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Editor's Note
A percussionist slams his fists into a slab of raw meat; Scott Walker records the sounds from the control booth. The thumps will overlay his strangled vocals and menacing strings on his long awaited 2006 album, THE DRIFT. This scene from the documentary 30 CENTURY MAN highlights both the grimly primordial thrust of Walker's music and also how far he's strayed from his days as a 1960s heartthrob. As the frontman of the English sensation the Walker Brothers, the American-born singer swaggered before screaming teens belting such classic pop melancholia as "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." But when he embarked on a solo career and incorporated the bleak librettos of Jacques Brel, Walker's music took a far more experimental turn: magnifying the psychic unease only suggested in the echo-laden backdrops of Phil Spector. Walker's old fans abandoned him and the singer went into seclusion, but a whole new generation of musicians eventually discovered his enigmatic, boundary-pushing songs--among them David Bowie, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, and Radiohead (all of whom appear in the documentary).Known for masking himself in sunglasses and a ballcap, Walker comes across in the film's rare interviews as thoughtful and frank--if less than effusive. Rapid editing and performance footage propel viewers through Walker's life, but the film's greatest value is its portrait of an artist's evolution--resculpting his own sensibilities and discovering new pathways for expression without deference to the culture at large.
| Features | We explore his fascinating trajectory, from jobbing bass player on LA's Sunset Strip, to his domination of the British pop scene that began in the swinging summer of 1965, to his transformation into a composer of true genius; an uncompromising and serious musician working at the peak of his powers. |
| At age 63, over the course of 2005, he went into the studio again, working on what could be his greatest artistic statement yet - and we were invited to document part of this process ? a privilege no filmmaker has ever been granted |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: OSCILLOSCOPE PICTURES |
| Release Date: 6/16/2009 |
| Running Time: 95 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2008 | | Catalog ID: 008 | | UPC: 00896602002081 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew | Radiohead - Featured | | Dot Allison - Featured | | David Bowie - Featured | | Damon Albarn - Featured | | JD Beauvallet - Featured | | Gavin Friday - Featured | | Marc Almond - Featured | | Scott Walker - Featured | | Johnny Marr - Featured | | Lulu - Featured | | Liz Rose - Producer | | David Bowie - Executive Producer | | Scott Walker - Subject | | Mia Bays - Producer | | Allison Goldfrapp - Featured | | Brian Eno - Featured | | Cathal Coughlan - Featured | | Jarvis Cocker - Featured | | Grant Gee - Director of Photography | | Ute Lemper - Featured | | Rob Ellis - Featured | | Stephen Kijak - Producer | | Sting - Featured | | Hector Zazou - Featured | | Simon Raymonde - Featured | | Sara Kestelman - Narrator | | Stephen Kijak - Director |
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"[E]ven a partial rundown of the musicians who speak on camera is dazzling: Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn, Alison Goldfrapp, Brian Eno and members of Radiohead. Many of them are shown simply listening to Scott Walker recordings, and the looks of surprise and delight on their faces speak volumes." 02/27/2009Entertainment Weekly
"As part of the Walker Brothers and then in his solo albums, Walker forged an out-of-time mystique that is vividly captured here." 03/06/2009 Box Office
"A fascinating meditation on the nexus of art and celebrity with a deeply charismatic figure at its center, director Stephen Kijak's profile of reclusive pop icon Scott Walker is one of the most remarkable music documentaries in ages..." 03/03/2009 |
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