Scott Walker - 30 Century Man [2007] (DVD)

"And we'll dream, won't we?" mesmerizing tribute to an amazing artist Just when you think this exceptionally made straight-up rock-doc is going to take us down the inevitable downward spiral of Scott Walker's career following the 60's highs, it detours into the most touching and clever sequence I've seen in a long while - that of other famous (and not so famous) fans having a listen to some of their fave Scott tracks. So simple, yet I found it incredibly moving - and then the film veers off into another realm altogether when presenting Scott's current, more avant-garde explorations...animation, dance, industrial noise, and some very poetic uses of image and text...and I found myself completely reappraising the last two Scott Walker albums that I had previously written off as bonkers and pretentious. This film has lingered with me long after my second (soon to be third) viewing, mainly because I feel inspired and renewed by Scott Walker's journey. I always loved his 60's tunes, but this gives a very complete picture of one of the most fascinating careers in modern music. Highly recommended. (And I don't know who that Antonius character is who posted the nasty review, but he's mental.) You'd have not to have a soul not to be moved by this one.

'Fair' - could have been better [ considering the 'heavyweights' involved ] If you are one of the few who admire Scott Walker for his actual work [ both original & more recent ], rather than the clichéd `cult-status' that many seem to wallow in, then this DVD can only be described as `fair' - if that. It boasts collaborations from or interviews with some of the most irrelevant no-marks & has-beens that ever existed & most of whom look like they had just been dug-up especially for the occasion [ or perhaps to resurrect their waning `careers'...? ]. `Lulu', for instance, rambles-on like your Aunty after a few sherries about how `gorgeous' Scott Walker was [ sigh... ]; then there is the tedious, whingeing, middle-England `Radiohead' [ who are far from `gorgeous' - it has to be said ) ], hiding behind their gravity-defying fringes... & who contributed little other than the proverbial `skinny-white-boy' naval-gazing, staring at old dog-eared album-covers, occasionally mumbling something... or other... of insignificance - like spotty adolescents ogling at a scan-mag; then you have the self-styled lower-middle-class hero, Jarvis Cocker, with that [ contrived to the extreme ] `jaded pop-star' look - as inarticulate as any modern Sociology drop-out of Sheffield Polytech could possibly be, punctuating every other word with `you know', `sort of', `kinda', `like', `dunno, really...' - very informative, indeed. Then, the equally-talentless Marc Almond... who comes over as just a pastiche of a pastiche [ tho, he always did, come to think of it ]. Brian Eno, too... [ known perhaps more for the quantity of his work, rather than its quality...? ]; tho', he's not exactly Mr. Personality & it's a little like listening to an Open University professor talk about cavity wall insulation or something. Then there's David Bowie - making a cameo-appearance, as it were... but he seems to be lost for words [ somehow I can't believe that `the Duke' is as inarticulate as the other degenerates he paid beer-money for appearing on his DVD - so, one is left with the distinct impression that maybe... just maybe... he's just a little... `jealous' of Scott...? ], as he glibly remarks about the `extraordinary' sound of the bass on Scott's `The Old Man's Back Again'... Such insight... At this point, I also have to ask [ myself ] why [ the most over-rated egg-head in creation, ] `Sting' is included on this DVD - as he sits at the opposite end of the musical spectrum to Scott Wallker: his `de-doo-doo-do, de-dah-dah-da' just about sums-up his contribution here [ which has less than negative value, to be honest ]. [ there also are a number of other interviewees, who I'd never heard of - & never hope to hear of again, actually - some of whom looked like they'd escaped from Rampton - & so no further comment is warranted on either ]. The only people that were perhaps not worthy of editing-out completely were Damon Albarn & Neil Hannon [ mainly because they were just a little more articulate than a six year old ]... tho' Neil admitted he didn't understand that in true art there is no ego... [ hmmm... ]. Which reminds me... maybe Julian Cope, who was conspicuous by his absence, was probably the catalyst for a lot of this [ rather sickening ] `god-like' devotion that we see here [ with his compilation `Fire Escape In The Sky' that came out of the blue a few years back ], introducing Scott Walker to those who were hitherto ignorant as to what music was - or could be. He was probably one of the few who truly `got it' with Scott Walker ... & so he stayed well away & politely declined to appear on this `mutual-appreciation-society' DVD [ whether that's because he makes Keith Richards look suave, I wouldn't like to say - but, it's a pity some of the other creatures featured here didn't follow in his footsteps ]. But, unlike most of the people included on this DVD, who are at best talentless imitators & wannabes - at least Julian Cope has a good appreciation of the musical `aesthetic' - having also written books about `Krautrock' & more recently `Japrock' - so, I am more inclined to understand why he didn't appear, given the nature of Scott Walker's music [ & his `personality' ] - perhaps out of respect - in contrast to this kind of sycophancy that we have here by contemporary so-called `artists' [ & I use the term loosely - very loosely ], which is not why I bought this DVD, anyway - especially at the expense of actual footage, either old or new, of Scott Walker, himself... of which this DVD contains very little. All in all, not only do I wish I'd never bought this [ for the simple reason that it was a complete waste of time & money ]... I wish it had never been made... as it attempts to take away the mystery of something/someone that the director clearly only has a superficial understanding. Thankfully, tho' it even fails on that count, too...

You probably already know whether you want this. Recommended viewing for seasoned Walker fans, newcomers or people, like me, who came into the fandom later on. The film acts as a showcase for Scott's music and attempts to structure a timeline of his life and creative output. It's not entirely successful and certain parts of his career feel white washed over but then that's probably as close as you're going to get with Scott. It's worth noting that the film is a celebration of Scott's career, so anybody expecting any level of critique or impartiality best look elsewhere. This is pure fan material. The screening that I attended had a number of older people who left the film around the half-way point. I suspect that this was because a large part of the film is devoted to Scott's more challenging modern output so if you're not familiar with this or have had trouble getting your head around it you could view this as just cause to stay away or else as an opportunity to engage in a guided introduction. If nothing else this documentary does a good job of explaining the logic behind his evolving style and should put to bed any naive claims that he's `gone mental'. In general the interviews are well thought out and entertaining, with a slightly different selection of footage from the BBC Imagine documentary. The interviewees range from the mega-famous (David Bowie, Lulu) to the less famous but highly respected (Rob Ellis, Richard Hawley) but none of the personalities ever threaten to eclipse the subject. There's a real sense of love and affection in the way that this documentary has been made. The film also contains an interview with Scott himself, which probably adds more to the novelty appeal than adding to the narrative but is a welcome addition to the package, I found that some of the studio footage (taken from the making of The Drift) informs the listening of the album but is probably interesting or amusing enough for those unfamiliar with the end product. Overall I think that 30 Century Man is a must buy for fans but especially useful for those who want a greater understanding of Walker's career as a whole. For more recent fans this offers a chance to understand his origins and the height of his commercial success, for earlier fans of Scott it might be a case of `whatever happened to...' and for newcomers it will serve as a guide for what to buy first. A mature, and beautifully conceived rock documentary.

Great Look Into Scott's Work I had high hopes for this documentary after first hearing about it some time ago, and for two main reasons: first, here at last was a full length documentary about Scott Walker and second, it was directed by Stephen Kijak, who made one of my favourite documentaries of the past few years, "Cinemania". The wait was even longer as the documentary was shown at only select film fests in the US, sadly never reaching Chicago. Until now, I had only one bootleg DVD compilation or the few available clips on YouTube to find any filmed footage of Scott. For someone very new to Scott's work (I first listened to his music about 3 years ago), this film pulls together more than I could hope for in terms of performance and interview footage from the Walker Brothers/early solo Scott years, along with in studio footage during sessions for "The Drift". The interviews with various artists are well chosen for the most part, and they seem genuinely interested in his work. Some favorites were Jarvis Cocker, Simon Raymonde, Lulu (just for her reaction to a playback of Scott's more recent work) and Marc Almond (his thoughts on first hearing "Tilt" at a listening party). The interviews with Scott himself are great as well. He comes across as completely unpretentious, down-to-earth, and genuinely committed to creating work that interests him. And for someone regularly hailed by many as a genius, he doesn't seem to have bought into his own mythology at all. More than anything, watching this film made me want to go back and spend some time with his most recent albums, particularly "Tilt" and "The Drift", which I've only given 3 or 4 listens. I don't believe I'll ever hold those records as dear as the gorgeous run that was Scott I-IV, but I greatly admire his dedication as an artist.