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Movies / On DVD / MC5 * A True Testimonial
MC5 * A True Testimonial

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MC5 * A True Testimonial (2004)

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Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:14

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.2/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Apr 23, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: One of the most electrifying acts to ever storm a Rock'n'Roll stage, the MC5's Detroit performances in the late 60s are legend. Their debut album, Kick Out the Jams, set a high-energy sonic... One of the most electrifying acts to ever storm a Rock'n'Roll stage, the MC5's Detroit performances in the late 60s are legend. Their debut album, Kick Out the Jams, set a high-energy sonic standard rarely matched in the thirty years since its release. The MC5's uncompromising stance and radical affiliations placed them, briefly, at the musical forefront of a generation bent on political and cultural change. In the midst of the most turbulent years in our nation's history, the MC5 embraced the promise and embodied the possibilities of a real American Revolution. For their efforts the MC5 were rewarded with critical indifference, broken contracts, police hassles and the censorship and suppression of their music. The MC5 became, in their own words, "perfect targets for the double-cross." Relegated to some dark and forgotten corner of rock history, they have become little more than a curiosity, a footnote, victims of the American Ruse. But their legend has lived on, and while the influence of the MC5 continues to resurface in Punk, in Heavy Metal, in Grunge, entire generations know little of their actual story. ...Right Now, ...it's time to Get Down With It, ...it's time to Testify, ...it's time to tell the true story of one of the most unique and influential American Rock'n'Roll bands: ...the MC5, their place in rock history, and their place in American History. Through rare film and television footage, still photographs and interviews, the whole story of the MC5 will come to life again. This is a story of stars and bars and dragstrips and riots; Panthers and pot-busts; Art and Revolution and the FBI; this is the real story of five genuine American heroes. This is the story of a revolution fueled by twin guitars and decked out in sequined suits; this is a story of the fire and of the smoke behind the American Dream. [More]

Starring: Michael Davis, John Sinclair, Dennis Thompson, Becky Tyner

Starring: Michael Davis, John Sinclair, Dennis Thompson, Becky Tyner, Sigrid Dobat Smith, Wayne Kramer

Director: David C. Thomas

Director: David C. Thomas
Producer: Laurel M. Legler
Studio: Avatar Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for MC5 * A True Testimonial

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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...captures the gritty charisma of Detroit as it informed the quirky and colorful personalities of a band that many fans still remember today.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/08/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Never less than fascinating.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Lewis Beale
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/05/04
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though raw and sometimes slapdash, MC5: A True Testimonial goes a long way in explaining why that happened, most notably through the raw power of the band's music and the fiery passion that was bound with its image.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
04/23/04
Ted Fry
Ted Fry
Seattle Times

Like the band itself, the movie is loud and noisy and undeniably eye-catching. But like them, too, it fatally can't see beyond the immediate to realize there's a better way of making its point then simply shouting louder than anyone else.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
04/23/04
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

MC5: A True Testimonial should please die-hard fans as well as viewers who have never heard the band and its anthem, 'Kick Out the Jams.'

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
04/22/04
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A success in that it might help introduce the group to Gens X and Y.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
04/22/04
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A riveting, all-elbows- and-knuckles documentary about the proto-punk warriors known as the MC5.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/22/04
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A vivid evocation of a moment when even the ugliest guitar feedback could be taken as a serious political statement.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/22/04
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bassist Michael Davis, way Lynchian on his desert land, and drummer Dennis Thompson, who brandishes a rifle at one point, provide jolts of pathos and aggression that remind us these were never art-school pretenders to the skids.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/13/04
Laura Sinagra
Laura Sinagra
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is a touching, detailed portrait of an important and often overlooked band.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/09/04
Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Intelligently combines rarely shown film, TV news, home footage, stills and interviews in a complete package.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/07/04
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Like other commercial flops such as the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, the band's influence continues. This definitive documentary shows us why.

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
03/24/04
Paul Sherman
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/16/04
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/16/04
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Thompson has lassoed the short, wild, luminous life of a rock band that crystallized a mirror-image cultural moment.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/12/04
Joan Anderman
Joan Anderman
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Thomas unearths fabulous TV and home-movie footage of the group, and his interviews with the band capture the sense of loss.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/07/03
Kevin Courrier
Kevin Courrier
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/05/03
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/24/03
Adam Williams
Adam Williams
PopMatters

the story of the MC5 is one that is trapped between art and politics... just like they were

Full Review Source: Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
05/02/03
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies
 
 
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