Director Bradley Beesley's revealing documentary THE FEARLESS FREAKS fashions an insightful portrait of eccentric Oklahoma City rock band the Flaming Lips. Shot over a period of ten years, Beesley's film achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy due to his longtime friendship with the band, whom he first met in 1991 when they needed a filmmaker to shoot their music videos. Over the ensuing years, the Lips allowed Beesley to document not only their ever-evolving musical career--which grew from punk-drenched psychedelia to Brian Wilson-esque orchestral pop--but also the personal lives of band members Wayne Coyne, Steven Drodz, and Michael Ivins in their most private moments, including the death of Coyne's father and, most hauntingly, Drodz's ongoing heroin addiction. Culled from over 400 hours of footage, THE FEARLESS FREAKS blends Super-8 home movies, candid interviews, live performance footage, music videos, and outtakes from the feature film CHRISTMAS ON MARS into a compelling narrative that transcends the rockumentary genre to become a heartfelt meditation on personal growth and transformation. Juliette Lewis, Beck, Liz Phair, the White Stripes' Jack White, and Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue make cameo appearances.
DVD Features:
2-Disc Set
Region 1
Keep Case
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Audio Commentary: Director
Live Clips
Text/Photo Galleries:
Slideshow
Featured
Beck: Pop crossover superstar
Featured
Jonathan Donahue: Band member of Mercury Rev
Featured
Juliette Lewis: American Actress, NATURAL BORN KILLERS
Featured
Liz Phair: Singer/Songwriter, EXILE IN GUYVILLE
Star(s)
The Flaming Lips:
Featured
Jack White: Member of the White Stripes
Review 1:
"This DVD goes far in revealing the uncommonly close relationship between the band members and the outlandish brain trust behind them."
Source: Mojo
p.135 07/01/2005
Review 2:
"[Beesley] achieves a level of intimacy with the band members that most rock documentary directors can only dream of."
Source: New York Times
p.E4 05/20/2005