Review: 'Looking For Johnny: The Legend Of Johnny Thunders'
Director: 'Danny Garcia'
Writen By: 'Danny Garcia'
- Starring: 'Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain, Marty Thau, Lenny Kaye, Richar Lloyd, BP Fallon, Peter Perrett, Stevie Klasson, Sami Yaffa, Timo Kailto, Billy Rath, Marc Zermati'
- Genre: 'Documentary'
- Release Date: '2014'- Catalogue No: 'Jungle MVD6544D'
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Our Rating:
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When this film was first proposed and a crowd-funding campaign launched a few years ago, I was more than happy to throw my cash at it and even happier to see my name in the credits at the end of the film as it is a simply brilliant documentary about the late great Legendary Johnny Thunders.
For anyone who is unaware of his short life, but has heard some of his songs or just heard of his legend this is a good place to start. You get an overview of his career in the New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers and beyond told through interviews with his band mates, managers, roadies, biographers, label bosses and friends.
The film's director. Danny Garcia, managed to time going out to interview many of the people in the film (not least Leee Black Childers, Mary Thau and Billy Rath) in the months close to their own deaths which adds a poignancy to many of the contributions. The tales of dissolute behavior help colour the drugs and sex and rock and roll nature of the tale but it is just the background to the music Thunders helped write and create and the style he unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
The film has collated some great archive footage of Johnny at all stages of his career. The New York Dolls footage is really cool with some of the interview they did on the ill-fated LA trip as well as some great performance stuff. They interview Sylvain Sylvain but it seems that David Johansen didn't want to take part which is sad as his voice is really the only one that should have been included and yet wasn't.
Good to Hear the Mighty Thau's side of things in one of his last interviews and the same goes for Leee Black Childers and Billy Rath while Lenny Kaye pontificates in his normal cerebral way. Ex-Television guitarist Richard Lloyd has some choice anecdotes both on the drugs and the music.
As a huge Johnny Thunders fan, the film works as a great accompaniment to the film New York Doll about the life of Arthur 'Killer' Kane to fill out that story and obviously is a good addition to the collection of live shows that are available on DVD. From the Lyceum show they feature in the film to the In Cold Blood footage that also appears in the film although they miss out on the Thunders/Kane/Nolan You Can't Put your Arms Around A Memory show In LA in 87. Not that I have loads of this stuff or anything.
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Looking For Johnny also deals with his solo albums and for me the news that Johnny was really prolific is kind of a surprise as I have had a few arguments over the years with friends who always wrote him off for being a kind of one trick pony. I always argued he was just pure rock and roll spirit and the songs he did put out were mainly classics even if it's taken multiple covers of some of them to prove the fact.
But then this is the sort of film that will make you want to own the Soundtrack album which is due out on Vinyl in a couple of weeks (and CD in the new year) and should have you running to play any number of Johnny's records.
Of the bonus material, it made me wonder why radio studios would have squeaky chairs and how carefully Lenny Kaye chose what was behind where he was sitting. That and the joy of the Stevie Klasson video of his song Looking For Johnny that's on the end of the film credits.
For me this film is a must see and should be in every fan of Punk and true rock and roll's music DVD collection. A very cool documentary indeed.
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author: simonovitch
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