Best concert movie ever?

It's too uneven to be the best concert film ever. That distinction goes either to Stop Making Sense or The Last Waltz. But as a documentary, it's great.

Quite a few of these acts are not only instantly forgettable but were actually instantly forgotten. (Au Pairs? 999? Invisible Sex? Athletico Spizz 80?) On the other hand, even those acts make it an interesting record of a certain period.

There are some good performances, some that are unforgettable but not exactly good, and a few that are excellent. A lot depends on if you are willing to see the performances as performance art rather than just music. Certainly seeing the Cramps' Lux Interior, covered in scratches, wearing black leggings that barely cover his genitals, and fellating a microphone while rubbing himself carries a kind of can't-look-away fascination. When Skafish does their "Sign of the Cross," complete with smoking censer, I always find myself wondering whether Jim Skafish's unbelievably huge nostrils will actually swallow the stage like a black hole. And how often do you get to see Klaus Nomi, a gay German falsetto dressed as a cross between a kabuki actor, a member of the commedia dell'arte, and a ballerina from Star Trek?

You also get to see that Devo was a truly great band -- their performance of "Uncontrollable Urge" reminds me why I loved them back in the day. You get to see XTC before they stopped performing live. You get to see the Go-Gos before Belinda Carlisle lost weight and Joan Jett before she lost weight. You get to see Echo and the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Pere Ubu, and Magazine, all of which have their followings.

I love the film, and probably watched it a dozen times in the 1980s on Night Flight on USA network. It's been on HDNet twice, and both times I've missed the opening 40 minutes to an hour, so I haven't DVRed it, but when I do I'm definitely keeping it on DVD.

Best Concert(s) film ever

For the type of music featured, the movie is pretty damned good. No filler BS. Just good edits and segues from the end of one band's song to another band, complete with band names and locations. Great performances. Hardly the best concert film but definitely one of my favorites. I collect concert films and live performances. Haven't seen this in 20 yrs. Brings back memories.

Yes. amazing collection of great bands and unbelievable performances.

I saw this in a theatre back in 1981. I was (purportedly) the films target audience--I was 18 and in college. Despite seeing it on a wide screen with the stereo sound blasting I was bored silly. The loud music kept me awake but I couldn't wait for this to end. The movies is incredibly disjointed--it goes from one band to the next with no rhyme or reason. The cinematography is terrible and some of the bands are (pretty obviously) hamming it up for the camera. It has some historical interest in seeing the Go-Gos and Joan Jett before they hit it big but little else. For a great concert film see "Gimme Shelter!". Even better see "The Decline of Western Civilization"--part 1 or 2. Those movies introduce the bands and give u a sense of who they are and what they're doing. Also it helpfully provides subtitles for most of the songs! "Urgh" is pretty bad. If it's such a great concert film why does nobody seem to know about it? It came out almost 30 YEARS ago!

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