The El Duce Tapes Special Edition Blu-ray will be available from Arrow Video February 9th
In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and the filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, El Duce. 30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 and the editor of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist uncover this dusty stockpile of long forgotten and unseen footage. They begin to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st century America.
An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been...
In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and the filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, El Duce. 30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 and the editor of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist uncover this dusty stockpile of long forgotten and unseen footage. They begin to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st century America.
An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been...
- 1/19/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
From Lake of Dracula to The Wizard of Gore and The El Duce Tapes, Arrow Video's streaming service has an eclectic mix of cult genre titles for you to enjoy:
London, UK - Arrow Video is excited to announce the November lineup of their new subscription-based Arrow platform, available now in the US and Canada. Building on the success of the Arrow Video Channel and expanding its availability across multiple devices and countries, Arrow boasts a selection of cult classics, hidden gems and iconic horror films, all curated by the Arrow Video team. November will include the launch of Ban This Sick Filth!, a rotating catalog highlighting some of the most controversial films ever made, including We Are the Flesh, Orgies of Edo, The Baby, The Woman and Bat Pussy.
The lineup begins November 2nd with The El Duce Tapes, the new X-rated music documentary about the self-styled “King...
London, UK - Arrow Video is excited to announce the November lineup of their new subscription-based Arrow platform, available now in the US and Canada. Building on the success of the Arrow Video Channel and expanding its availability across multiple devices and countries, Arrow boasts a selection of cult classics, hidden gems and iconic horror films, all curated by the Arrow Video team. November will include the launch of Ban This Sick Filth!, a rotating catalog highlighting some of the most controversial films ever made, including We Are the Flesh, Orgies of Edo, The Baby, The Woman and Bat Pussy.
The lineup begins November 2nd with The El Duce Tapes, the new X-rated music documentary about the self-styled “King...
- 11/5/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
One of my favorite films out of the North Bend Film Fest was the latest documentary from Rodney Asher (Room 237; The Nightmare). The El Duce Tapes is an equally horrifying and fascinating look into the frontman of controversial 80s/90s shock rock group The Mentors. Eldon Hoke, aka "El Duce," dubbed the band’s brand of music “Rape Rock” and wrote and performed what are arguably some of the most offensive songs ever recorded.
In the early 90s, filmmaker Ryan Sexton began shooting footage of El Duce to put together a short film about the band. The project never really came together, as shooting continued on and on, filling multiple VHS tapes, which eventually sat in storage. Asher and David Lawrence have taken them and edited them down into a horrifying and engrossing examination of the man, the persona and the space where the two meet.
If you’re not...
In the early 90s, filmmaker Ryan Sexton began shooting footage of El Duce to put together a short film about the band. The project never really came together, as shooting continued on and on, filling multiple VHS tapes, which eventually sat in storage. Asher and David Lawrence have taken them and edited them down into a horrifying and engrossing examination of the man, the persona and the space where the two meet.
If you’re not...
- 8/24/2019
- by Emily von Seele
- DailyDead
Creating a scandal when it was pulled from the 1998 Sundance Film Festival over legal threats regarding music rights, "Kurt and Courtney" is a disturbing, probing, inconclusive documentary about the circumstances surrounding rock star Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994.
Thanks to Roxie Releasing and the use of substitute tunes that director Nick Broomfield now introduces in the film, "Kurt and Courtney" opens today exclusively at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, where it's bound to be discovered and talked about by Nirvana fans, industry types and cineastes familiar with the filmmaker's gung-ho approach to controversial subject matters.
Broomfield ("Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam") is no stranger to chronicling the weird and obsessed denizens living on the fringes of society and once again inserts himself into the drama of both tracking down "Who Killed Kurt?" conspiracy theories and completing the project when a major sponsor backed out.
The film stops short of discovering any real evidence that someone plotted to kill Cobain and make his death look like a suicide. But there are a few adamantly opinionated subjects who point the finger at Courtney Love, including her own father, an ex-boyfriend and a former nanny.
While Cobain's aunt is forthcoming with memories and a few genuine insights, these pleasantries are fleeting. More typical of this grungy circus is El Duce, a borderline caveman and the leader of an underground band with a very raunchy demo video.
El Duce claims that Love offered him $50,000 to "whack" Cobain, but he hardly comes off as a reliable source of the truth. Late in the film, Broomfield learns of El Duce's accidental death. By this time, a chill has already spread over the proceedings.
As with past films, Broomfield's primary subject is elusive and aware of his presence. At one point, he teams up with a pair of "stalkarazzi" free-lancers for a stealth attempt to meet Love face to face. Are such tactics responsible and justified?
In the process of talking with other writers and reporters and hearing tape recordings, Broomfield becomes convinced that Love made threats and that Cobain also took part in trying to quash stories of the couple's drug use. Not convinced the most serious accusations against her are true but frustrated and intimidated, Broomfield tries to publicly dethrone Love at an ACLU event by questioning her worthiness to act as the evening's host. Alas, it's an unsuccessful effort that embarrasses the ACLU and not Love -- and by including it, Broomfield comes off as desperate to somehow pull the film together.
Overall, "Kurt and Courtney" makes a strong case that Cobain was both suicidal and unhappy in his marriage. He was also worth a lot of money that made him uncomfortable and had grown weary of touring. Any further assumptions about his demise are risky, but the film gives one plenty to chew on.
KURT AND COURTNEY
Roxie Releasing
A Strength Ltd. production
Director: Nick Broomfield
Producers: Tine Van Den Brande, Michael D'Acosta
Executive producer: Nick Frazer
Directors of photography: Joan Churchill, Alex Vendor
Editor: Mark Atkins
Music: David Bergeaud
Color/stereo
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Thanks to Roxie Releasing and the use of substitute tunes that director Nick Broomfield now introduces in the film, "Kurt and Courtney" opens today exclusively at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, where it's bound to be discovered and talked about by Nirvana fans, industry types and cineastes familiar with the filmmaker's gung-ho approach to controversial subject matters.
Broomfield ("Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam") is no stranger to chronicling the weird and obsessed denizens living on the fringes of society and once again inserts himself into the drama of both tracking down "Who Killed Kurt?" conspiracy theories and completing the project when a major sponsor backed out.
The film stops short of discovering any real evidence that someone plotted to kill Cobain and make his death look like a suicide. But there are a few adamantly opinionated subjects who point the finger at Courtney Love, including her own father, an ex-boyfriend and a former nanny.
While Cobain's aunt is forthcoming with memories and a few genuine insights, these pleasantries are fleeting. More typical of this grungy circus is El Duce, a borderline caveman and the leader of an underground band with a very raunchy demo video.
El Duce claims that Love offered him $50,000 to "whack" Cobain, but he hardly comes off as a reliable source of the truth. Late in the film, Broomfield learns of El Duce's accidental death. By this time, a chill has already spread over the proceedings.
As with past films, Broomfield's primary subject is elusive and aware of his presence. At one point, he teams up with a pair of "stalkarazzi" free-lancers for a stealth attempt to meet Love face to face. Are such tactics responsible and justified?
In the process of talking with other writers and reporters and hearing tape recordings, Broomfield becomes convinced that Love made threats and that Cobain also took part in trying to quash stories of the couple's drug use. Not convinced the most serious accusations against her are true but frustrated and intimidated, Broomfield tries to publicly dethrone Love at an ACLU event by questioning her worthiness to act as the evening's host. Alas, it's an unsuccessful effort that embarrasses the ACLU and not Love -- and by including it, Broomfield comes off as desperate to somehow pull the film together.
Overall, "Kurt and Courtney" makes a strong case that Cobain was both suicidal and unhappy in his marriage. He was also worth a lot of money that made him uncomfortable and had grown weary of touring. Any further assumptions about his demise are risky, but the film gives one plenty to chew on.
KURT AND COURTNEY
Roxie Releasing
A Strength Ltd. production
Director: Nick Broomfield
Producers: Tine Van Den Brande, Michael D'Acosta
Executive producer: Nick Frazer
Directors of photography: Joan Churchill, Alex Vendor
Editor: Mark Atkins
Music: David Bergeaud
Color/stereo
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/17/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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