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Kurt & Courtney

Kurt & Courtney

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Provides A Deeper Look Into These Very Interesting People
Review: Nick Broomfield set out on an interesting and real-life look at the backgrounds of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Many friends, X's, family members, and acquaintances were interviewed in this independent documentary. We can see a deeper side of who Cobain and Love were. The characters that Broomfield encountered added a lot to what we know about them.

Why was the Nanny to the Cobains afraid to talk? Why were certain interests opposed to this project by Broomfield? Why was he threatened? Why was his funding for this documentary cut-off? Someone is hiding something and trying to keep the truth from being known. You can draw your own conclusions. Very interesting film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not so interesting as I thought
Review: I'm a big NIRVANA and Kurt Cobain fan, and I had great expectations with this video, but with all the information I've read and seen, this one has LOTS of mistakes, even though the interview with Dylan Carlson was pretty "interesting". It's just a bunch of interviews, but it doesn't prove anything at all. It's kinda cool if you're a big NIRVANA fan, but I prefered Who killed Kurt Cobain instead

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Conspiracy theories and character assassination
Review: If you're anything other than a rabid Nirvana fan, this is a waste of time. It's bad journalism doing bad interviews in a badly researched and badly edited documentary, presented, appropriately enough, on a badly formatted DVD. Watch the trailer, and you'd think you were in store for a taught murder mystery involving one of punk rock's true icons. The actual film just meanders aimlessly with no rhyme or reason.

At one point documentary film maker Nick Broomfield walks into the headquarters of the Washington State lottery, which happens to be across the street from one of Kurt's old apartments. Reasonably, in a secure facility that deals with millions of dollars, the woman behind the desk asks Broomfield to turn off the camera. This incident is featured in the trailer, with the woman waving her hands and saying "You have to turn off that camera!" Out of context, you think that Broomfield must have really hit a nerve with some publicist or record producer. Instead, in the film, it's indicative of how poorly structured this documentary is.

Ultimately, the film is saved by a few startling revelations and fascinating characters . Death rocker "El Duce"--notorious as the man who claims Courtney Love offered him $50,000 to kill Kurt--is on-screen only briefly, but makes an impression as this desiccated, bloated, drunken ogre who is equally buffoonish and menacing. El Duce's own mysterious death only a week after the interview makes the whole thing even eerier.

The best bit of the film is perhaps the interview with Frances Bean Cobain's former nanny. A note appears on a windshield. A drunken friend has to coax her in front of the camera. This is a shaken, broken woman who looks like she has yet to recover from whatever she saw in the house those months prior to April 1994. You can only guess at what she knows, but she looks an utter wreck and lets a few intriguing details slip, like Courtney's obsession with finalizing Kurt's will.

I've given this 4 stars. The subject is mesmerizing, and the cast of characters is fascinating, but I ultimately felt that Nick Broomfield had no feel whatsoever for the subject matter. But for Nirvana completists, this is a must have.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: RENT, DON'T BUY
Review: Unless you are an obsessive Nirvana fan, there is no reason to own this DVD. It is, frankly, a horrible film, which is not surprising considering Nick Broomfield's complete incompetence at filmmaking and interviewing. The man is constitutionally unable to conduct an interview; at one point, "Il Duce" claims to know who killed Kurt Cobain, and Broomfield doesn't even ask him who he thinks it was! Watching this film is one long exercise in frustration with the director.

That being said, it is worth watching (once--RENT DON'T BUY) if:

(a) you are a fan of Kurt Cobain / Nirvana; there is one interesting interview w/ Cobain, and a number of interviews w/ people from his life that I have never seen on film or television before (e.g. Dylan Carlson, ex-girlfriend Tracy)

or

(b) you are interested in the theory that Cobain was a victim of murder, not suicide. The reactions that are illicited by the mention of Courtney Love's name are, in my opinion, telling, and there are important interviews w/ people close to Cobain who say he was NOT suicidal. One note of warning: IGNORE Broomfield's claim to have "medical proof" that someone w/ so much heroin in his body could have fired a shotgun; see Tom Grant's website (www.cobaincase.com) to see why.

So, if (a)or (b) applies to you, go ahead and see Kurt and Courtney. Just don't expect a good movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Draw your own conclusions
Review: This movie should not be watched with the intent of finding any new information on Kurt Cobain's life or any answers to the various theories around his death. For some reason, though, I recommend it as required viewing for anyone who has ever found solace in his music, if only to hear Kurt Cobain's voice as a child. This comes from the recordings of his aunt, who seems to be most decent person interviewed and provides the most insight into Cobain's early life. It is interesting see the kinds of people who were involved, such as an ex-boyfriend of Love's (who seems normal until his memories of her provoke a sudden outlash), strung out ex-scenesters who all eerily resemble Courtney Love (or rather, what she may have become), and Il Duche, a weirdly detached shock rocker who claims he was asked by Love to "whack" Cobain for $50,000. Love's father and a lawyer convinced that Cobain was part of a conspiracy murder are also included. It is a disturbing film, in that it is very difficult to tell who really knows from who just wants attention.

It's disturbing, and it's ultimately a documentary of a failed attempt to make a documentary. And while it does not always portray Love as the villain, it certainly doesn't flatter her. Courtney Love is not exactly a candidate for sainthood, and she does seem to set herself up for a lot of her criticism, but the depictions of her given by many of those who were interviewed in this movie are truly unfair. I don't agree with a lot of the things she does, but no one deserves this. Although my opinion may change the next time I read about her OD'ing in front of Frances.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: see for yourself
Review: this documentary may not be credible (i havent seen it but that seems to be the concensus) but that shouldnt discredit the possibility that kurt was murdered. read the facts in the timeline at www.justiceforkurt.com and see for yourself.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not as great as advertised
Review: Exposes on legend Kurt Cobain are invariably depressing, and this one is certainly no exception. If you expect to get to the "root" of how Cobain died through this video, forget it. Plain and simple: the guy killed himself with a gun; no one murdered him. "Kurt & Courtney" shows Courtney Love for what she is - fake and wretched, but she never hired anybody to kill her husband. Her daily existence was enough to drive Cobain away.

The director's filming style and questioning is shoddy, probably even to the most casual observer. He asks dull questions, and proceeds not to follow them up with anything worthwhile, as viewers are left to look at the stoned, boring faces of his unworthy interviewees who had little to do with the actual lives of the Cobains. Oh yeah, we are treated to insights from Courtney Love's bizarre father. When you see him, you'll understand where Courtney...um, never mind...the whole thing is a waste of time.

Sad thing is, put in the hands of a capable, less self-involved director, a documentary on Kurt and Courtney might have been truly interesting. Maybe someday we'll get that. As it stands, though, this movie is nearly a total waste of time, save for Kurt's genuine aunt who is interviewed, and a few interesting tidbits along the way.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hilarious.
Review: First, let my qualify my rating: I give the actual movie about one and half stars for sheer incompetence, but four stars for entertainment value. (Sort of like how Plan 9 From Outer Space is so awful to behold, yet impossible not to love).

The most important thing to remember when you watch Kurt & Courtney is that Nick Broomfield is, to put it gently, a loser. Not only that, he is so completely unaware of his nature that he has no idea just how foolish he presents himself. The documentary is not so much about Kurt Cobain (or even Courtney Love) but rather, the fact that Nick Broomfield doesnt like Courtney, and mean ol' Courtney wouldn't help him with his documentary or let him use Nirvana's music. Which leads to cringe-inducing moments where he bemoans the fact that he wishes he could be playing this song or that in the background.

Other reviewers have correctly pointed out the bizarre nature of the characters that inhabit this film, as well as the incredible amount of time wasted on people obviously are pulling his leg - all of which goes back to the fact that Broomfield is so gullible as to actually believe that these people warrant screen time.

This is black comedy, folks. It's a joke that Broomfield and his crew aren't in on, which makes it funnier. The climax, by the way, is a dead-on satire of the climax of Michael Moore's "Roger & Me." I never thought I could laugh at someone having an anxiety attack, but believe me, this movie made me do it!

As for the whole question of whether Courtney love did in Kurt, don't take it seriously, folks. Broomfield doesn't exactly present himself as one who has the capacity to offer an articulate case for or against that idea.

So my recommedation is: if you're able to seperate the fact that much of this deals with the sad loss of a great artist, and focus instead on the sheer silliness of one man's obsession with a rock star who intimidates the heck out of him, then see it. You'll come away highly amused.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fascinating characters...the truth is stranger than fiction
Review: "Kurt and Courtney" is a fascinating documentary, even if you're not a big Nirvana fan. Nick Broomfield has a style of just going out and interviewing people on the spot and then it seems as if the documentary just comes together on its own with this loose, unstructured feel. It makes for interesting viewing, especially since the people that Nick digs up are very strange but incredibly interesting characters: El Duce the drunk porn rocker, Kurt's old drug buddy, the detective, Kurt's sweet aunt (the only sane one in the whole story), and Courtney's angry father. I also thought the two tabloid journalist guys that Nick talked to were hilarious simply because they were such losers; when they finally get their shot at interviewing Courtney, they chicken out! Of course Courtney herself comes off as being a very tough cookie and I probably would've chickened out too. There are a couple of interesting twists, such as the death of El Duce shortly after he is interviewed, and his hint that Allen Wrench is the one responsible.
After watching this documentary I still believe that Kurt committed suicide, but I do think it is possible that there may have been some people plotting his death, and he just beat them to it. May he rest in peace.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not as great as advertised
Review: Exposes on legend Kurt Cobain are invariably depressing, and this one is certainly no exception. If you expect to get to the "root" of how Cobain died through this video, forget it. Plain and simple: the guy killed himself with a gun; no one murdered him. "Kurt & Courtney" shows Courtney Love for what she is - fake and wretched, but she never hired anybody to kill her husband. Her daily existence was enough to drive Cobain away.

The director's filming style and questioning is shoddy, probably even to the most casual observer. He asks dull questions, and proceeds not to follow them up with anything worthwhile, as viewers are left to look at the stoned, boring faces of his unworthy interviewees who had little to do with the actual lives of the Cobains. Oh yeah, we are treated to insights from Courtney Love's bizarre father. When you see him, you'll understand where Courtney...um, never mind...the whole thing is a waste of time.

Sad thing is, put in the hands of a capable, less self-involved director, a documentary on Kurt and Courtney might have been truly interesting. Maybe someday we'll get that. As it stands, though, this movie is nearly a total waste of time, save for Kurt's genuine aunt who is interviewed, and a few interesting tidbits along the way.


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