no probing journalistic agenda -- is first and foremost an homage to her father (whose 178-title discography takes up seven pages of the film's media kit) and rock legend Garcia.
Along with concert footage and curios like a previously unreleased 1991 music video of "The Thrill Is Gone", "Dawg" includes informal but watchable video footage that Gillian Grisman and Justin Kreutzmann (son of Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann) took of the musicians in the studio and in more relaxed situations like the elder Grisman's living room.
From the creation of the bluegrass group Old and in the Way to Grisman's contributions to such Deadhead faves as "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple", the film's subject matter is educational for fans of Garcia. Likewise, many a neophyte of the duo's music will get into such elaborate, beautiful creations as the 17-minute opus "Arabia", a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's "Sittin' Here in Limbo" and a slowed-down version of "Friend of the Devil".
Although there were periods when Garcia and Grisman did not work together, with both having many other projects through the years, a consistent theme of "Dawg" is how these "beards of a feather" complemented each other creatively and even grew to look alike. Among the 20 or so interviewees and participants seen in archival footage is Garcia's widow Deborah Koons Garcia, credited as the film's creative consultant.
GRATEFUL DAWG
Sony Pictures Classics
Acoustic Disc,
11th Hour Productions & Entertainment
Producer-director: Gillian Grisman
Executive producers: Craig Miller, David Grisman
Editor: Josh Baron
Creative consultant: Deborah Koons Garcia
Color/stereo
With: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman
Running time -- 80 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Separate from and in crucial ways interwoven with his larger-than-life role as leader of The Grateful Dead, the numerous collaborations between Garcia and Grisman are the focus of Sony Pictures Classics' unpretentiously entertaining documentary "Grateful Dawg", a limited release that screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival after bowing as a work-in-progress at the 2000 Mill Valley (Calif.) fest. New York-based filmmaker Gillian Grisman, daughter of executive producer Grisman and former video archivist for the Dead, makes no claims of objectivity, and "Dawg" -- with much more "handmade" music than talking and no probing journalistic agenda -- is first and foremost an homage to her father (whose 178-title discography takes up seven pages of the film's media kit) and rock legend Garcia.
Along with concert footage and curios like a previously unreleased 1991 music video of "The Thrill Is Gone", "Dawg" includes informal but watchable video footage that Gillian Grisman and Justin Kreutzmann (son of Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann) took of the musicians in the studio and in more relaxed situations like the elder Grisman's living room.
From the creation of the bluegrass group Old and in the Way to Grisman's contributions to such Deadhead faves as "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple", the film's subject matter is educational for fans of Garcia. Likewise, many a neophyte of the duo's music will get into such elaborate, beautiful creations as the 17-minute opus "Arabia", a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's "Sittin' Here in Limbo" and a slowed-down version of "Friend of the Devil".
Although there were periods when Garcia and Grisman did not work together, with both having many other projects through the years, a consistent theme of "Dawg" is how these "beards of a feather" complemented each other creatively and even grew to look alike. Among the 20 or so interviewees and participants seen in archival footage is Garcia's widow Deborah Koons Garcia, credited as the film's creative consultant.
GRATEFUL DAWG
Sony Pictures Classics
Acoustic Disc,
11th Hour Productions & Entertainment
Producer-director: Gillian Grisman
Executive producers: Craig Miller, David Grisman
Editor: Josh Baron
Creative consultant: Deborah Koons Garcia
Color/stereo
With: Jerry Garcia, David Grisman
Running time -- 80 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 10/5/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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