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Studio:Verve Pictures

Director:Stephen Kijak

Cast: Damon Albarn, Dot Allison, Marc Almond, David Bates, Jean-Daniel Beauvallet

Running Time:86 minutes

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Reviews

- "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.

- Journey forwards, not backwards

The subject is American like me, but his pre-eminence is strictly European, and I address readers here who may have heard Walker in the past but aren't up to date with his best work, which is in the here and now. Fans of "Absolutely Fabulous" should remember Patsy's older sister claiming she was the subject of a Scott Walker song, fans of director Minghella's first (and best) film "Truly Madly Deeply" should remember the woman and her ghostly dead lover singing a raucous cover of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore," while fans of oldskool retro-60's classics on classics radio should recall "Make It Easy On Yourself" plus many anthemic others done with the same sonorous baritone over an orchestral sweeping vista.

The film is "30 Century Man" and the subject is Scott Walker. Once upon a time in the 1960's, three typical tall, skinny Sunset Strip denizens with long hair and bangs past their eyebrows plus failed C.V.s as musicians moved to England, wherein the intrinsic lack of tall, skinny Sunset Strip denizens with bangs past their eyebrows would allow them to actually stand out. That they did, to eventual mega-stardom. Precursors of the Ramones' hat trick, these unrelated chums named themselves the Walker Brothers, surrendered to mainstream pop, and had enormous hit after enormous hit there, with their flagship sound of Scott Walker's baritone crooning. However mushy the MOR slop tended to be, at least it was interesting having "one of our own" youth culturers singing this way, and all three looking so shaggable. Believe me, David Bowie was listening INTENTLY to this particular sound, and you can hear it every concert he sings to this day.

Huge hits written by the era's best other songwriters, genuine Beatles-esque fan mobbing, compromises, breakdowns, supstance abuse, what photographer/director Larry Clark called "the usual betrayals in the music biz," then it gets weird. Prettiest boy and main voice Scott derails, joins a monastary, emerges as a Jacques Brel enterpreter, then a techno-artist songwriter before there actually is techno, then avant-garde orchestrator cum performance artist for music that has no categorizing description, all of which he warbles the highest brow intellectual themes over. He releases his work maybe once a decade. This is the story of Scott Walker, a man rightly called the most enigmatic figure ever in the history of popular music, depicted from infancy to 2006 in "30 Century Man."

The director gives us "listening heads" instead of the talking variety, what with David Bowie coming aboard, Radiohead, Brian Eno and others chatting about Walker's influence upon their own work. Even 60's compatriot Lulu inquires to the only director that's managed to snag an interview with Walker if he's still gorgeous (A: yes, in a tall, skinny, bit of receding hairline, wildly creative, intellectual mien way. The guy laughs a lot for a supposed morbidly reclusive type, too.) Many depicted fans of old don't "get" his newest work, voicing Luddite disdain for something so far ahead of what's going on now (whenever "now" is: that's the beauty of the avant garde) that they fail to embrace pure innovation for its own sake.

You'll see recent footage of him orchestrating in the studio (replete with a percussionist pounding a huge side of pork, or recording sounds under a wooden box,) and explaining his difficult themes with assured ease and aplomb. Thank God Scott Walker is still around, for this is one former pop star turned composer who is actually working at the peak of creative powers right here, right now, a massive achievement for anyone, but especially former popstars. Trent Reznor should be so lucky when he's Walker's age. Check out "30 Century Man" to watch a fascinating musical journey resolutely forwards, not backwards.

- Inane in parts, but still essential

At the time of writing (early 2008) this DVD represents the only readily available source of footage of the great Scott Walker (apart from the odds and sods on Youtube), and as a career overview, it is more than adequate. Yes, some of the "celebrity" interviews are silly and pointless, but on the whole this film is fascinating, well made, and worthwhile.

- there is a light and it never goes out

this is not just a documentary about scott walker, it is ultimately a film about artistic passion. i'm not even what you you would call a scott walker fan, but this had me mesmerised and totally absorbed from start to end.
attention to detail, clever editing, the history, the music; it's clear to see that this film is conceived out of complete and unadulterated admiration for the artist that is scott walker. the testimonials of pops glitterati, past and present are testament to this fact. a cool cool flick, miss it at your peril.

- The enigma remains..

Straight-up documentary on the great man, tracing his career from 14 year old teenybopper to the present through a mixture of archive footage and interviews with celebrity fans. But the real exclusive here is an extended interview with Scott, filmed at the time 'The Drift' was being recorded.

Scott Walker has been interviewed only once in the past 30- odd years, and that a few grunted sentences on 'The Tube', so a great many rumours have grown up around his supposed eccentricities: To find that this incredibly odd music is made by a well-adjusted,comparatively normal bloke somehow makes it all seem even stranger and more enigmatic than the myths.

Anyway, an essential for fans, though possibly more for the post 'Fire Escape In The Sky' hipsters than for 60s pop lovers. And whilst I imagine that even Scott's most ardent admirers don't take 'The Drift' or 'Tilt' down from the shelf too often, this film will certainly make you listen to those records with new ears. Excellent.