The Sparks Brothers
Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
- Released: 2021-06-18
- Runtime: 140 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries, Music
- Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Beck, Gary Stewart, Mike Berns, Jane Wiedlin, Sal Maida, Christi Haydon, Dean Menta, Harley Feinstein, Tony Visconti, Mike Myers, Fred Armisen, Tammy Glover, John Hewlett, Giorgio Moroder, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Muff Winwood, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Flea, Hilly Michaels, Jason Schwartzman, Jonathan Ross, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino, Mark Crowther, Vera Hegarty, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Katie Puckrik, Patton Oswalt, Steve Jones, James Lowe, Bernard Butler, Scott Aukerman, David Kendrick, Stevie Nistor, Chris Difford, Martyn Ware, Alex Kapranos, Paul Morley, Julia Marcus, Pamela Des Barres, Roddy Bottum, Les Bohem, April Richardson, Lance Robertson, Jack Antonoff, John Congleton, Earle Mankey, Larry DuPont, Patricia Lowe, Vince Clarke, Andy Bell, Björk, Mark Gatiss, Richard Coble, Nick Heyward, Ian Hampton, Thurston Moore, Peter Knego, Michael Silverblatt, Adam Buxton, Tosh Berman, Edgar Wright, Rusty Egan, Jake Fogelnest, Dave Weigel, Madeline Bocchiaro, Sue Harris, Ben House, Evan Weiss, Alex Casnoff, Patrick Kelly, Eli Pearl, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Leos Carax, Adam Driver, Daniel Palladino
- Director: Edgar Wright
Comments
- kosmasp - 3 June 2022
Sparking
I am at an disadvantage to those who already knew or heard of the Sparks (Brothers). Even that little detail gets explored here: the band name. I have heard of "When do I get to sing my way". Maybe have heard some other songs too before. But I did not know the band - and that changed because of this documentary and Edgar Wright, who seems to be a big fan.
And not just him! A lot of celebrities speak out. And the brothers themselves speak ... about themselves. And about what others say about them. This is quite comprehensive and starts with telling us who they are in a sort of Q&A style. Also it states from the start that this is a band that is influential but also not as well known. Which made me feel less worried.
Although when they talked about an early song that is called computer song, I thought for a second: is this one of those "mockumentaries"? Like the Spinal Tap movie - it made us feel that the band existed, when they never were. A great movie too in case you haven't seen it. But Sparks does exist (apparently).
An interesting movie to say the least and a documentary that will reel you in. And once you are in the hooks ... and that ending! Quite the bang and surprise to it. Just when you thought you knew all about them ... there is a surprise waiting for you. - Alsmoviereview - 20 January 2022
Could have done with less famous people waffling on...
Sparks, true originals, utterly brilliant, and the best band since the Beatles, but you knew that already, right? I don't think I'll be watching this documentary over and over. It seemed to rush through the mid to later period of their career. Overall the footage clips are simply too short and the many celebrities and musicians paying tribute in their mini interviews taking up valuable screen time is too much, especially when the feature runs over 2 hours. I would have liked to have seen less famous people telling us how great we already know Sparks are and more of Sparks, frankly. The bonus disc is rather excellent, a full concert and other extras.
