The Sparks Brothers

Decline of the Western Civilization, X the Unheard Music, Searching for Sugar Man all should welcome the Sparks Brothers to the pantheon of the greatest rocumentarys.

Ken Burns is probably the greatest producer of documentaries ever. Hundreds if not thousands of people followed in his footsteps. Edgar Wright does also, but he adds innovation into the mixture by using cartoons and claymation style cartoons to illustrate where no film exists, and throws in a helping of wit and humor to keep things moving. He largely avoids the practice of panning over photos (the "Ken Burns effect"), and chooses dozens of interviewees from a large swath of musicians, producers, writers, and A-list actors to discuss their love of all things Sparks. I won't comment on the band themselves, because I cannot be objective. I've been a diehard fan since I first purchase their 1975 album Indiscreet (for 99 cents in the cut out bin). It's head scratching that a band that was so instrumental in so many areas of popular music never became huge in the US. If you're a fan of Edgar Wright or have eclectic taste in music, you need to see this film. If you're not either, I'd still recommend it, as you might become a fan of both Sparks and Mr. Wright.

"How can a band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and overlooked all at the same time?" Edgar Wright (director) Although the cult art-pop band Sparks has been playing its idiosyncratic music for fifty years, you may never have heard about the two brothers or their music. Be prepared to remember them forever after seeing Edgar Wright's loving and comprehensive documentary covering their zany years of performance. The two boys, Ron and Russ Mael, were born in California with the creative influence of the Beach Boys but a definite affinity for Brit bad boys like the Beatles and The Stones and touches of Queen. In fact, Ron and Russell Mael may have been a major influence on British synthpop. Wright skillfully shows their emerging theatrics of Ron's culturally-sharp lyrics and Russell's stagey falsetto gyrations evocative of Mick and Freddie. They have their career careening from high on the charts to being absent from them, but never stopping the two from inventing themselves over and over again. If you don't believe me, listen to persuasive talking heads who know what they're talking about, like Duran Duran, Weird Al Yankovic, Patton Oswalt, Sonic Youth, et al. However, just listen to their sometimes-inscrutable lyrics and watch Russell gyrate around the implacable Ron, and you will experience music in all its forms, wild and expressive. As Ringo was alleged to say while watching Top of the Pops, "Marc Bolan is on the tele playing a song with Adolph Hitler" (Ron wore a Hitler-like stache much of the time). In the course of their half century, they went from glam-rock to orchestral art-pop to their take on Sgt Pepper and everything in between. It's exhausting just to try to catalogue their phases. In Theaters.

I did not know a whit about who the 'Sparks Brothers' were until this documentary came along. Suddenly, I knew that these two Americans had a hand (if not a direct say) in inspiring several different music genres, singers, and bands that/whom I did know. This is no small realization for a self-professed 'music-mad' person like myself. As 'bands' go, these two men - Ron and Russell Mael - are not your typical musicians. Every frame of this documentary practically insists on highlighting just how bizarre these two are. They own their weirdness - and seem proud and unashamed about it. That's what made them so relatable and inspiring to watch in this documentary. I am still shocked that these guys have been around for five decades and I have only just heard about them. Then again, I am not too 'into' the business of music, just listening to all the tracks I like - some of them often on repeat. From retro to modern, the documentary packed all the right vibes. I feel a ton of keen research went into making this special. Edgar Wright - who also happens to be a Sparks fan - gave it a nice elegant directorial flourish. As a result, the documentary was equally entertaining and educational. The Brothers have 25 studio albums and over 500 songs - I believe it is time I checked some of those out. They attempted to influence the American music scene at one time. When that wasn't working out as well as they'd hoped, they went on to make a more permanent mark in Britain. Ron and Russell were born and raised in California, but their work apparently went on to inspire music - starting with the ones who make them - all over the world. This documentary truly captured the human, and all too relatable, side of these two 'silent' legends. It proves that you don't have to be rich, powerful, or well-connected to make a lasting difference in the world. All you need to be is passionate about what you love, and stay consistent applying it. It was fantastic yet revealing to watch the growth and evolution of two men in an industry known for breaking more careers than it makes. It goes to show that real legacies take time and routine effort. All those rejections, all those failures, and Ron Mael (the lyricist and pianist) and Russell Mael (the vocalist) just kept going, sailing through the storms... They kept breaking rules, kept re-inventing themselves. This is enormously inspiring for me to know, being a writer and actor. If you love Music - no matter your country or preferred language - go watch this documentary, go watch it now. If you happen to be any kind of 'artistic creator', this documentary is guaranteed to contain at least one spark of inspiration for you, and a few more motivational ones. This documentary provides ample proof that Music, no matter where it is from, has a mind-blowing (almost magical) way to change people - particularly their artistic lives and creative decisions - no matter where they may be on the globe, let alone in which decade. For all their so-called eccentricities, The Sparks Brothers - their work, their music - expressed Real Life in ways that only Music can communicate. Definitions for the work done by The Sparks Brothers over the years... Quirky, weird, crazy, amazing, revolting, strange, multi-generational, fabulous, creepy, sexy, unnerving, original, polarizing, symbolic, dark, undiluted, non-conforming, radical, discomfiting, persevering, bewildering, revolutionary, evolutionary, ahead of its time, and out of this world. "The Sparks Brothers" documentary - it will be a crime against Art and Music not to watch it.

Admittedly I had to turn it off after 30 minutes. It's extremely fast paced and tries really hard to get you excited about something you don't care about. There's talk about how their work inspired other artists in the beginning and yet there's no evidence or comparisons made. You just have to go along with it. Their music isn't clearly shown, I kept asking myself, "is this background music theirs?" We're told about their music and not shown their music. If I'm not interested in the first 30 minutes of a documentary then I'm not going to waste my time. Really wanted to like it aswell since I'm a fan of the director. He is clearly in the wrong lane here though.

Watching Edgar Wright's documentary on the band Sparks put me in mind of another documentary, Scott Walker: 30th Century Man. With both I knew next to nothing about subjects of the documentary, with one I ended up seeking out their music and becoming a massive fan, the other I really don't see myself getting into at all. 30th Century Man focused on a pop idol who faded to obscurity until many years later coming out with new material that was extremely different and difficult for some (the Sparks Brothers certainly misses a moment like in 30th Century Man where Lulu looks on horrified while listening to a carcass-punching new track from Mr. Walker). The Sparks Brothers focuses on a pop band who has had varying degrees of success but keeps on trucking despite their downward trajectory. Judging a documentary on whether I am into the product of the subject is obviously not right, maybe I am just not into the music, right? However, I feel that with The Sparks Brothers in the beginning I was into it and adding albums to my library in iTunes. However, as the film went on, I just lost interest. Perhaps that is due to the length of the film, as a comparison, 30th Century Man is 1 hour and 35 minutes, Sparks Brothers 2 hours and 21 minutes. Two hours of faux British accented falsetto vocal led synth / rock music with talking heads, some of which not appearing not to be overly enamored with the group, is too much. There is some added wackiness in the film such as the visual puns (which are OK) and made-up "facts" about Sparks read by Sparks (which are intolerable), but all-in-all it is your run-of-the-mill music documentary. Some of the talking-heads add nothing (Jason Schwartzman and the guitarist from Sex Pistols for example), to be honest most of them essentially say, "I love them, and they aren't well known...Hitler mustache!". There is one drawn-out story of the singer hitting his head with a mallet on stage accompanied by an animation. Why? It makes no sense and adds nothing. Also, Edgar Wright putting himself in the documentary? That is indulgent and unnecessary to say the least. In some respects, I can understand the rationale behind the length as the film goes from album to album, going into personnel changes, records label changes / interference and becoming, maybe, the world's first synth pop band. I can appreciate that fans of Sparks may love this and may want more. However, as someone who isn't a fan but who is susceptible to becoming a fan of bands based on documentaries, this did not work for me. As a documentary it is well done and has some nice visuals (the aforementioned unnecessary animation is well done).

I'm not too familiar with the pop-rock duo band Sparks, but I'm a fan of Edgar Wright and this documentary has received strong reviews. As a result, I jumped at the chance to see a virtual advance screening of this exuberantly quirky, playfully irreverent, and ambitious documentary that serves as a comprehensive profile of Sparks, whose career has spanned five decades. The film runs at a lengthy 2 hours and 20 minutes, but Wright's deep affinity for the band is apparent in every single minute of the film. As a result, the film never feels too long-even for those who are not committed fans-but rather a well-researched, thoughtfully idiosyncratic ride that viewers are invited to hop along on. What's fascinating here is that even viewers with no understanding of Sparks can not only be sucked in after watching the first 20 minutes or so of the film, but will also remain fascinated throughout as the analysis of the band gets deeper and deeper. Wright also makes it abundantly clear how inspirational Sparks has been for many other (even more) prominent musicians in the rock and pop genres. The film discusses the two members of Sparks, Ron and Russell Mael. Opening with a discussion of their early history and influences (which included sports and genre films,) context about how this duo has gained such a significant cult following and cultural prominence is clearly absorbed by the viewer. Edgar Wright films, particularly "Hot Fuzz" and "Baby Driver," are usually very well-edited due to Wright's stylistic editing style. While the editing process is much different in a documentary than a narrative film, Wright still edits the film to perfection. The juxtaposition between music videos, concert footage, interviews, and other relevant context pertaining to Sparks is fast yet incredibly impactful on the viewer throughout. This editing clearly contributes to the ebb and flow of the film, which Wright should be commended for. The unique combination of interviewees represented in the film (ranging from the Maels themselves to die-hard fans and many others) come together to make the film's craft feel even more holistic. My only main criticism of the film is that the second act is not as well-structured or interesting as the first act (which is more contextual) or the third act (which is more specifically/directly focused on Sparks' music.) Other than that key structural flaw, I found this documentary to be a uniquely informative viewing experience. 7.5/10.

This was superbly made, very funny, and surprisingly uplifting. I've watched a lot of music documentaries that have interesting content but pretty boring presentation, and so to have one come along that's this entertaining and this well edited was a real treat. Sparks have had an incredibly interesting history to the point where you could use stock standard documentary techniques and still make something watchable, but Wright's passion for this duo really shines through and makes for a documentary that will make any viewer see the weird, funny and captivating appeal of Sparks. It makes me feel like I've got a lot of catching up to do, as I'd only listened to four Sparks albums before watching this, and there are at least several more covered here that I feel I should check out. Only complaint I'd have is that it gets a little long winded near the end, with an epilogue that stretches on forever, with so many points where you think it's about to finish but doesn't. It's like the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ending but for documentaries. Maybe Wright just didn't want to finish making this movie about a band he clearly loves, so for that I can't blame him too much.

Edgar Wright has done it again, with an always-entertaining, ambitious, exciting, energized and stylized documentary about a band that's nothing short of an unbelievable spectacle. An absolute blast! How could you not love it with two brilliant leads who bring so much fun to it all! The Sparks Brothers, both the brothers and the movie, are sights to behold. Will definitely be listening to Sparks for a while now!

Never heard of Sparks before seeing this film, but I don't pay much attention to pop music. They have had a musical career of about 50 years, full of smart and humorous lyrics, framed by great music, all of it written by the two of them. They are two brothers who get along and love what they are doing. Who could ask for more?