No Distance Left To Run – Blur documentary

This past week, I went to the one-night only showing of the Blur documentary “No Distance Left To Run” and felt compelled to write a review of the movie.

Blur have always produced some great albums from “Leisure” to “Think Tank”, but watching their history leading up to their huge comeback Hyde Park gigs added much more depth to the band. I have seen a number of interviews and videos over the years, but never realised how the band contained 4 distinct personalities – Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree were so different.

This film is for the fans – showing old footage and photos, telling stories of the rise of “brit-pop, and stories from the band members leading up to their reunion gigs. The film has really funny moments throughout and even non-fans would enjoy the interviews and short bite-size clips. The editing is superb – giving snippets of Blur’s music throughout. Hearing so many of their tracks throughout the documentary, it is hard to miss how many great songs they have written in the past. The most surprising moment is footage of their comeback Glastonbury Festival appearance where at the end of their performance of “Tender”, the crowd breaks out into spontaneous acapella singing of one of the tracks main lyrics.

If you missed the theatrical release of the documentary, you will soon be able to watch a 2 DVD set to be released in February 2010. The set contains the documentary and live concert film. The live DVD concert film was filmed over two nights at Hyde Park in July 2009. The multi-camera edit was filmed in HD by Giorgio Testi for Pulse Films and features stereo and surround sound options.

Disc 1

NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN
A documentary film directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace.

Disc 2

LIVE AT HYDE PARK
She’s So High. Girls & Boys. Tracy Jacks. There’s No Other Way. Jubilee.
Bad Head. Beetlebum. Out of Time. Trimm Trabb. Coffee and TV. Tender. Country House. Oily Water. Chemical World. Sunday Sunday. Parklife. End of the Century. To the End. This is a Low. Pop Scene. Advert. Song 2. Death of a Party. For Tomorrow. The Universal.

There is no release date in North America yet, but hopefully it will make its way to Canada and the US. It is well worth the rental for non-fans and purchase for Blur fans.

Prior to their documented 2009 Hyde Park shows, Blur had been on hiatus since 2003 and their last studio album was “Think Tank” which excluded guitarist Graham Coxon. After performing their final gig in July, Blur said they have no plans to record or play together again.

Thanks,
Cameron from Culture Addicts