credit: www.amazon.com
Director:
Greg Whiteley
Cast:
Chrissie Hynde …. Herself
David Johansen …. Himself
Mick Jones …. Himself
Sylvain Sylvain …. Himself
Arthur Kane …. Himself
Barbara Kane …. Herself
Morrissey …. Himself
Iggy Pop …. Himself
The Movie:
Most people who know anything about rock music have heard of the New York Dolls, one of those bands whose life was short lived but their influence epic.
And even more people know about lead singer David Johansen, who went on to become Buster Poindexter.
What about the other band members? Johnny Thunder, guitarist, died of Heroin in 1991. Jerry Nolan, drummer, had a stroke brought on by bacterial meningitis in 1992, and Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist, had a moderately successful music career. But what about Arthur “Killer” Kane, the bands bass player? This documentary gives us his story.
The break-up of the New York Dolls hit Arthur the hardest. While the other band members went on to other musical projects, Arthur slipped off into obscurity, into a world of drugs, alcohol, and eventually attempted suicide jumping from the window of his third floor apartment.
At the end of his ropes Arthur had nothing left. Enter the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yes, it was the Mormons who came to Arthur’s rescue. Helped him sober up and get on with his life. They helped him out financially as well as he never saw a penny in royalties from the New York Dolls records. He got a job working at a Mormon library in L.A. and there he stayed happy and content until he received a phone call.
In 2004 Morrissey was heading up London’s Meltdown festival, a two week music festival headed by a different director every year. One band Morrissey wanted to have was his heros the New York Dolls. The three living members, Arthur, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain all agreed to do it.
Arthur was worried about how things would go. He hadn’t parted on good terms with his fellow band members and he hadn’t played on a stage in over 30 years.
Arthur reunites with his band members and all old grudges are forgotten. They are laughing together and talking as if nothing had happened and it’s good to see.
New York Doll is a loving tribute to a great man and musician. It’s strange to see little old Mormon ladies talking about Arthur followed by interviews with Iggy Pop and Chrissie Hynde. It’s also strange that a documentary about a rock star was made by Mormons, usually these two things don’t mix well, but here they come together just fine.
Score: 8.5/10
The DVD:
The Video:
It’s a low budget film shot on video so it’s not the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but it looks fine for what it is.
The Audio:
As with most documentaries the sound isn’t the best. There are many times where subtitles are added since you can’t understand what the person is saying. But all the rock ‘n’ roll glory is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 so you can rock out to your hearts delight!
Special Features:
20 minute Interview with Morrissey: This is an uncut version of the interview Morrissey gave for the film. Some of it is repeat as it was used in the film, but it is interesting to hear all he has to say.
Director Interview: Greg Whiteley, yes, a Mormon, tells us why he decided to make this film about Arthur “Killer” Kane. Pretty interesting.
Score: 7
