Underground movies don’t typically lend themselves to commercial interruption, what with their narrative experimentation and their devotion to artistic sensibilities over more profitable concerns. Plus, home media viewers are becoming more accustomed to streaming business ventures that are based financially solely on subscriber fees and not advertiser dollars, e.g. Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Still, there might be a time when a home viewer will be in the mood for something a little more off the beaten path and not want to pay for an additional subscription over what is most likely an outrageous Internet bill — and want to view that off-beat media legally.
So, in that scenario, sometimes Hulu becomes a good option for viewing an oddball movie that screened at an underground film festival — if one doesn’t mind the intrusive ads. Below are five incredible flicks that deserve to be seen, no matter what the option is.
Still, there might be a time when a home viewer will be in the mood for something a little more off the beaten path and not want to pay for an additional subscription over what is most likely an outrageous Internet bill — and want to view that off-beat media legally.
So, in that scenario, sometimes Hulu becomes a good option for viewing an oddball movie that screened at an underground film festival — if one doesn’t mind the intrusive ads. Below are five incredible flicks that deserve to be seen, no matter what the option is.
- 12/1/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Films screen all day at the Orpheum Theatre, Scottish Rite, Central Library, Historical Museum, Garvey Center, Hotel at Old Town and the C.A.C. Theatre at Wsu. Click here for Friday’s schedule.
Be sure to check out these films with Special Guests:
I Declare War, 1:30 pm at the Orpheum with Director James Lapeyre Lost On Purpose, 4:00 pm at the Orpheum with co-Director Josh Barrett Blackfish, 4:45 pm at the Scottish Rite with Producer Manuel Oteyza Her Aim Is True, 11:15 am at the Garvey Forum with Director Karen Whitehead Zipper: Coney Island’S Last Wild Ride, 1:30 pm at the Garvey Forum with Director Amy Nicholson A Band Called Death, 4:00 pm at the Garvey Forum with Director Mark Covino The Last White Knight, 11:30 am at the Garvey Med. with Director Paul Saltzman Barzan, 2:00 pm at the Garvey Med. with Producer Sarah Stuteville and...
Be sure to check out these films with Special Guests:
I Declare War, 1:30 pm at the Orpheum with Director James Lapeyre Lost On Purpose, 4:00 pm at the Orpheum with co-Director Josh Barrett Blackfish, 4:45 pm at the Scottish Rite with Producer Manuel Oteyza Her Aim Is True, 11:15 am at the Garvey Forum with Director Karen Whitehead Zipper: Coney Island’S Last Wild Ride, 1:30 pm at the Garvey Forum with Director Amy Nicholson A Band Called Death, 4:00 pm at the Garvey Forum with Director Mark Covino The Last White Knight, 11:30 am at the Garvey Med. with Director Paul Saltzman Barzan, 2:00 pm at the Garvey Med. with Producer Sarah Stuteville and...
- 10/18/2013
- by Staff
- The Moving Arts Journal
The 7th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, which runs this year on September 5-8 at the Factory Theatre, opens with a real bang when they will screen cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s latest cinematic odyssey, The Dance of Reality. This is Jodorowsky’s first film in over twenty years and is an imaginative and playful quasi-autobiography.
The rest of the four-day celebration is packed with more film oddities and excursions into surreal and transgressive territory. One particular highlight that is not to be missed is Don Swaynos’ incredibly crowd-pleasing comedy Pictures of Superheroes, about a slacker cleaning woman’s descent into an absurd world she can’t escape. Read the Underground Film Journal’s review of Pictures of Superheroes here.
Other twisted fiction films screening include Drew Tobias’s sick and twisted See You Next Tuesday, Cody Calahan’s apocalyptic Antisocial and Lloyd Kaufman’s highly-anticipated sequel Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol.
The rest of the four-day celebration is packed with more film oddities and excursions into surreal and transgressive territory. One particular highlight that is not to be missed is Don Swaynos’ incredibly crowd-pleasing comedy Pictures of Superheroes, about a slacker cleaning woman’s descent into an absurd world she can’t escape. Read the Underground Film Journal’s review of Pictures of Superheroes here.
Other twisted fiction films screening include Drew Tobias’s sick and twisted See You Next Tuesday, Cody Calahan’s apocalyptic Antisocial and Lloyd Kaufman’s highly-anticipated sequel Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol.
- 8/15/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
2 films debuting on DVD and Blu-ray this week that you should know about... one I recommend; the other, not-so much. The rockumentary A Band Called Death is now on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, iTunes as well as digital download, so you have several options available to you, if you missed it in theaters earlier this year, courtesy of Drafthouse Films. Directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino, the film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and continued to travel the film festival circuit through this year. Its synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there...
- 8/14/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
A Band Called Death - Drafthouse Films - Blu-ray and DVD Director: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett Cast: Bobby Hackney, Dannis Hackney, David Hackney, Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper To quote my interview with the stars of this fine film: "A Band Called Death has one of the best stories you'll see in a movie this year. Or next year. Or any year. It's almost too good to be true, but it all really happened." It's pretty common for documentaries to knock you off your feet, though most of the time that happens when the subject matter is just plain depressing. That's not the case here. This is an incredibly uplifting, wondrous story about a trio of brothers who were well ahead of their time musically. But it's way, way more than that. The story of...
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- 8/13/2013
- by Peter Hall
- Movies.com
A band call Death comes back to life in this hilarious and poignant peon to hard rock with a soft heart. Screened at the 39th Seattle International Film Festival and released June 28, 2013, .A Band Called Death. could just as well be called .A Band Coming Back to Life.. Directed by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett and featuring none other than Alice Cooper hisself, this is a Horatio Alger story in reverse. Three talented brothers who kill their chances at stardom and, in the end, gain something much more. In the 1970.s, Detroit was not a place you wanted to be. In fact, it is still not a place most people want to be. But if there...
- 7/17/2013
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
It’s a golden era for “forgotten musical acts of the ’60s and ’70s” docs. While Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man took home the BAFTA and an Academy Award for Best Documentary earlier this year, following a wave of acclaim after its Sundance premiere, films like Jeff Howlett and Mark Christopher Covino’s A Band Called Death, Jay Bulger’s Beware of Mr. Baker and Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet from Stardom have ridden the festival circuit praise to their own well-received releases in recent months. Next in line is Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori’s Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, an assured, rather handsome look at the …...
- 7/5/2013
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
On the heels of last week’s rock doc opener, Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett’s A Band Called Death, rock n’ roll documentaries have been understandably on our collective brain. (Landon explored the genre and some of its recent attempts to “fix” rock music earlier this week.) Though A Band Called Death tells a great story about America’s first (and forgotten) punk band, I found it to be emotionally lacking (even with tons of appropriate emotion to mine for the production, including the death of its most influential member), which got me thinking about other rock docs that I found truly emotionally satisfying. There was only one that immediately came to mind, even though I had almost forgotten about its very existence. While A Band Called Death is an impressively comprehensive documentary about the band and the brothers, its desire to meticulously track the timeline of the story holds it back from having a...
- 7/3/2013
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
June saw the buzzed-about release of not one, but two documentaries examining talented but underappreciated and not-at-all famous musicians: Morgan Neville’s 20 Feet From Stardom, about the careers of female back-up singers, and Mark Christopher Covino & Jeff Howlett’s A Band Called Death, about an African-American, Detroit-based proto-punk bank who recorded music and broke up before The Sex Pistols initiated any anarchy whatsoever in the UK. These two documentaries are hardly the first non-fiction films to focus their lenses on the lives and extraordinary-ordinary struggles of marginal musical subjects: Sacha Gervasi’s popular Anvil! The Story of Anvil was perhaps the first really visible instantiation of this subgenre, which reached its height when Searching for Sugar Man struck awards show and box office gold, resurrecting the career of long-forgotten singer-songwriter Rodriguez in the process. Back in March, I argued contemporary mainstream documentaries seem to be heavily preoccupied with resurrecting exceptional but buried personalities, while...
- 7/2/2013
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Drafthouse Films' A Band Called Death has several new clips up from the rockumentary directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino. The film opened in theaters this past weekend, and includes Bobby Hackney, Sr., Dannis Hackney, David Hackney and Bobbie Duncan. Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death's music - and band name - too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts...
- 6/30/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Drafthouse Films has officially released the rockumentary A Band Called Death, on VOD, iTunes as well as digital download, and now in theaters (it opened today in select cities - For a full list of screening dates and locations please visit: http://drafthousefilms.com/film/a-band-called-death#watch). Directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino, the film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and continued to travel the film festival circuit through this year. Its synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early...
- 6/28/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Rock documentaries are clearly all the rage right now following the Oscar win for "Searching for Sugar Man." The latest to open in theaters today, Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino's "A Band Called Death" profiles an undiscovered band that was doing punk even before the term was coined, pre-dating the Ramones. Below, the filmmakers share their picks for their favorite rock documentaries. "A Band Called Death" is also available on iTunes, VOD and for digital download now. Directors' Statement: When we originally set out to make "A Band Called Death" our intention was to document an important missing link in the genesis of Punk Rock music. What began as a film about a band ultimately became a 40 year history of a family, a tale of the bonds of brotherhood and a journey to musical enlightenment. Our “Rockumentary” grew into something much more, something that transcends the music. And, at...
- 6/28/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Brothers From the Attic: Unexpected Afterlife for Protopunk Band
After cutting their debut album in 1974, “Death” found that nobody in the record industry wanted to touch their music. That is, until 35 long years later when, in a story that yet again confirms the greater strangeness of truth to fiction, “Death” is miraculously rediscovered, their album finally released to great acclaim by music aficionados and fans, and, soon after, A Band Called Death, the richly-textured and deeply-moving documentary under review here by Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett appears about them. The best part of the story is, it couldn’t have happened to a more admirable and engaging group of people than the Hackney brothers and their musically-inclined offspring, most of whom are drummers and in bands themselves.
In choosing the name “Death” for the punk band that David Hackney and his two brothers, Bobby and Dannis, started out of their parents’ house in Detroit,...
After cutting their debut album in 1974, “Death” found that nobody in the record industry wanted to touch their music. That is, until 35 long years later when, in a story that yet again confirms the greater strangeness of truth to fiction, “Death” is miraculously rediscovered, their album finally released to great acclaim by music aficionados and fans, and, soon after, A Band Called Death, the richly-textured and deeply-moving documentary under review here by Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett appears about them. The best part of the story is, it couldn’t have happened to a more admirable and engaging group of people than the Hackney brothers and their musically-inclined offspring, most of whom are drummers and in bands themselves.
In choosing the name “Death” for the punk band that David Hackney and his two brothers, Bobby and Dannis, started out of their parents’ house in Detroit,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Paul Cantagallo
- IONCINEMA.com
The playlist of music documentaries this year has been overwhelming yet welcome to audiophiles around the world. Earlier this year, Drafthouse Films picked up A Band Called Death, which opens Friday at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. This movie -- also currently available for viewing on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and VOD outlets -- sheds light on a remarkable story fit for the annals of rock-and-roll history.
A Detroit band before its time, Death was made up of three of the Hackney brothers -- Dannis, David, and Bobby -- recording punk music in the early Seventies when others black musicians around them were deep into the Motown sound. The band played a few shows and recorded a single but were unable to interest record companies due to their punk sound and band name. Brother David had been inspired by the tragic death of their father to name the band Death, and...
A Detroit band before its time, Death was made up of three of the Hackney brothers -- Dannis, David, and Bobby -- recording punk music in the early Seventies when others black musicians around them were deep into the Motown sound. The band played a few shows and recorded a single but were unable to interest record companies due to their punk sound and band name. Brother David had been inspired by the tragic death of their father to name the band Death, and...
- 6/27/2013
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
More than one review, not to mention promotional materials wired with easy hooks, take note of an intriguing connection between two fairly recent music documentaries that played at festivals last year. Oscar-winner "Searching for Sugar Man," which involves the rediscovery of long-forgotten folk musician Sixto Rodriguez, mirrors the premise of "A Band Called Death," about an underappreciated African American proto-punk group resurrected by its members' offspring, which opens this week. The parallels are pretty substantial: Both movies involve Detroit-based musicians retroactively appreciated as visionaries in their respective musical genres during their early days, the mid-to-late seventies. But while "A Band Called Death" has received considerably less attention and acclaim in the time leading up to its release, directors Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino arguably recount a more eventful saga. Presented like a detective yarn, "Sugar Man" eventually turns into a comeback story, with...
- 6/27/2013
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
In the early 1970s, three teenage African American brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney, formed a band called Death and played "hard-drivin' rock & roll" -- really, a precursor to punk rock, pre-dating pioneering black punk band Bad Brains by about five years -- across their hometown of Detroit. They didn't get far; their only single rarely got airplay and the unreleased master tapes for their debut album sat unheard in a dusty attic in Detroit for nearly 35 years. A Band Called Death, directed by Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, chronicles the Hackney brothers' story, from their early years playing instruments purchased with a family insurance settlement in a cramped room in their parents' house to the band's rediscovery and eventual revival several decades...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 6/27/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Title: A Band Called Death Directors: Mark Covino, Jeff Howlett In the vein of “Searching for Sugar Man” and “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” earnest and engaging nonfiction feature “A Band Called Death” again helps prove that all the best nonfiction music stories aren’t tied up in “Behind the Music”-type bitterness and acrimony, and certainly aren’t related to any level of achieved fame. A warm if slightly overlong tale that sketches an arc of both what sadly might have been and what surprisingly now is bubbling to the surface, the movie chronicles the rather incredible story of three African-American Detroit brothers who, in the 1970s shadow of Motown, formed a [ Read More ]
The post A Band Called Death Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post A Band Called Death Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/27/2013
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
Review: 'A Band Called Death' Rewrites Punk History And Tells An Emotional Story Of Faith And Family
Nope, not The Ramones, The Clash or the Sex Pistols. Not even Bad Brains. The true punk pioneers were a band called Death, straight out of Motor City, Detroit, and you’ve probably never heard of them until now. Thanks to some obsessive record collectors, a whole lot of serendipity, and a new documentary from Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, Death just might be getting the retroactive respect they are more than overdue. As Henry Rollins states, it’s a great music story and Covino and Howlett have successfully transferred it into an entertaining, moving rockumentary. Death was formed in Detroit in the early '70s by three brothers: Bobby, Dannis and David Hackney. The film opens with the surviving members, Bobby and Dannis, reminiscing about their childhood and the early days of Death while exploring their old home in Detroit. It immediately becomes clear that the presence of David...
- 6/27/2013
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Mondo, the division of the Alamo Drafthouse championed for bringing art back to movie poster design, has collaborated with artist Jay Shaw to create the poster for Drafthouse Films' rock documentary A Band Called Death. The poster is embedded below. Drafthouse Films acquired North American rights to the rockumentary in February, which is directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino. The film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and continued to travel the film festival circuit through this year. Its synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death....
- 6/25/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Title: A band called Death Director: Mark Covino & Jeff Howlett Starring: Bobby Hackney Sr., Dannis Hackney, David Hackney Bobbie Duncan. Mike Rubin, reporter of The New York Times, titled his article on Death band: “This Band Was Punk Before Punk Was Punk.” And indeed it was, since the trio – composed by Bobby Hackney Sr., Dannis Hackney, David Hackney – preceded the Sex Pistols and Bad Brains in the early 70s, when they were just teenagers in Detroit. Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, through the rockumentary ‘A band called Death,’ reconstruct the spiritual voyage of a music (and band) that seemed destined to never emerge. Record companies found Death’s music [ Read More ]
The post A band called Death Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post A band called Death Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/18/2013
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
Drafthouse Films acquired North American rights to the rockumentary A Band Called Death, in February, which is directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino. The film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and continued to travel the film festival circuit through this year. The film's synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty...
- 5/21/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
"We are fighting to maintain our identity!" While the Cannes Film Festival rages on, today's trailer is for an indie rock doc called A Band Called Death, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival this year and was picked up by Drafthouse Films in February. This trailer has been out for a bit, but we haven't featured it yet and I thought it a worthy film to highlight today. Similar to the Oscar winning doc Searching for Sugar Man, this tells the story of a three-member African-American punk rock band called Death from Detroit that never hit it big until 30 years later when tapes were found in an attic. This looks badass. The Ultimate Trip. Watch the official trailer for Jeff Howlett & Mark Covino's A Band Called Death, in high def from Apple: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death.
- 5/19/2013
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Drafthouse Films has released the trailer for their upcoming rockumentary A Band Called Death. Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett direct the film which was actually available via VOD from March 24th, 2013 and now hits theaters on June 28th. Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death's music...
- 4/26/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Drafthouse Films acquired North American rights to the rockumentary A Band Called Death, in February, which is directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino. The film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and is scheduled to next screen at the SXSW Film Festival in March. The film's synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974...
- 4/24/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The mighty Boston Underground Film Festival celebrates their impressive 15th edition this year on March 27-31 at the Brattle Theatre. Here’s some highlights to be on the lookout for:
Opening night film: I Declare War, a childhood parable about war and brutality, directed by Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson.
Closing night film: Big Ass Spider!, a raucous giant arachnid vs. the military flick, directed by Mike Mendez.
Other Feature Films: Both Drew Tobia’s first feature, See You Next Tuesday; and the punk documentary A Band Called Death by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett recently won awards at the 20th Chicago Underground Film Festival and will now kill it at Buff. Sion Sono, a Buff regular, will be screening the last of his “Trilogy of Hate,” Guilty of Romance; while Calvin Lee Reeder has the gross-out feature-length version of his gross-out short The Rambler. And Zach Clark, a Bad Lit favorite,...
Opening night film: I Declare War, a childhood parable about war and brutality, directed by Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson.
Closing night film: Big Ass Spider!, a raucous giant arachnid vs. the military flick, directed by Mike Mendez.
Other Feature Films: Both Drew Tobia’s first feature, See You Next Tuesday; and the punk documentary A Band Called Death by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett recently won awards at the 20th Chicago Underground Film Festival and will now kill it at Buff. Sion Sono, a Buff regular, will be screening the last of his “Trilogy of Hate,” Guilty of Romance; while Calvin Lee Reeder has the gross-out feature-length version of his gross-out short The Rambler. And Zach Clark, a Bad Lit favorite,...
- 3/27/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced Audience Award-winners today from the Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal, Festival Favorites and Design Award categories. Audience Award results for all categories were certified by the accounting firm of Maxwell Locke & Ritter. The Audience Awards follow the previously announced 2013 Jury Awards, which included Grand Jury Winners Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12 for Narrative Feature, and Ben Nabors’ William And The Windmill for Documentary Feature. For the complete list of 2013 Award Winners, visit sxsw.com/film. The 2013 SXSW Film Festival hosted a total of 133 features, consisting of 78 World Premieres, 13 North American Premieres and 9 U.S. Premieres, with 76 first-time directors. 110 shorts will screen as part of 10 overall shorts programs. The nearly 250 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,700, comprised of approximately 2,100 features and 3,600 shorts,...
- 3/17/2013
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
The massive 20th Chicago Underground Film Festival has come and gone and, surprisingly, the city is still standing!
But, in the epic event’s wake is left the exhausted bodies of several award winners, chosen by a three-panel jury composed of Mimi Brody, Frederic Moffet and Jack Sargeant; as well as a special award chosen by the audience.
Actually, the audience was so enamored of all the films screening at Cuff this year, they couldn’t make a decision of what they enjoyed the most. So, the Audience Award resulted in a tie between the feature film debut of Drew Tobia, See You Next Tuesday, and the anti-war documentary Hit & Stay by co-directors Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk.
The jury gave the Most Visionary Award to the very personal documentary A Body Without Organs by Stephen Graves. And they bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award on underground filmmaking legend Jon Moritsugu,...
But, in the epic event’s wake is left the exhausted bodies of several award winners, chosen by a three-panel jury composed of Mimi Brody, Frederic Moffet and Jack Sargeant; as well as a special award chosen by the audience.
Actually, the audience was so enamored of all the films screening at Cuff this year, they couldn’t make a decision of what they enjoyed the most. So, the Audience Award resulted in a tie between the feature film debut of Drew Tobia, See You Next Tuesday, and the anti-war documentary Hit & Stay by co-directors Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk.
The jury gave the Most Visionary Award to the very personal documentary A Body Without Organs by Stephen Graves. And they bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award on underground filmmaking legend Jon Moritsugu,...
- 3/12/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
New stills from Welcome to the Punch, Admission, The Sweeney, Wolf Creek 2, Carrie, Evil Dead, the set of The Wolverine, and cast photos for NBC's Hannibal.
New posters for The Look of Love, The Place Beyond the Pines, Grace Land, Olympus Has Fallen, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Monsters University, Open Windows and Iron Man 3.
"Brett Ratner's 'Hercules' project, starring Dwayne Johnson, has been moved up by two weeks. It will now open July 25th 2014, with no other films currently scheduled for that date…" (full details)
"The sequel to the late 90's comedy 'The Best Man' has finally scored a proper title - 'The Best Man Holiday'. It is slated to open November 15th…" (full details)
Russell Crowe appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" the other night, and he talked briefly about his role as Jor-El in the upcoming "Man of Steel":...
New posters for The Look of Love, The Place Beyond the Pines, Grace Land, Olympus Has Fallen, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Monsters University, Open Windows and Iron Man 3.
"Brett Ratner's 'Hercules' project, starring Dwayne Johnson, has been moved up by two weeks. It will now open July 25th 2014, with no other films currently scheduled for that date…" (full details)
"The sequel to the late 90's comedy 'The Best Man' has finally scored a proper title - 'The Best Man Holiday'. It is slated to open November 15th…" (full details)
Russell Crowe appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" the other night, and he talked briefly about his role as Jor-El in the upcoming "Man of Steel":...
- 2/27/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Drafthouse Films has acquired North American distribution rights to "A Band Called Death," Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino's documentary about the titular proto-punk band. Formed in 1971 by a trio of teenage brothers in Detroit, Death was one of the first punk bands, predating the likes of the Clash and The Ramones. It disbanded after years of struggling to make a living, only to experience a revival as people rediscovered the band's music 30 years later. The film, which premiered last year at the Los Angeles Film Festival, will screen at March's South...
- 2/26/2013
- by Lucas Shaw
- The Wrap
The 2013 SXSW Film Festival is a little more than a week away, but here's some good news for one of the films playing there. Drafthouse Films, the distribution arms of the Alamo Drafthouse, has sent out a press release revealing that they've acquired U.S. distribution rights to A Band Called Death, a new "rockumentary" about, well, a band called Death that preceded the punk movement but whose music has only recently been discovered. Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino directed the film, which had its world premiere at the La Film Festival last year and will play in the "24 Beats Per Second" category at SXSW too. The doc tells the story of three African-American brothers who founded the band Death in 1971 Detroit, becoming one of the first bands in the punk genre. They spent years trying to make it in the industry, but ended up having to sell off all of their instruments and disband.
- 2/26/2013
- by Ben Pearson
- firstshowing.net
Drafthouse Films has taken North American rights to Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino's documentary "A Band Called Death," chronicling the rise to cult stardom of '70s African-American proto-punk trio Death almost 30 years after the release of their forgotten demo tape. The film will screen at SXSW (March 8-16). Trailer below. Drafthouse plans a theatrical and VOD release for the film this summer. Here's more on "A Band Called Death": Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in 1971 by three teenage brothers in Detroit, Michigan, the African-American group is widely acknowledged as being one of the first punk bands. After years of struggling with canceled contracts, increasing debts, inner family tragedy, and a controversial name that barred them from future success, Death sold off their instruments and disbanded with their recordings lying dormant in an attic for decades. After years of silence,...
- 2/26/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Drafthouse Films has acquired North American rights to the rockumentary A Band Called Death, directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino. The film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and is scheduled to next screen at the SXSW Film Festival in March. The film's synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty...
- 2/26/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Drafthouse Films has acquired North American rights to Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino's rock documentary "A Band Called Death" ahead of its screening at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival in the 24 Beats Per Second category. The film world premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. The documentary chronicles the rebirth and rise to cult stardom of early '70s African-American "proto-punk" trio Death. "Howlett and Covino's film rewrites punk history and also transforms a better-than-fiction music story into a moving, emotional story," said Drafthouse Films Creative Director Evan Husney. "We are thrilled to be introducing the legacy of Death to audiences around the country." Producer Matthew Perniciaro added, "I attended my first screening at the original Alamo Drafthouse more than ten years ago and am very excited all these years later to be working with Drafthouse Films. Their passion for this film has been...
- 2/26/2013
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Drafthouse Films has acquired North American rights to Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino’s rockumentary A Band Called Death, which is set to screen at the SXSW Film Festival in the “24 Beats Per Second” film category. The film chronicles the rebirth and rise to cult stardom of early '70s African-American proto-punk trio Death, following a new generation’s discovery of an obscure demo tape that is more than 30 years old. Drafthouse, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is planning a theatrical and VOD release in the summer. Story: SXSW 2013: Films From Joss Whedon, John Sayles, Nick Cassavetes in Lineup Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols
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- 2/26/2013
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The mighty and all-powerful Chicago Underground Film Festival has done the absolute unthinkable: Reached their 20th year of operation! How many underground festivals have accomplished that feat? None, until now! Well, “now” being March 6-10 at the fest’s new location: The Logan Theatre.
Obviously, there are a lot of people who have worked with the fest over the years to help make it last for exactly two fantastic decades, but, truly, there is one special person who has to be specially lauded for his tireless dedication to the advancement of underground film and its makers. Especially because Cuff hasn’t just been around for 20 years: It’s been fucking awesome for 20 years.
That person, of course, is Artistic Director Bryan Wendorf, who has been with the fest for the very first edition to it’s most recent, mind-blowing one. Year after year, Wendorf has guided Cuff into defining, challenging,...
Obviously, there are a lot of people who have worked with the fest over the years to help make it last for exactly two fantastic decades, but, truly, there is one special person who has to be specially lauded for his tireless dedication to the advancement of underground film and its makers. Especially because Cuff hasn’t just been around for 20 years: It’s been fucking awesome for 20 years.
That person, of course, is Artistic Director Bryan Wendorf, who has been with the fest for the very first edition to it’s most recent, mind-blowing one. Year after year, Wendorf has guided Cuff into defining, challenging,...
- 2/13/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Some of the best films of the 2012/2013 calender year from Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Bujalski, Jeff Nichols, David Gordon Green, Shane Carruth and Joshua Oppenheimer are among the headliner names for the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. With a little over 100 plus film line-up (a whopping 2000+ titles were submitted), almost 70 are world premieres: there is the highly anticipated sophomore film (that has been on our radar since it first went into production) with M. Blash’s (The Wait), Joe Swanberg who makes SXSW his second home will premiere Drinking Buddies, veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles saddles in with Go For Sisters, and rounding out the Narrative Spotlight section we’ve got The Bounceback from Bryan Poyser, Loves Her Gun from Geoff Marslett along with titles we thought might break into Park City, but found an Austin home instead with Jacob Vaughan’s Milo and...
- 2/1/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
In the early 1970s, three teenage African American brothers--David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney--formed a band called Death and played "hard-drivin' rock & roll"--really, a precursor to punk rock, pre-dating pioneering black punk band Bad Brains by about five years--across their hometown of Detroit. They didn't get far--their only single rarely got airplay and the unreleased master tapes for their debut album sat unheard in a dusty attic in Detroit for nearly thirty-five years. A Band Called Death, directed by Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, chronicles the Hackney brothers' story, from their early years playing instruments purchased with a family insurance settlement in a cramped room in their parents' house to the band's rediscovery and eventual revival several decades after the band called it quits. It's a...
- 6/26/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Nope, not The Ramones, The Clash or the Sex Pistols. Not even Bad Brains. The true punk pioneers were a band called Death, straight out of the Motor City, Detroit, and you’ve probably never heard of them until now. Thanks to some obsessive record collectors, a whole lot of serendipity, and a new documentary from Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, Death just might be getting the retroactive respect they are more than overdue. As Henry Rollins states, it’s a great music story and Covino and Howlett have successfully transferred it into an entertaining, moving rockumentary.
Death was formed in the early '70s by three brothers in Detroit, Bobby, Dannis and David Hackney. The film opens with the surviving members, Bobby and Dannis reminiscing about their childhood and early days of Death while exploring their old home in Detroit. It immediately becomes clear that the presence of David...
Death was formed in the early '70s by three brothers in Detroit, Bobby, Dannis and David Hackney. The film opens with the surviving members, Bobby and Dannis reminiscing about their childhood and early days of Death while exploring their old home in Detroit. It immediately becomes clear that the presence of David...
- 6/22/2012
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
A Band Called Death is the story of an all-black proto-punk band from Detroit who waited over thirty years to get their due. Active in the early 70s, Death--teenage brothers David, Dannis, and Bobby Hackney--were largely ignored and their only single lost--until indie powerhouse Drag City discovered them thanks to some persistent record collectors, reissued their album and reintroduced the first black punk band to the world. Directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino, A Band Called Death explores the fascinating history of a band too wild to be appreciated in their own time. Record executives and radio DJs hated the name--David's refusal to change it cost Death a record deal. They couldn't get shows without a record out, and clubs didn't want to book...
- 6/21/2012
- Screen Anarchy
I thought we'd written about this doc before, but a search of the site revealed nothing, so here ya go... Set to make its world premiere at the upcoming Los Angeles Film Festival (which begins in 2 days) is a feature documentary titled A Band Called Death, which will screen in competition. Directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino, the film's synopsis reads: Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t...
- 6/12/2012
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Directors Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino both attended film school in Burlington, Vermont and met around 2007 at a local music video shoot. Howlett started off in 1993 as a musician and songwriter for the bands Five Seconds Expired and Non Compos, but maintained an interest in filmmaking until his enrollment in film school more than a decade later. Since graduating in 2006, Covino has been very active in the Vermont filmmaking community, working on documentaries for PBS, a pilot produced for ESPN2 and the Black Panther documentary, "What We Want, What We Believe." Their new collaboration, "A Band Called Death" is screening in the documentary competition at this year's Laff. What it's about: Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family chronicle, the story of Death is one of brotherly love and fierce, divinely inspired expression. Co-Director Covino says: "We would like the audience to know that this film was a true labor of love.
- 6/11/2012
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
HollywoodNews.com: Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, in conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the Los Angeles Times and Host Partner L.A. Live, announced the Closing Night film and official Us and international selections for the 2012 Festival. Guest Director, Artists in Residence and Conversations with special guests will be announced later this month. The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen a diverse slate of nearly 200 feature films, short films, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries, along with signature programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Poolside Chats, Coffee Talks, music events and more. As previously announced, Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love will be Opening Night, sponsored by Virgin America, and Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild were selected for the Galas section.
Returning to downtown Los Angeles and headquartered at L.
Returning to downtown Los Angeles and headquartered at L.
- 5/1/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
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