X
- 2021
- R
- Focus Features
- 2 h 20 m
- 2021
- R
- Focus Features
- 2 h 20 m
Summary How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Edgar Wright’s debut documentary The Sparks Brothers, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Jane Wiedlin, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey th...
Directed By: Edgar Wright
- 2021
- R
- Focus Features
- 2 h 20 m
- 2021
- R
- Focus Features
- 2 h 20 m
The Sparks Brothers
80
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Edgar Wright’s debut documentary The Sparks Brothers, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Jane Wiedlin, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey th...
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
80
100% Positive
33 Reviews
33 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
80
100% Positive
33 Reviews
33 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
From bucket-of-water tomfoolery to visually inventive biography and witty musicology, this really does have something for the girl with everything.
The Sparks Brothers is a thorough and charming assessment and appreciation of an idiosyncratic band, and the highest praise you could give it is that it shares a sensibility with its inimitable musicians.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
6.6
67% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
20% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
13% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
6.6
67% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
20% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
13% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
'The Sparks Brothers' is a bonkers documentary that thoroughly explores the career of the most iconic band that few know about. Edgar Wright perfectly understands the group's essence and creates a film in sync. Yes, it has the classic talking heads approach, but the complementary animations, the jokes, and the number of stars gathered here talking about the band's good and bad times make it irresistible. It was nice to see the moments filmed in Mexico; I fondly remember their brief but memorable show at the Corona Capital Festival. If you're a Sparks fan, the documentary will make you want to play their music once it's over. If not, this will show you what you've been missing.
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Wright seems determined to bring in some new blood, and his film is a thrillingly persuasive recruiting tool. For existing fans, it’s a fond and nerdily comprehensive celebration – or perhaps vindication – of the siblings’ extensive, courageously eccentric output.
The Sparks Brothers, an energetic documentary directed by Edgar Wright, explains their appeal in part by emphasizing how it cannot be explained.
This funny, heartwarming, and thorough documentation of Sparks’ career [is] a benchmark by which all future music documentaries will be judged.
If you’ve never heard of Sparks, the good news is that you’re the perfect viewer for Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers, a two-hours-plus sales pitch for why they’re worth your time.
The film is too long for the non-enthusiast. And we don’t learn much about the brothers’ personal lives – it’s as if they exist for the band and nothing else. But even if the music isn’t your thing, it’s hard not to admire the duo’s commitment to their creative impulses.
Brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael have been recording and playing around the world since 1967, but many people (myself included) have never heard of them. This doc features the duo in a “formal” studio interview, as well as numerous musicians who’ve been involved with or influenced by them. There’s also a lot of stills and footage detailing most of their output. Surprisingly, they’ve been prolific and popular all this time and this is an entertaining way to discover them. The only complaint (even the 2:15 running time didn’t get tiresome) is that there’s almost no insight into their personal life. It’s a quirky movie that echoes Sparks’s eccentric style by showcasing their fascinating and innovative creative output.
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You know a movie is good when you can make a band that I was aware of in the 70's and 80's, but a band that I didn't know too much about, and make that band FASCINATING. I loved this **** Mael brothers are eccentric, and yet quite normal. Their self -depracating humor shines through in this movie. I think it's that humor that bonds these two brothers to continue making music to this day. I am so glad I took a chance on learning more on why the "Sparks Brothers' are able to take a licking and keep on ticking close to 50 years on in their fascinating career. Dont leave during the credits, either. I don't even like their music, and yet I still love this band thanks to this movie.
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I had no idea who these guys were as I walked into the theater. I walked out still having no idea who they are. I tried listening to their music on the drive home and it was pretty terrible.
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Production Company
Focus Features,
Media Rights Capital (MRC),
Complete Fiction
Release Date Jun 18, 2021
Duration 2 h 20 m
Rating R
Genres
Awards
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
FOCAL International Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
