This shows the band the Who from 1962-1978. It shows them performing their music for TV shows and in front of live audiences. Intersperced are interview bits with Pete Townshend talking about the band and performing. Also the manic antics of Keith Moon are shown in detail.
I'm a fan of the Who. I wasn't one until I saw the movie "Tommy" and this on cable TV back in the early 1980s. I loved the music and the energy the band displayed on screen. Most kids today don't even know who the Who were! They were one of the loudest British bands out there and, at the end of virtually every concert, Townshend would smash his guitar into the speakers and then on the floor destroying it. Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon would destroy the drum set. John Enwhistle would just stand quietly by watching them with an amused smile on his face. This all sparked audiences into absolute riots! This movie somehow manages to catch the violent but fun spirit of the Who and rock and roll itself. The performances are full of life and the Who come roaring out of the TV set. Also get a look at Keith Moon's hilariously fake drumming for TV shows! However this film is far from perfect. The songs aren't performed in chronological order or ANY order that I can see. They start with "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain" from the 1960s, jump to the late 1970s with "Baba O'Riley" then we're BACK in the 1960s with "Shout and Shimmey" and "Young Man Blues"! It's bewildering trying to figure out what the film is going to show next. Next--where are the songs from their second rock opera "Quadrophenia"? "The Real Me" and "Love Reign' Over Me" are two of the best Who songs ever. Next--why are all the interviews with Townshend and Moon? Don't Daltrey and Entwhistle have anything to say (maybe Entwhistle doesn't but Daltrey was VERY vocal in the groups heyday). Also cutting up the interviews into little pieces and spreading them throughout the film doesn't work. It keeps intruding into the songs.
Still this is an essential rock and roll film. It shows one of the loudest and most violent bands out there and shows how music used to be before MTV made everything family friendly. Try to see the restored 2003 DVD. The picture and sound are remastered and there's a whole disc of extra material!
I'm a fan of the Who. I wasn't one until I saw the movie "Tommy" and this on cable TV back in the early 1980s. I loved the music and the energy the band displayed on screen. Most kids today don't even know who the Who were! They were one of the loudest British bands out there and, at the end of virtually every concert, Townshend would smash his guitar into the speakers and then on the floor destroying it. Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon would destroy the drum set. John Enwhistle would just stand quietly by watching them with an amused smile on his face. This all sparked audiences into absolute riots! This movie somehow manages to catch the violent but fun spirit of the Who and rock and roll itself. The performances are full of life and the Who come roaring out of the TV set. Also get a look at Keith Moon's hilariously fake drumming for TV shows! However this film is far from perfect. The songs aren't performed in chronological order or ANY order that I can see. They start with "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain" from the 1960s, jump to the late 1970s with "Baba O'Riley" then we're BACK in the 1960s with "Shout and Shimmey" and "Young Man Blues"! It's bewildering trying to figure out what the film is going to show next. Next--where are the songs from their second rock opera "Quadrophenia"? "The Real Me" and "Love Reign' Over Me" are two of the best Who songs ever. Next--why are all the interviews with Townshend and Moon? Don't Daltrey and Entwhistle have anything to say (maybe Entwhistle doesn't but Daltrey was VERY vocal in the groups heyday). Also cutting up the interviews into little pieces and spreading them throughout the film doesn't work. It keeps intruding into the songs.
Still this is an essential rock and roll film. It shows one of the loudest and most violent bands out there and shows how music used to be before MTV made everything family friendly. Try to see the restored 2003 DVD. The picture and sound are remastered and there's a whole disc of extra material!