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Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

January 29, 2023

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is a 2015 American documentary film about Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. The film was directed by Brett Morgen and premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It received a limited theatrical release worldwide and premiered on television in the United States on HBO on May 4, 2015. The documentary chronicles the life of Kurt Cobain from his birth in Aberdeen, Washington in 1967, through his troubled early family life and teenage years and rise to fame as frontman of Nirvana, up to his suicide in April 1994 in Seattle at the age of 27.

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrett Morgen
Written byBrett Morgen
Produced by
Edited by
  • Joe Beshenkovsky
  • Brett Morgen
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24) (Sundance)
  • May 4, 2015 (2015-05-04) (United States)
Running time
132 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film includes artwork by Cobain as well as music and sound collages composed by him. Much of music and sound collages were released on the film's soundtrack, Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings. A companion book was also released containing animation stills from the film as well as transcripts of interviews, photographs, and pieces of Cobain's artwork not featured in the film.

Plot

After Kurt Cobain was born in 1967, his parents moved to Aberdeen, Washington, shortly after his sister Kim is born. Kurt lived a normal childhood, although his father Don would pick on him. At the age of nine, his parents had divorced. He lived with Don for a while until Don married Jenny Westeby and they have kids together. He moved back in with his mom and as a teenager, he became unruly and started smoking pot with friends. He and his friends started to visit the home of a developmentally challenged high school classmate to steal her father's alcohol. It became a hard time for Cobain, who considered suicide for the first time. After he attempted to have sex with the girl, his classmates began insulting and shaming him. Cobain, who was unable to take the ridicule, lies down on train tracks and had the intention of ending his life, but the train traveled on a different railway.

After Kurt had become homeless and living with friends, he eventually gets his own place at 17 and started a band with Krist Novoselic. Chad Channing eventually joined the band on drums and they chose the band name "Nirvana". Nirvana's first "shows" consists of playing for a few friends and random passersby at local house parties. They eventually start playing at clubs and radio stations and Kurt starts dating Tracy Marander. The band signs onto Sub Pop record company and they release their first album, Bleach. The band starts to have interviews and doing tours. After a short while, Kurt breaks up with Tracy. Chad leaves the band, Nirvana leaves the label to sign onto DGC Records and Dave Grohl becomes the new drummer.

After recording their next album, Nevermind, their song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" becomes a hit and the band is launched into the mainstream. Kurt meets Courtney Love and they start dating. In 1992, they get married after they find out she is pregnant, but at the same time Kurt gets into heroin. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Courtney mentions Kurt's heroin habit and that Courtney tried it as well; Lynn Hirschberg, the journalist for the magazine, writes that Courtney used the drug while pregnant, misquoting her. Shortly after Frances is born, they are confronted by the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services, who take the Cobains to court, claiming that the couple's drug usage makes them unfit parents. Due to the claims made in the Vanity Fair article, Seattle child welfare agents remove the couple's baby daughter for around four weeks. The couple eventually obtain custody in an exchange for agreeing to provide urine tests and receive regular visits from a social worker. After months of legal negotiations, the couple are eventually granted full custody of their daughter.

Kurt's heroin use continues as the band record their new album In Utero in 1993. Pat Smear joins the band and they start doing arena tours. Cobain starts to turn pale while suffering withdrawal. Not long after returning home, Cobain's heroin use resumes. The band goes on to do an MTV Unplugged performance and they continue touring again in early 1994. After being diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis, he flies to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and is joined there by Courtney, on March 3, 1994. The next morning, Love awakes to find that Cobain has overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol. Cobain is immediately rushed to the hospital and spends the rest of the day unconscious. After five days in the hospital, Cobain is released and returns to Seattle.

The screen cuts to black and a text appears stating: "One month after returning from Rome, Kurt Cobain took his own life. He was 27 years old." The credits then begin.

Production

 
Kurt Cobain performing with Nirvana at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1992

The documentary is directed by Brett Morgen, who began work in 2007 when Cobain's widow Courtney Love approached him with the idea.[2] It is the first documentary about Kurt Cobain to be made with the cooperation of his family.[2] Morgen and his team were given access to the entirety of Cobain's personal and family archives.[3] The documentary includes footage from various Nirvana performances and unheard songs, as well as unreleased home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, journals, demos, and songbooks.[3] Morgen used the interviews in the film Lenny as a model for the interviews in the film.[4] The film's title, Montage of Heck, takes its name from a musical collage that was created by Cobain with a 4-track cassette recorder in about 1988, of which there are two versions: one is about 36 minutes and the other about eight minutes.[3] Several scenes were animated by Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsing.[5] Jeff Danna wrote an original score for the film.[6] The film was co-produced by HBO Documentary Films and Universal Pictures International Entertainment Content Group.[7] Cobain and Courtney Love's only daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was a co-executive producer on the film.[8]

Soundtrack

Main article: Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings

Ahead of screenings of the film on both HBO and international cinema releases, director Brett Morgen stated in an interview online that an album would be released in the months following the film's release that will include home recordings.[9] Morgen said the album "will feel like you're kind of hanging out with Kurt Cobain on a hot summer day in Olympia, Washington as he fiddles about" but that "it's not a Nirvana album".[9] The album will feature at least one unreleased track.[10] Morgen stated that the album will be 85 minutes long.[11] Per Deadline, Morgen confirmed that the soundtrack is going to be released the same day as the MoH DVD: "It will come out November 6th, the same day as the DVD release."[12]

Release

 
Frances Bean Cobain and Courtney Love at the film's Sundance premiere, January 2015

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015[13] and was subsequently shown at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8, 2015.[14] The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2015.[15] In the United States, Universal Studios distributed the film for a limited theatrical release on April 24, 2015,[16] where it was shown in just three theaters: the Cinerama Dome at Arclight Hollywood, the SIFF Cinema Egyptian Theatre in Seattle, and the IFC Center in New York City.[17][18] The film premiered on television in the United States on HBO on May 4, 2015 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray and a Super Deluxe Edition Box Set in North America on November 13, 2015.[19]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $107,055 during the first two days of its limited theatrical release in the United States.[18] In the United Kingdom, where it was released on home video on April 27, 2015, the film topped the Official Charts Company's UK Music Video Chart Top 50 for the week of May 3–9, 2015[20] and peaked at number six on the UK Blu-ray Chart Top 100,[21] number 13 on the UK DVD Chart Top 100,[22] and 11 on the UK Video Chart Top 100.[23]

Critical response

The film was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics, many of whom noted that the humanized portrayal of Cobain distinguished the film from prior works on the same subject. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 98% approval rating based on 89 reviews with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck makes a persuasive case for its subject without resorting to hagiography—and includes plenty of rare and unreleased footage for fans".[24] At Metacritic, the film has received a score of 83 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The website also gave the film a "Metacritic Must-See" award.[25]

David Fear of Rolling Stone described the film as "the unfiltered Kurt experience," noting that Cobain is shown "not [as] a spokesman for a generation," but as "a human being, and a husband, and a father."[26] Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter concluded that the film is "impressive in parts, but wildly uneven as a whole."[27] Consequence of Sound's Justin Gerber gave the film an "A" grade, writing that the film is "what can only be defined as the definitive Cobain documentary."[28] Katie Walsh of Indiewire described it as "a true achievement, both in documentary filmmaking, and in preserving the memory and legacy of Cobain."[29] Audrey Adler of NME wrote that the film is "the most holistic portrait of a rock icon ever created" and gave it a score of 9/10.[30] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the film is "a portrait that's at turns confessional, confused, and yes, even at times happy, that bring Cobain ... to life in a way that no other film or book has."[31] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote that the film is "absorbing stuff, amply conveying the magnetism of a conflicted leader who drew fanatical adoration, yet who one suspects wasn't easy company."[5]

Video certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 25,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

The film was nominated for "Best Animated Special Production" at the 43rd Annie Awards as well as seven Primetime Emmy Awards.[33][34]

Criticism

In May 2015, Alice Wheeler, a prominent rock photographer and personal friend of Kurt, was also critical of the film, and stated that "Morgen repeats all the fake stories that were originally designed to minimize the truth about his drug use", along with "I am not saying none of those things happened, but the film emphasizes the two last years of Kurt's life, when he was on drugs and depressed. It is a disservice to his memory and music not to explore the years when he wrote all that great music and was happy".[35] Wheeler also went on to note that the film has "no clear delineation of what happened before heroin and Courtney Love and after" and that the film "doesn't give a clear picture of the creative spirit in the Olympia music scene that Nirvana was part of before they became huge. Unfortunately Montage of Heck focuses on the Courtney years and the journal entries of the last two years while ignoring Kurt's more productive happy years.[35] She was also critical of the animated-cartoon visuals of Cobain within the film, saying "it was making a weird fantasy of a sad and lonely boy… another myth, an example of one of the most malicious myths the film features is the idea that he was destined to commit suicide because of his childhood scars".[35]

In June 2015, Buzz Osborne, close friend of Cobain and lead singer of the Melvins, called the film "mostly misguided fiction" and wrote that "people need to understand that 90% of Montage of Heck is bullshit".[36][37] In an interview with RiffYou.com, Osborne reinforced his criticisms, stating "I happen to know a lot of the stuff [shared in the movie] isn't true. If people want to believe it and think he was capable of doing all those things, that's their problem. But, I am not going along with it".[38][39]

Morgen later addressed Osbourne's criticism of the film on the Opie and Anthony Radio Show, stating "He [Buzz] thinks everything Kurt says is bullshit, which, I actually kind of believe him. That was kind of the whole premise of my movie, was that Kurt was very mercurial. He was always spinning tales. So I thought, rather than make a movie based on his interviews, I'm going to make a movie based on his art. I don't know if there's a single fact, this is not a movie about facts and stats."[40]

In June 2015, after the film released, Dale Crover, another personal friend of Cobain, who played drums in both Fecal Matter, Nirvana, and Cobain's musical heroes the Melvins, was interviewed on a podcast with Jack Antonio about the film. He was also critical of the film, notably about the "fat retard girl" story featured in the film, which he denounced that story as being not true, stating "Like that story he tells about the 'fat retard girl,' that's totally fake. We would have known that story. Even talking to friends of mine from Aberdeen who saw it, it's like 'I never heard about that.' I mean, you can tell he's reading it from a piece of paper. He probably wrote it, but it's not about him. The names of the guys he mentions in there, 'Oh, I used to hang out with Bill and Bob and Jeff,' it's like, who? Those people don't exist."[41]

In 2016, Krist Novoselic responded to Buzz's criticism of the film, stating "That's just Buzz, he's always been like that, but we love him so we just accept him for that. He's always had these opinions. Like, 'Oh, there goes Buzz again.' You never know what he's gonna say, but he means well, and he's a great musician. He's been a dear friend for a long time. That's the way it is."[42]Aaron Burckhard, Nirvana's first drummer, also was critical of the film, reflecting Osbourne's views in that it was "mostly bullshit"[43]

Frances stated that "that movie ended up being not what I wanted it to be," and stated "The first half of the movie is really beautiful; the second half, we all ended up hating Kurt. We were all like, 'You whiny little b***h. What is wrong with you?' That wasn't reflective of what we were trying to convey."[44]

Cobain's mother, Wendy, also had regret in relation to working on the film. She said that "I regret working with [Morgen]." Frances countered stating that while "I don't regret working with him," she did "regret not being in a headspace to be more involved. I was on a lot of drugs. I was not present. I was not capable of having authentic input."[44]

Companion book

Along with the film, a companion book of the same name was released. It is co-authored by Richard Bienstock and Morgen, who contributed a foreword. The book contains animation stills from the film as well as transcripts of interviews, photographs, and Cobain's artwork that were not featured in the film. Two editions of the book were published. Insight Editions published the North American edition, which contains 160 pages (ISBN 978-1608875498).[45] Omnibus Press published the British edition, which contains 208 pages, under the name Kurt Cobain: A Montage of Heck (ISBN 978-1783059669).[46]

References

  1. ^ "COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK (2015)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Gallo, Phil (November 25, 2014). "Frances Bean Cobain-Produced Kurt Cobain Documentary to Debut on HBO in 2015". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Blistein, Jon (November 25, 2014). "Kurt Cobain Doc 'Montage of Heck' to Premiere on HBO in 2015". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  4. ^ Jackson, Josh (February 4, 2015). "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck — An Interview with Director Brett Morgen". Paste. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Harvey, Dennis (February 2, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'". Variety. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  6. ^ "Jeff Danna Scoring 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'". Film Music Reporter. February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  7. ^ Dickson, Evan (January 23, 2015). "First Image From Official Kurt Cobain Documentary Cobain: Montage of Heck". Collider.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Goodman, Jessica (March 11, 2015). "Watch The Harrowing Trailer For 'Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Maurer, Daniel (May 1, 2015). "Kurt Cobain Album Coming This Summer, Reveals Montage of Heck Director". Bedford and Bowery. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  10. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (March 10, 2015). "'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck' Soundtrack to Feature Unreleased Track". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  11. ^ "An Interview With 'Montage of Heck' Director Brett Morgen". Pigeons & Planes. April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  12. ^ Blyth, Antonia (August 11, 2015). "'Montage Of Heck' Soundtrack Release Announced: November 6". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  13. ^ Reilly, Phoebe (January 28, 2015). "Sundance 2015: Brett Morgen on Cobain, Courtney and 'Montage of Heck'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  14. ^ Nienaber, Michael (February 8, 2015). "Kurt Cobain comes as he is in visceral documentary". Reuters. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  15. ^ De Semlyen, Phil (February 20, 2015). "Exclusive First Poster For Cobain: Montage Of Heck". Empire. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  16. ^ Grebey, James (March 20, 2015). "Kurt Cobain Doc 'Montage of Heck' Will Get Limited Theatrical Release". Spin. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  17. ^ Bibbiani, William (February 3, 2015). . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  18. ^ a b Brooks, Brian (April 26, 2015). "'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck' Rocks Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  19. ^ "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck". November 13, 2015. ASIN B00WFU3YFQ. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  20. ^ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  21. ^ "Official Blu-ray Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  22. ^ "Official UK DVD Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  23. ^ "Official UK Video Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  24. ^ "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  25. ^ "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  26. ^ Fear, David (January 15, 2015). "Sundance 2015: Intimate 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck' Doc Stuns at Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  27. ^ Van Hoeij, Boyd (January 24, 2015). "'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck': Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  28. ^ Gerber, Justin (January 26, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: Kurt Cobain - Montage of Heck". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  29. ^ Walsh, Katie (January 27, 2015). . Indiewire. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  30. ^ Adler, Audrey (January 27, 2015). . NME. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  31. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (January 30, 2015). "Sundance 2015: The 5 best films we saw". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  32. ^ "British video certifications – Kurt Cobain – COBAIN — MONTAGE OF HECK". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  33. ^ "43rd Annual Annie Awards Nominees & Winners". Annieawards.org. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  34. ^ Television Academy
  35. ^ a b c Alice Wheeler, Photographer And Friend Of Kurt Cobain, Speaks To Us - rock nycrock nyc|thank you, next
  36. ^ . TheTalkhouse.com. June 6, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  37. ^ Coleman, Miriam (June 6, 2015). "'90 Percent of 'Montage of Heck' is Bulls--t,' Says Melvins Founder". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  38. ^ "Q&A: Buzz Osborne Defends Stance on Cobain Documentary". RiffYou.com. June 9, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  39. ^ Reed, Ryan (June 11, 2016). "Buzz Osborne Continues to Bash 'Montage of Heck'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  40. ^ Opie & Jim Norton - Kevin Smith, Bert Kreischer, Brett Morgen (08-06-2015) on YouTube
  41. ^ Dale Crover (The Melvins) Chats with Jack Antonio June 8/2015|Mixcloud
  42. ^ Krist Novoselic Addresses Buzz Osborne’s ‘Montage of Heck’ Criticism - Rolling Stone
  43. ^ I am former Nirvana drummer Aaron Burckhard - AMA!: Nirvana
  44. ^ a b Frances Bean Cobain: 'I feel like I have a deep spiritual understanding that most people probably don’t' - Independent.ie
  45. ^ . Insight Editions. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  46. ^ Kurt Cobain: A Montage of Heck. ASIN 1783059664.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.
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  • Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck at IMDb

January 29, 2023
kurt, cobain, montage, heck, 2015, american, documentary, film, about, nirvana, lead, singer, kurt, cobain, film, directed, brett, morgen, premiered, 2015, sundance, film, festival, received, limited, theatrical, release, worldwide, premiered, television, unit. Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck is a 2015 American documentary film about Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain The film was directed by Brett Morgen and premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival It received a limited theatrical release worldwide and premiered on television in the United States on HBO on May 4 2015 The documentary chronicles the life of Kurt Cobain from his birth in Aberdeen Washington in 1967 through his troubled early family life and teenage years and rise to fame as frontman of Nirvana up to his suicide in April 1994 in Seattle at the age of 27 Kurt Cobain Montage of HeckTheatrical release posterDirected byBrett MorgenWritten byBrett MorgenProduced byBrett MorgenDanielle Renfrew BehrensEdited byJoe BeshenkovskyBrett MorgenMusic byKurt CobainNirvanaJeff DannaProductioncompaniesHBO Documentary FilmsUniversal PicturesPublic Road ProductionsThe End of MusicDistributed byHome Box Office USA Universal PicturesRelease datesJanuary 24 2015 2015 01 24 Sundance May 4 2015 2015 05 04 United States Running time132 minutes 1 CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishThe film includes artwork by Cobain as well as music and sound collages composed by him Much of music and sound collages were released on the film s soundtrack Montage of Heck The Home Recordings A companion book was also released containing animation stills from the film as well as transcripts of interviews photographs and pieces of Cobain s artwork not featured in the film Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Soundtrack 4 Release 5 Reception 5 1 Box office 5 2 Critical response 5 3 Video certifications 5 4 Accolades 6 Criticism 7 Companion book 8 References 9 External linksPlot EditAfter Kurt Cobain was born in 1967 his parents moved to Aberdeen Washington shortly after his sister Kim is born Kurt lived a normal childhood although his father Don would pick on him At the age of nine his parents had divorced He lived with Don for a while until Don married Jenny Westeby and they have kids together He moved back in with his mom and as a teenager he became unruly and started smoking pot with friends He and his friends started to visit the home of a developmentally challenged high school classmate to steal her father s alcohol It became a hard time for Cobain who considered suicide for the first time After he attempted to have sex with the girl his classmates began insulting and shaming him Cobain who was unable to take the ridicule lies down on train tracks and had the intention of ending his life but the train traveled on a different railway After Kurt had become homeless and living with friends he eventually gets his own place at 17 and started a band with Krist Novoselic Chad Channing eventually joined the band on drums and they chose the band name Nirvana Nirvana s first shows consists of playing for a few friends and random passersby at local house parties They eventually start playing at clubs and radio stations and Kurt starts dating Tracy Marander The band signs onto Sub Pop record company and they release their first album Bleach The band starts to have interviews and doing tours After a short while Kurt breaks up with Tracy Chad leaves the band Nirvana leaves the label to sign onto DGC Records and Dave Grohl becomes the new drummer After recording their next album Nevermind their song Smells Like Teen Spirit becomes a hit and the band is launched into the mainstream Kurt meets Courtney Love and they start dating In 1992 they get married after they find out she is pregnant but at the same time Kurt gets into heroin In an interview with Vanity Fair Courtney mentions Kurt s heroin habit and that Courtney tried it as well Lynn Hirschberg the journalist for the magazine writes that Courtney used the drug while pregnant misquoting her Shortly after Frances is born they are confronted by the Los Angeles County Department of Children s Services who take the Cobains to court claiming that the couple s drug usage makes them unfit parents Due to the claims made in the Vanity Fair article Seattle child welfare agents remove the couple s baby daughter for around four weeks The couple eventually obtain custody in an exchange for agreeing to provide urine tests and receive regular visits from a social worker After months of legal negotiations the couple are eventually granted full custody of their daughter Kurt s heroin use continues as the band record their new album In Utero in 1993 Pat Smear joins the band and they start doing arena tours Cobain starts to turn pale while suffering withdrawal Not long after returning home Cobain s heroin use resumes The band goes on to do an MTV Unplugged performance and they continue touring again in early 1994 After being diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis he flies to Rome the next day for medical treatment and is joined there by Courtney on March 3 1994 The next morning Love awakes to find that Cobain has overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol Cobain is immediately rushed to the hospital and spends the rest of the day unconscious After five days in the hospital Cobain is released and returns to Seattle The screen cuts to black and a text appears stating One month after returning from Rome Kurt Cobain took his own life He was 27 years old The credits then begin Production Edit Kurt Cobain performing with Nirvana at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1992 The documentary is directed by Brett Morgen who began work in 2007 when Cobain s widow Courtney Love approached him with the idea 2 It is the first documentary about Kurt Cobain to be made with the cooperation of his family 2 Morgen and his team were given access to the entirety of Cobain s personal and family archives 3 The documentary includes footage from various Nirvana performances and unheard songs as well as unreleased home movies recordings artwork photography journals demos and songbooks 3 Morgen used the interviews in the film Lenny as a model for the interviews in the film 4 The film s title Montage of Heck takes its name from a musical collage that was created by Cobain with a 4 track cassette recorder in about 1988 of which there are two versions one is about 36 minutes and the other about eight minutes 3 Several scenes were animated by Stefan Nadelman and Hisko Hulsing 5 Jeff Danna wrote an original score for the film 6 The film was co produced by HBO Documentary Films and Universal Pictures International Entertainment Content Group 7 Cobain and Courtney Love s only daughter Frances Bean Cobain was a co executive producer on the film 8 Soundtrack EditMain article Montage of Heck The Home Recordings Ahead of screenings of the film on both HBO and international cinema releases director Brett Morgen stated in an interview online that an album would be released in the months following the film s release that will include home recordings 9 Morgen said the album will feel like you re kind of hanging out with Kurt Cobain on a hot summer day in Olympia Washington as he fiddles about but that it s not a Nirvana album 9 The album will feature at least one unreleased track 10 Morgen stated that the album will be 85 minutes long 11 Per Deadline Morgen confirmed that the soundtrack is going to be released the same day as the MoH DVD It will come out November 6th the same day as the DVD release 12 Release Edit Frances Bean Cobain and Courtney Love at the film s Sundance premiere January 2015 The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24 2015 13 and was subsequently shown at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8 2015 14 The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom on April 10 2015 15 In the United States Universal Studios distributed the film for a limited theatrical release on April 24 2015 16 where it was shown in just three theaters the Cinerama Dome at Arclight Hollywood the SIFF Cinema Egyptian Theatre in Seattle and the IFC Center in New York City 17 18 The film premiered on television in the United States on HBO on May 4 2015 and was released on DVD and Blu ray and a Super Deluxe Edition Box Set in North America on November 13 2015 19 Reception EditBox office Edit The film grossed 107 055 during the first two days of its limited theatrical release in the United States 18 In the United Kingdom where it was released on home video on April 27 2015 the film topped the Official Charts Company s UK Music Video Chart Top 50 for the week of May 3 9 2015 20 and peaked at number six on the UK Blu ray Chart Top 100 21 number 13 on the UK DVD Chart Top 100 22 and 11 on the UK Video Chart Top 100 23 Critical response Edit The film was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics many of whom noted that the humanized portrayal of Cobain distinguished the film from prior works on the same subject On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 98 approval rating based on 89 reviews with an average rating of 8 1 10 The site s critical consensus reads Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck makes a persuasive case for its subject without resorting to hagiography and includes plenty of rare and unreleased footage for fans 24 At Metacritic the film has received a score of 83 out of 100 based on 19 reviews indicating universal acclaim The website also gave the film a Metacritic Must See award 25 David Fear of Rolling Stone described the film as the unfiltered Kurt experience noting that Cobain is shown not as a spokesman for a generation but as a human being and a husband and a father 26 Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter concluded that the film is impressive in parts but wildly uneven as a whole 27 Consequence of Sound s Justin Gerber gave the film an A grade writing that the film is what can only be defined as the definitive Cobain documentary 28 Katie Walsh of Indiewire described it as a true achievement both in documentary filmmaking and in preserving the memory and legacy of Cobain 29 Audrey Adler of NME wrote that the film is the most holistic portrait of a rock icon ever created and gave it a score of 9 10 30 Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the film is a portrait that s at turns confessional confused and yes even at times happy that bring Cobain to life in a way that no other film or book has 31 Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote that the film is absorbing stuff amply conveying the magnetism of a conflicted leader who drew fanatical adoration yet who one suspects wasn t easy company 5 Video certifications Edit Region Certification Certified units salesUnited Kingdom BPI 32 Gold 25 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Accolades Edit The film was nominated for Best Animated Special Production at the 43rd Annie Awards as well as seven Primetime Emmy Awards 33 34 Criticism EditIn May 2015 Alice Wheeler a prominent rock photographer and personal friend of Kurt was also critical of the film and stated that Morgen repeats all the fake stories that were originally designed to minimize the truth about his drug use along with I am not saying none of those things happened but the film emphasizes the two last years of Kurt s life when he was on drugs and depressed It is a disservice to his memory and music not to explore the years when he wrote all that great music and was happy 35 Wheeler also went on to note that the film has no clear delineation of what happened before heroin and Courtney Love and after and that the film doesn t give a clear picture of the creative spirit in the Olympia music scene that Nirvana was part of before they became huge Unfortunately Montage of Heck focuses on the Courtney years and the journal entries of the last two years while ignoring Kurt s more productive happy years 35 She was also critical of the animated cartoon visuals of Cobain within the film saying it was making a weird fantasy of a sad and lonely boy another myth an example of one of the most malicious myths the film features is the idea that he was destined to commit suicide because of his childhood scars 35 In June 2015 Buzz Osborne close friend of Cobain and lead singer of the Melvins called the film mostly misguided fiction and wrote that people need to understand that 90 of Montage of Heck is bullshit 36 37 In an interview with RiffYou com Osborne reinforced his criticisms stating I happen to know a lot of the stuff shared in the movie isn t true If people want to believe it and think he was capable of doing all those things that s their problem But I am not going along with it 38 39 Morgen later addressed Osbourne s criticism of the film on the Opie and Anthony Radio Show stating He Buzz thinks everything Kurt says is bullshit which I actually kind of believe him That was kind of the whole premise of my movie was that Kurt was very mercurial He was always spinning tales So I thought rather than make a movie based on his interviews I m going to make a movie based on his art I don t know if there s a single fact this is not a movie about facts and stats 40 In June 2015 after the film released Dale Crover another personal friend of Cobain who played drums in both Fecal Matter Nirvana and Cobain s musical heroes the Melvins was interviewed on a podcast with Jack Antonio about the film He was also critical of the film notably about the fat retard girl story featured in the film which he denounced that story as being not true stating Like that story he tells about the fat retard girl that s totally fake We would have known that story Even talking to friends of mine from Aberdeen who saw it it s like I never heard about that I mean you can tell he s reading it from a piece of paper He probably wrote it but it s not about him The names of the guys he mentions in there Oh I used to hang out with Bill and Bob and Jeff it s like who Those people don t exist 41 In 2016 Krist Novoselic responded to Buzz s criticism of the film stating That s just Buzz he s always been like that but we love him so we just accept him for that He s always had these opinions Like Oh there goes Buzz again You never know what he s gonna say but he means well and he s a great musician He s been a dear friend for a long time That s the way it is 42 Aaron Burckhard Nirvana s first drummer also was critical of the film reflecting Osbourne s views in that it was mostly bullshit 43 Frances stated that that movie ended up being not what I wanted it to be and stated The first half of the movie is really beautiful the second half we all ended up hating Kurt We were all like You whiny little b h What is wrong with you That wasn t reflective of what we were trying to convey 44 Cobain s mother Wendy also had regret in relation to working on the film She said that I regret working with Morgen Frances countered stating that while I don t regret working with him she did regret not being in a headspace to be more involved I was on a lot of drugs I was not present I was not capable of having authentic input 44 Companion book EditAlong with the film a companion book of the same name was released It is co authored by Richard Bienstock and Morgen who contributed a foreword The book contains animation stills from the film as well as transcripts of interviews photographs and Cobain s artwork that were not featured in the film Two editions of the book were published Insight Editions published the North American edition which contains 160 pages ISBN 978 1608875498 45 Omnibus Press published the British edition which contains 208 pages under the name Kurt Cobain A Montage of Heck ISBN 978 1783059669 46 References Edit COBAIN MONTAGE OF HECK 2015 British Board of Film Classification Retrieved June 24 2020 a b Gallo Phil November 25 2014 Frances Bean Cobain Produced Kurt Cobain Documentary to Debut on HBO in 2015 Billboard Retrieved November 25 2014 a b c Blistein Jon November 25 2014 Kurt Cobain Doc Montage of Heck to Premiere on HBO in 2015 Rolling Stone Retrieved February 7 2015 Jackson Josh February 4 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck An Interview with Director Brett Morgen Paste Retrieved February 7 2015 a b Harvey Dennis February 2 2015 Sundance Film Review Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Variety Retrieved February 7 2015 Jeff Danna Scoring Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Film Music Reporter February 5 2015 Retrieved April 25 2015 Dickson Evan January 23 2015 First Image From Official Kurt Cobain Documentary Cobain Montage of Heck Collider com Retrieved February 7 2015 Goodman Jessica March 11 2015 Watch The Harrowing Trailer For Kurt Cobain Montage Of Heck The Huffington Post Retrieved March 12 2015 a b Maurer Daniel May 1 2015 Kurt Cobain Album Coming This Summer Reveals Montage of Heck Director Bedford and Bowery Retrieved May 5 2015 Vena Jocelyn March 10 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Soundtrack to Feature Unreleased Track Billboard Retrieved May 10 2015 An Interview With Montage of Heck Director Brett Morgen Pigeons amp Planes April 29 2015 Retrieved May 5 2015 Blyth Antonia August 11 2015 Montage Of Heck Soundtrack Release Announced November 6 Deadline Hollywood Retrieved February 9 2017 Reilly Phoebe January 28 2015 Sundance 2015 Brett Morgen on Cobain Courtney and Montage of Heck Rolling Stone Retrieved February 7 2015 Nienaber Michael February 8 2015 Kurt Cobain comes as he is in visceral documentary Reuters Retrieved February 25 2015 De Semlyen Phil February 20 2015 Exclusive First Poster For Cobain Montage Of Heck Empire Retrieved February 20 2012 Grebey James March 20 2015 Kurt Cobain Doc Montage of Heck Will Get Limited Theatrical Release Spin Retrieved April 13 2015 Bibbiani William February 3 2015 Sundance Brett Morgen on Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck CraveOnline Archived from the original on February 6 2015 Retrieved February 7 2015 a b Brooks Brian April 26 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Rocks Specialty Box Office Deadline Hollywood Retrieved April 27 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck November 13 2015 ASIN B00WFU3YFQ Retrieved December 3 2015 Official Music Video Chart Top 50 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015 Official Charts Company Retrieved May 6 2015 Official Blu ray Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015 Official Charts Company Retrieved May 6 2015 Official UK DVD Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015 Official Charts Company Retrieved May 6 2015 Official UK Video Chart Top 100 for the week of 3 May 2015 to 9 May 2015 Official Charts Company Retrieved May 6 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage Of Heck Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved May 15 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Reviews Metacritic Retrieved May 10 2015 Fear David January 15 2015 Sundance 2015 Intimate Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Doc Stuns at Premiere Rolling Stone Retrieved February 27 2015 Van Hoeij Boyd January 24 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Sundance Review The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved January 25 2015 Gerber Justin January 26 2015 Sundance Film Review Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Consequence of Sound Retrieved February 7 2015 Walsh Katie January 27 2015 Sundance Review Kurt Cobain Montage Of Heck Is An Entertaining And Moving Rock Star Portrait Indiewire Archived from the original on February 1 2015 Retrieved February 7 2015 Adler Audrey January 27 2015 Kurt Cobain Montage Of Heck First Look Review NME Archived from the original on February 16 2015 Retrieved February 27 2015 Nashawaty Chris January 30 2015 Sundance 2015 The 5 best films we saw Entertainment Weekly Retrieved February 26 2015 British video certifications Kurt Cobain COBAIN MONTAGE OF HECK British Phonographic Industry Retrieved August 30 2015 43rd Annual Annie Awards Nominees amp Winners Annieawards org Retrieved July 13 2017 Television Academy a b c Alice Wheeler Photographer And Friend Of Kurt Cobain Speaks To Us rock nycrock nyc thank you next Buzz Osborne the Melvins Talks the HBO Documentary Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck TheTalkhouse com June 6 2015 Archived from the original on November 19 2015 Retrieved July 28 2015 Coleman Miriam June 6 2015 90 Percent of Montage of Heck is Bulls t Says Melvins Founder Rolling Stone Retrieved July 13 2017 Q amp A Buzz Osborne Defends Stance on Cobain Documentary RiffYou com June 9 2015 Retrieved July 13 2017 Reed Ryan June 11 2016 Buzz Osborne Continues to Bash Montage of Heck Rolling Stone Retrieved July 13 2017 Opie amp Jim Norton Kevin Smith Bert Kreischer Brett Morgen 08 06 2015 on YouTube Dale Crover The Melvins Chats with Jack Antonio June 8 2015 Mixcloud Krist Novoselic Addresses Buzz Osborne s Montage of Heck Criticism Rolling Stone I am former Nirvana drummer Aaron Burckhard AMA Nirvana a b Frances Bean Cobain I feel like I have a deep spiritual understanding that most people probably don t Independent ie Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Insight Editions Archived from the original on May 25 2015 Retrieved May 6 2015 Kurt Cobain A Montage of Heck ASIN 1783059664 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck Official U S website archived Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck at IMDb Portals Rock music Film Television Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck amp oldid 1134202575, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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