May 7, 2015

hbo movie about kurt cobain is hard to watch.

That's what I googled after watching about a half hour of it. That turned up an NPR piece that said:
But a new HBO documentary, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, looks beyond that well-known story. It gives motion to Cobain's artwork and photographs, and spends time with his media-averse family. And it's a film that is, at times, hard to watch.
And this from The Daily News:
It surprised [the director, Brett] Morgen that [Cobain's widow Courtney] Love has viewed this hard-to-watch movie at four screenings so far....

13 comments:

rhhardin said...

Some romantic comedies are hard to watch as well.

The guy is making bad choice after bad choice so that you don't care how the problem is solved.

You bail out no later than halfway through.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Gee I wish "Lazlo" were here to make a porn joke about "hard to watch."

Etienne said...

Many people don't know who the guy was, myself included. I never heard his music, never bought his record. I only know of his wife because her name seems to be on the society page a lot. But I don't know her either.

But there is a lot of people I've seen documentaries about, that fascinated me, how their life evolved. My own life being so boring in comparison.

I mean, the documentary has to be about someone who achieved greatness, despite the hand they were dealt.

I just don't think there will ever be a musician or actor who can fit that bill. It can't be a film that keep me in my seat.

John Christopher said...

Althouse, I assume Cobain resonates with you because of your sons. I must be about their age--I was a freshman in high school when Nevermind came out--the perfect age to surrender to a rock and roll band.

My first exposure was on an overnight school trip: on Saturday morning some of my friends had seen the Smells Like Teen Spirit video the night before and kept singing the song. Those of us who stayed in a different room and missed it not only were left out for the day, but ended up with the tune lodged in our heads without even hearing the band version.

All this background to say that even with that history, I found the doc difficult to watch. It was the first time I sat down to watch a non-sports program in real time in I don't know how long, but I ended up watching it in three installments over the next three days.

I mostly found the attempts to be artsy too strained. I would have much rather had that time spent hearing more stories and memories from friends and family.

But hearing the music again was terrific.

Laslo Spatula said...

Cobain heard the songs from Hole's upcoming album and couldn't bear to be outdone by his wife.

Try that one on.

I am Laslo.

Anonymous said...

I never watch any TV entertainment programs in real time/prime time. There's always DVR if anything really good comes on that I find out about. So thanks for the heads up, I won't bother looking for this one.

David said...

I wasn't going to watch anyway, but this makes me feel good about that.

Beldar said...

Not too surprising. I found his music hard to listen to.

Gary Rosen said...

On the first anniversary of Cobain's death the local blatt ran an article quoting a number of famous rock musicians. Most of them said stuff like, "People can't imagine what it was like, he must have been under such pressure" etc.

The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards said, "I figured he was in the wrong business. What's so hard about being lead singer for one of the world's biggest rock bands? You just deal with it."

Saint Croix said...

This part made me angry.

And so they took him to a doctor, and the doctor initially prescribed Ritalin, and when that didn't prove effective, they tried sedatives

He was 2 years old. This is child abuse, and it's child abuse by liberal society. It's child abuse by feminism. It's a hatred of masculinity, of boys, and a determination to control them. Ugly, vicious child abuse. And I acquit the family of child abuse. I'm not accusing his family. I'm accusing his doctors, and his society, of this evil. See it for what it is.

And if you're wondering, hey, why did he think drugs were a solution? Because you trained him to think this way when he was 2. You trained him to think that he was wrong and bad, and he needed to be drugged and tranquilized, until finally he killed himself.

Saint Croix said...

"More than 10.000 American toddlers 2 or 3 years are being medicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder."

"The report...found that toddlers covered by Medicaid are particularly prone to be put on medication such as Ritalin and Adderall"

I believe that "toddlers covered by Medicaid" is doctor-speak for black kids.

"It's obviously shocking, and shouldn't be happening."

Brought to you by the profession that invented stabbing babies in the middle of birth. And the New York Times is shocked, shocked!

Capt. Schmoe said...

It was hard to watch. It verified what anybody who listened to Nirvana already knew. Cobain was an extremely talented man who, for whatever reason, had an extremely tortured mind and soul. Drugs weren't the cause of his core issue, though they made a solution impossible. I don't think Cobain ever wanted a solution, nor do I think that he turned to drugs to find one.

His life ended tragically, but at some earlier point in his life it became destined to do so.

Too bad he left his daughter to be raised by Courtney Love.

Sam L. said...

Care less, I can't; watch it, I won't.