Synopsis
This documentary, made over a period of eight years, tells the remarkable story of an extremely influential rock'n'roll band. Starting from their mid-60's garage band roots (sounding amazingly like the Sonics), the Motor City 5 deveoped into an icon for a brand of loud, crushing music reflecting their industrial roots. Even if you don't care for their music (and you're bound to like even a few of their songs), their story is fascinating. It combines 60's protest, youthful braggadocio, and a style of music that would help carry one to the likes of Iggy and the Stooges (not to mention certain aspects of punk rock). This film is clearly a labor of love, combining extraordinarily rare live shows, still shots, a nearly-continuous backdrop of MC5 tunes, penetrating interviews with the remaining members and their spouses, and even FBI surveillance shots. It's the ultimate testimonial to a band that only gains in stature as time goes on.
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Cast
- Rob TynerHimself
- Wayne KramerHimself
- Fred SmithHimself
- Michael DavisHimself
- Dennis ThompsonHimself
- John SinclairHimself
Recommendations
- 88
Boston Globe
MC5 is everything a rockumentary should be and usually isn't. Then again, MC5 was everything a rock band should be and usually isn't. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
Wide-ranging and beautifully edited -- it's a vivid evocation of a moment when even the ugliest guitar feedback could be taken as a serious political statement. - 80
The A.V. Club
MC5's mix of showmanship, hippie idealism, and brawling Detroit muscle makes it tough to categorize, and A True Testimonial carefully moves through each step of the progression. - 80
The New York Times
The proto-punk warriors known as the MC5 left a dent that outlasts their mostly negligible record sales, and the director's curiosity is piqued by the group's sociological impact. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
The film is a touching, detailed portrait of an important and often overlooked band. Filmmaker David C. Thomas has done a wonderful job of stitching his filmed interviews together with the extensive vintage footage he scrounged. - 75
New York Daily News
Thomas does an excellent job exploring the incendiary environment that shaped the band in the late 1960s. His primary interest, however, is simply to express and explain the thrill the MC5 still inspires. - 75
New York Post
Should please die-hard fans as well as viewers who have never heard the band and its anthem, "Kick Out the Jams." - 70
Variety
Draws on extensive archival materials to etch an absorbing portrait of a singular counterculture mini-phenom that will be manna to music fans.