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No Manifesto: A Film About Manic Street Preachers
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - November Films Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (24th February 2015). |
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The Film
 One of the most successful bands to come out of Wales, the Manic Street Preachers have had quite an interesting career. “No Manifesto” is a documentary on the band, a labor of love project that was 12 years in the making. Director Elizabeth Marcus was a fan of the band, and decided back in 2002 to make a try to shoot a documentary about them. At first she shot interviews with various fans intercut with archival footage of the band and made a 20-minute pitch reel, which the band viewed and agreed to give access for a full length documentary. The documentary chronicles the Manic Street Preachers from the very beginning, with singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield and bassist/lyricist Nicky Wire meeting each other at 5 years old and bonding as young teens through similar musical tastes, such as The Clash and Billy Bragg, musicians that would heavily influence their politically charged style. They formed Manic Street Preachers together, with James’ cousin Sean Moore on drums and Miles Woodward AKA Flicker on bass. Footage from their earliest known show from 1986 is featured in the film, with a fierce punk energy which eventually gets disrupted by empty beer cans being hurled at the band and audience members climbing on stage and fighting. Flicker eventually left the band due to creative differences and was replaced with their friend Richey James Edwards, who was their photographer and chauffeur to shows. Although he didn’t have much skill for playing music, his writing skills and attitude was a perfect complement to the direction the band was going for. The band even claimed that their plan was to release one album that would sell 16 million copies, and then they would split. Of course that didn’t happen, but the band was a critical favorite and was mildly commercially successful. Unfortunately, the band’s initial success led Richey down the path of self-destruction with anorexia and depression. As all Manics fans know, on February 1st 1995, just before they were to embark on their first American tour for their third album “The Holy Bible”, Richey disappeared from his hotel, his car was abandoned, and he was never seen again. As the film shows, there are some fans who still believe he is alive, and others who believe he killed himself by jumping into a river. The band was unsure how to continue, if they were to continue at all. But after much deliberation, 2 years later, they went to the recording studio with a fresh outlook on music, and produced their most acclaimed and most successful album to date “Everything Must Go”. The band became superstars, toured countlessly throughout the world, had a series of subsequent hit albums and singles, and won awards left and right. Not only the good, but the film also covers the negative aspects as well, like the mixed response and commercial failure of the 2004 album “Lifeblood”, fan complaints about certain songs such as “Underdogs” and “The Love of Richard Nixon”, their music being “too political” at times, their controversial trip to Cuba for a concert, and the struggle the band has had in the American market. It is interesting to hear from the interviews of American fans input, saying it is very "disappointing" and "lonely" being Manics fans in the States. The documentary took 12 years of shooting, compiling and editing, yet it feels unfinished. The interviews with the band take place in 2005 and 2007, and it also includes footage of the Manics 2009 American tour. But the documentary doesn’t go much in depth about certain points in the band’s career. There is no mention about the response about their debut “Generation Terrorists” and the controversially remixed U.S. version of the album, or the slightly less successful follow-up “Gold Against the Soul”. There is much time devoted to their following two records “The Holy Bible” and “Everything Must Go”, which are the two most important albums in their career unarguably. But I wish there had been more information about the background of the other albums as well. Not to mention the film stops at 2009, and does not feature anything about their subsequent 3 albums “Postcards from a Young Man”, “Rewind the Film”, and “Futurology”. The film is a good mix of the Manics in their own words as well as the honesty of the fans from all around the world. But would the film convert non-fans? Probably not. This is a film made for fans told by fans. I think for anyone to become a fan of a band, a documentary won’t do. Just listen to their music and decide for yourselves. Note this Blu-ray is region free and plays in all Blu-ray players worldwide
Video
The video quality of the 1.78:1 image is quite good for the most part. Considering the footage is a mix of archival material of the band, some standard definition video footage of interviews with fans, and HD interviews with the band, it looks fine. Sometimes it looks crystal-clear and sometimes it looks like a beat up PAL VHS tape. The 1080p video is encoded in MPEG4 AVC.
Audio
This message is for all distributors of music documentaries or concert films on Blu-ray: it should be mandatory for a lossless audio option on Blu-rays! The only options here are lossy English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The music tracks sound good with the 5.1 option, but it certainly could have used the extra depth if they went with a lossless DTS-HD or TrueHD option. There are no subtitles available.
Extras
Nicky and Sean 2005 Extended Interview (20:53) Breakfast in New York with James and Dave (19:48) When Manics Met Rush (29:56) “I Am Just a Patsy” Music Video (3:35) Past, Present, Future Tour 2005 (with Play All function) (20:36) - “A Design for Life” (6:21) - “You Stole the Sun from My Heart” (4:09) - “Empty Souls” (4:12) - “Archives of Pain” (5:51) The “Nicky and Sean” interview is the two of them sitting on a couch, talking and sometimes arguing about a variety of subjects. The footage just didn’t fit into any part of the film. The “Breakfast in New York” extra is the director interviewing James Dean Bradfield and producer Dave Eringa during breakfast at a diner. James talks about how sweets shouldn’t be eaten during breakfast, how he thinks E.L.O. are better than The Beatles, and a bunch of other random things. “When Manics Met Rush” is a 2009 meeting of James and Nicky with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, one of Nicky’s favorite bands of all time. James and Nicky interview them about music in general as well as a few fanboy questions. The music video for “I Am Just a Patsy” from the album “Send Away the Tigers” is comprised of studio footage, live footage, and outtakes from the film. The “Past, Present, Future Tour 2005” features live performances of 4 songs, which are mixed in 5.1 or 2.0 stereo options. The sound can be changed with the audio button on the remote as there isn't a sound option on the menu screen. The footage is a mix of the live shows, backstage footage, outtakes, and fan interviews. The video quality is good for this extra but unfortunately the sound is not. The 5.1 track sounds quite weak and the 2.0 stereo track pretty much sounds like a flat mono track with barely any separation. All extras are presented in 1080p. There are no extras about the 12-year odyssey, no commentary by the band or director, no interviews with the director or crew, not even the 20 minute original pitch reel. I think the making-of story is just as fascinating as the movie itself, but you won't find anything on the disc about it, which is very disappointing.
Overall
You can argue that "No Manifesto" is a film unfinished because the Manics career is still unfinished. They are still creating albums, including last year's "Futurology" which was one of their best, still touring, and still not known at all in America. Still, it is recommended for fans of the band.
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