Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age.
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Reviews
Let's be realistic.
Fresh and Exciting
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Before I start I better confess right away that I am a huge admirer of Mr Kilmister, his music has branded me since I was a kid, his legacy is present everywhere around the modern Rock scene.This is exactly with what this film starts and where the excitement may take its path, BUT, I'm not reviewing Lemmy as a person but a film portraying a human being. After the first 15 minutes I was in mood, I was hungry to know more about someone that inspired millions of people. But the more the film moves on the more it becomes clear that the people who made this film are obviously die hard fans. This is not a bad thing, but unfortunately it leads to this impression of "Hey, didn't I just hear that same statement out of another mouth with other words about 5 minutes ago?" - The news factor decreases steadily and the repetition factor grows with every minute of this documentary. After about an hour I was a little skeptical on how this film is supposed to end. Yes, it's nice to see him meet, talk (about), perform and socialize with lots of other giants of the Rock industry - but even that becomes a little repetitive as this documentary continues. I thought "Ok, I got it, this guy is god, stop reminding me!" - In fact it's Lemmy himself who "downs" most of those glorifying statements with really grounded responses that reflect the wisdom that he has gathered during the years of his stunning career.Long story short: Lemmy Kilmister is not just an amazing musician, he's a great person too. But it doesn't take 116 minutes to make that clear. Lemmy is simple, maybe that's what makes him so great, but this film tries to stretch that over almost two hours and to be honest, this becomes quite boring. Why 7 out of 10? Because "Lemmy" has its/his moments for sure. The most interesting thing about it is the fact that as a viewer you don't start distancing yourself from Lemmy but rather coming closer to him in a very natural way. If that is what the makers intended -> applause! Still I believe that 70 minutes would have done that too.
A documentary following veteran hard-rocker Lemmy, bassist and singer with the band Motörhead, and detailing the high esteem in which he is held by many other musicians.Lemmy, aka Ian Fraser Kilmister, is an interesting man. Most rock stars either burn out or become respectable, but he continues to live the same lifestyle and produce the same music he did when he first climbed on stage. With his cowboy boots and hat, he's a bit like Charles Bronson in Once Upon A Time In The West - an outlaw who has steadfastly refused to change whilst the world around him moves on. In a business where - as Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl here puts it - integrity is everything, his appeal comes from the fact that he is the genuine article. What I find intriguing about him is his musical style and its place in rock culture; he's a bassist but plays more like a rhythm guitarist (there's a funny Spinal Tap moment where he demonstrates the big difference between his style and other bass players). Motörhead's fans - and most commentators here - are from the hard-rock / heavy-metal fraternity but the band's short four-chord songs are much closer to punk (and by association fifties rock-and-roll) than your typical heavy-metal numbers with extended guitar solos and tricky time-changes. I'm also interested in his lyrics - a song like 1916 has incredibly poetic words - but unfortunately the movie doesn't really explore Lemmy's music in detail; it's more interested in his larger-than-life personality. He talks eloquently about the things he likes (the history of rock and roll, his penchant for slot machines, an amazing collection of military daggers), but is self-effacing on more personal issues - at one key moment he refuses to either glorify or bemoan his drug use. For rock fans though the film is a smorgasbord of interesting talking heads, with key bandmates such as Dave Brock of Hawkwind and Captain Sensible from The Damned, but also some unexpected folks, like rapper Ice-T, actor Billy Bob Thornton and wrestler Triple H (whose theme music Lemmy sings). There's a musical highlight when Lemmy duets with Metallica on stage for a performance of Damage Case, and lots of footage of legendary Sunset Strip rock hangout The Rainbow. A vivid documentary about a fascinating guy, but there's too much here about the man and not enough about his music. Independently produced, but given a small theatrical release and showcased at several film festivals.
Remarkable documentary, both by not falling into the stereotypical rock 'n' roll trap of trying to show everything as hardcore, and also by showing Lemmy from several different angles, actually portraying him as more than a regular human being: multi-faceted, stupid, intelligent, very funny and a gentleman. Interviews with fellow musicians and celebrities mostly give something, rather than trying to impress. I feel the makers of this documentary have spent quite a lot of time at trying to find Lemmy, and I think this piece of work is commendable. A gleaming little pearl, documentary-wise. Even if you dislike Motörhead or even heavy metal music at all, this is great.
I got to see "Lemmy" last night at the Fantasia Film Festival and I loved it. Every second of it. I mean, I've been a Motorhead fan for over two decades now and always liked Lemmy, but after watching this film and having the chance to see the man in his natural habitat and all that, I love the guy a thousand fold more (no, not sexually). He is Rock n' roll.We had the two film makers do a Q&A afterwards, too, and the stories we heard we're just as funny. Zakk Wylde getting so drunk that his interview was a complete waste of time... stuff like that hopefully will make the DVD extras set once it gets released. (Which they said themselves should be out just before Christmas 2010 in North America, by the way!!)The near sold-out crowd was loud and laughed and cheered throughout... except when they booed the likes of Lars Ulrich and co., haha! Anyway... just go see the bloody film, OK?