| 100 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Joel Selvin
Remarkable rockumentary.
|
| 100 |
Portland Oregonian
It's a teeming, steaming, bubbling stew, a tremendous good time, a rich entertainment and a heck of a lesson in music, human etiquette and the politics of making it (or not) in show biz.
|
| 100 |
Christian Science Monitor
What makes the movie powerful is Timoner's decision to structure it via Taylor's perspective on his competitor, with no holds barred.
|
| 100 |
Boston Globe
The result is one of the most unforgiving ground-level documentaries about the music business ever made -- the six-string equivalent of "Hoop Dreams."
|
| 100 |
Empire
Steve O'Hagan
A vibrant and vivid documentary masterwork, DiG! will have you celebrating independent filmmaking while lamenting the state of independent music-making.
|
| 91 |
Entertainment Weekly
The fascination of Dig! is that it invites those of us who aren't alt-rock obsessives into the hive, yet it never feels like a dilettante's tour.
|
| 90 |
Slate
James Barber
The movie has become a kind of highway-safety film for the rock community.
|
| 89 |
Austin Chronicle
There's a genuine sense of loss when dreams go unrealized, and in these moments Dig! transcends the typical "rock movie" format and aspires to something greater: an examination of why we create and what we receive from art.
|
| 88 |
Miami Herald
DiG! is raw, just as the band members themselves.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Tribune
Allison Benedikt
Anton, because after watching your tantrums, abuse and addiction in DIG! I went straight to the record store to buy your music. And that's something.
|
| 88 |
New York Daily News
Robert Dominguez
A riveting rock documentary.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Should be required viewing for youngsters thinking about a music career. It's a great reminder to be careful what you wish for.
|
| 80 |
Variety
The terrific DIG! offers a unique chance to watch two classic rock band scenarios unfold simultaneously.
|
| 80 |
LA Weekly
The no-frills documentary also makes it clear that Newcombe is the real deal -- both supremely gifted and organically nuts.
|
| 80 |
Film Threat
Fascinating, horrifying and hilarious.
|
| 80 |
Newsweek
It's like a spectacular roadside accident: you can't turn away.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
The video is narrated by Taylor, who magnanimously presents Newcombe as a Byronic hero, but ultimately proves that the pursuit of success and the pursuit of cool can be equally pointless.
|
| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Bill White
Captures the infantile fantasies of rock 'n' roll's self-made messiahs with an honesty that is rare in today's MTV world of promotional entertainment.
|
| 75 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Timoner offers a resonant, often painfully funny, drama about two good friends who become enemies against the backdrop of the pop-music business.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
A hip eye-opener.
|
| 70 |
TV Guide
It's a fascinating film that manages to touch on subjects as diverse as mental illness and what's wrong with the record industry, set to brilliant music by the one of the best bands you've probably never heard.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
If universities ever start graduate programs in rock stardom, Dig! will surely be a cornerstone of the curriculum, for it works as both an instruction manual and a cautionary tale.
|
| 63 |
Premiere
DiG! never delves deep enough to act as a true cautionary tale. It's an amusingly drunken PBS-worthy human-interest doc, unless you're too old or not cool enough to have played in the embarrassing hipster zoo, in which case DiG! may be the closest you'll ever get to the uncaged animals.
|
| 60 |
The Hollywood Reporter
James Greenberg
May not be for all tastes, but it's an up close and personal look at a true rock 'n' roll animal.
|
| 60 |
Village Voice
These flashes push Dig! beyond recording-industry kvetch, causing it to stay with you longer than either band's ephemeral music.
|
| 50 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
By giving Taylor the last word, Dig! becomes little more than a self-serving, unconvincing infomercial for a musician who comes across as functional and bearable only when compared to his counterpart.
|
| 50 |
Dallas Observer
Melissa Levine
Whether or not you like this film may depend on how much interest (or patience) you have for the antics of a self-proclaimed prophet.
|
| 30 |
Washington Post
Richard Harrington
Ultimately undermined by the fact that the two rock bands Timoner chose to focus on -- the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols -- simply don't matter as much as she thinks they do.
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