Review: As Dig!’s opening credits rolled, I was extremely intrigued by the possibilities it offered. Any person who spends years following a few people obviously has an appreciation for the subject that transcends mere profit margin. There are several examples of successful filmmaking resulting from extensive embed time (Hoop Dreams comes to mind). Of course, the fear is that such close interaction with the subject will distort your emotions in directions that will only limit the film’s quality. Was Dig! going to provide unprecedented insight, or was it going to be a pulpit for the bands’ egos? These were my thoughts going into Ondi Timoner’s film. And I won’t lie, the first lines of narration worried me- turns out, Timoner decided to let Courtney Taylor from the Dandy Warhols narrate the piece. Of course, as the documentary rolled on, I realized Dig! is not actually about two bands, but one: The Brian Jonestown Massacre (BJM). Sure, the careers of both bands are covered, but the Warhols stand as a foil to the enigmatic, volatile and utterly brilliant talents of Anton Newcombe and the rest of BJM. It’s an idea that could easily have backfired on Timoner, but instead works brilliantly to display how easily two similar bands can so quickly find divergent paths based solely on the fickle god of music. This is why Dig! is such a fascinating documentary: it’s a modern day story of Icarus. It asks the question: what happens when you take your gifts too close to the edge of sanity? If you pull back before you fall into oblivion, are you any better off? Understandably most people will see the Dandy Warhols’ success and BJM’s destructive spiral as proof that even creativity needs lines, but that’s not the entire story Timoner is presenting. Choosing Taylor as the narrator has a specific purpose, because in the end, even after all the success, you begin to notice that the Dandy Warhols long for Anton’s musical genius. For all his faults, Anton possesses that which they wish they had and it’s interesting to see them deride and praise him at the same time. My favorite moment is when Taylor admits on camera that years from now, it could very easily be possible that BJM’s music is praised while the Warhols become nothing more than an after thought- a historical footnote. But the film goes deeper still. Hope, betrayal, feuds, friendship, family life, drug addiction, the music industry- all are investigated to some degree or other in a way that makes everyone and everything out to be both villains and saviors. Every band member is egotistical and vain, but also carefree and friendly. Heck, even the music industry isn’t completely blamed (despite both bands’ attempts to do so). And all this is set to the backdrop of a throwback 1960s psychedelic filming style- an ode to the genre these two bands carved out for themselves. Is it any wonder why this documentary caused a sudden rise in prominence of both bands (the Warhols of course already had found fame by this point)? Ignoring the music even for a second leaves some of the most fascinating people imaginable: Anton is a mix of Kurt Cobain and Bob Dylan- a self-proclaimed savior with no direction who ultimately needs to be saved- his band is the polar opposite of Christ’s disciples and Courtney Taylor and the Dandy Warhols are his greatest enemies and closest companions. Trust me, you’ll leave this film slightly more fucked up then you were going in (I apologize for the language, but there simply is no other way to put it), but there’s a new complexity in people and in life that you might pick up. At the very least, you’ll be introduced to some of the most interesting and enigmatic people you’ll ever meet and with it, you’ll experience some of the most fascinating music ever recorded this side of the millennium. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 4- though the film focuses on two bands, the story really centers on one man Entertainment: 4- a great collection of music drives a story that needs no embellishing Technical: 4- a great little tribute to 60’s psychedelic filming Overall: 4- an exhaustive look at two divergent bands that never seems too exhaustive
 
Format: DVD Year: 2004 Running Time: 107 Min Distributor: Palm Pictures and Interloper Films Producer: Ondi Timoner Director: Ondi Timoner Date Reviewed: 1-18-2009 Story: Documentarian Ondi Timoner spent seven years chronicling (and shot 1,500 hours of footage of) the rise of two rival musicians – Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols, both of whom were intent on carving out their own piece of the highly volatile and unpredictable music business. Follow the two wanna-be's through their loves, obsessions, arrests, death threats and (relative) success (NetFlix).