Julien Temple's Oil City Confidential is the last film in his trilogy on British music of the 1970s, a prequel to his landmark films about punk figureheads the Sex Pistols in The Filth & The Fury and Joe Strummer in The Future Is Unwritten. Rather than being standard 'rockumentaries', Julien uses the music as a prism through which he examines the social and cultural conditions of the times. The films share his characteristic cinematic language - an irreverent and anarchic style of montage of archive and fictive footage, which he pioneered in The Great Rock & Roll Swindle. The Sex Pistols' and Joe Strummer's roles are well known, but Dr Feelgood, who are the subject of Oil City Confidential, played a vital role in creating those conditions for that cultural explosion and is a story that is as yet untold. Oil City Confidential is a film noir feature length documentary and about Dr Feelgood; it's the story of four men in cheap suits who crashed out of Canvey Island in the early '70s, sandpapered the face of rock'n'roll and left all that came before a burnt-out ruin, four estuarine John-the-Baptists to Johnny Rotten's anti-Christ. Cannibalizing the visual flotsam and jetsam of our society, welding into an emotionally engaging and humorous whole, Oil City Confidential sets out to explore this unique time, place and social landscape - all of which was responsible for shaping the identity of the band and which, more than any other, defined the strange cultural vacuum which existed before the coming of punk rock. ""Nothing less than a masterclass in musical hagiography, beautifully photographed, superbly edited and utterly involving""Time Out. ""I don't think Julien Temple has ever made a film as good, and as purely insightful as this"" The Guardian.
M**E
Actually, this disc is TEN STARS!
To be clear, this is a DOCUMENTARY on Wilko, Lee, the Feelgoods and Canvey Island. It is NOT a "music video". For that, go to YouTube. Can't promote this excellent production enough! An absolute must-have if you consider yourself to be a true Feelgood Fan!! (Wilko is a flippin' HOOT!)
J**H
Feelgood rules!
I was a huge fan of Wilko Johnson & Dr Feelgood back in the 70's. Was even lucky enough to see them play in Philly and theyblew me away. So I was very interested in having any live footage of the band. This DVD has performances but stands outmore as a "history" of the band and Canvey Island as well. While I would have liked more live footage, I would still recommendthis DVD to Feelgood fans or to fans of rock & roll.
D**R
Canvey Rocks...
Fantastic documentary about a wonderful, mostly unsung band.For anyone who loves great rock 'n' roll and wants to know where British punk began - right on Canvey Island.Long live Lee & Wilko!
B**R
Outstanding
Best music documentary...Ever. Release it on Blu Ray...Now.
C**5
Good. Learned a lot about an important English band ...
Good. Learned a lot about an important English band (Link between Pub Rock and Punk Rock).
L**R
Wilko steals the the show.
Hardly any footage of the band but an entertaining first hand account of the band and their influence.
K**R
Five Stars
Great
F**6
Did history gets rewritten the moment it happens...
….I was born in 1960 and I've been a Dr. F fan for quite a while. Saw them in concert in Germany and England a few times..got all the old record and all. While I always knew that Wilco Johnson was the songwriter (and maybe genius of the band), I always had a lot of respect for Lee Brilleaux - just raw energy and a total unpretentious British way about him. Watching this great documentary made me feel sad as I thought that Johnson had written this thing in order to re-write history. How can he not have one single good thing to say about his old buddy???? I was embarrassed for him and thought (most likely incorrectly) that he made up this whole cancer thing about himself.....
D**N
Five Stars
Pleased with product and delievery
A**S
Five Stars
Absolutely brilliant!
M**E
Five Stars
A wonderful depiction of the Feelgood phenomenon.
M**N
Superb!
In terms of taking a genre, stripping it down to its raw elemental basics and rebuilding it to a new more energetic art form, Dr Feelgood are at least as important as Bon Scott AC/DC.This gritty, charming and quirky film takes a long, loving look at how it all went down. Hope, despair, defiance and r'n'b. That's "rhythm and blues" in the British interpretation - take delta blues, give it a rock (solid) rhythm section, and make like Bad Boys.One minor quibble - there should have been more live concert footage - for example I've heard that more songs from the Kursaal '75 gig exist somewhere.Wilko Johnson IS The Greatest Living Eglishman. Respect. 'Nuff said.
A**R
Fantastic!
Fantastic! A great DVD that examines the Dr. Feelgood emergence onto the music scene and their eventual demise.Julian Temple does a fine job of allowing the key players to speak for themselves and there is enough of the Feelgood sound to allow,those who may not be familiar with the band to,get the point !
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