8.4 /10 1 Votes
Length 95:45 101
(1989) Violator
(1990) Music director Depeche Mode Producer Frazer Pennebaker | 8.3/10 IMDb Label Mute
Sire (US/Canada) Initial release 27 April 1989 Initial DVD release 11 November 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Released 13 March 1989 (1989-03-13) Recorded Pasadena Rose Bowl
18 June 1988 Genre Synthpop, alternative dance, new wave, electronic rock Directors D. A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, David Dawkins Cast Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder, Andrew Fletcher Similar Movies about concerts, Movies about musical ensembles, Documentaries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depeche mode blasphemous rumours 101 music for the masses 1989
101 is a live album and documentary by English electronic band Depeche Mode released in 1989 chronicling the final leg of the band's 1987/1988 Music for the Masses Tour and the final show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena which was held on 18 June, 1988.
Contents
- Depeche mode blasphemous rumours 101 music for the masses 1989
- 101 people are people
- Film history and development
- 2003 audio reissue
- 2003 video reissue
- SACD Mute LCDStumm 101
- VHS Mute Film MF007 UK
- DVD Mute Film DMDVD3 UK
- Personnel
- References
Group member Alan Wilder is credited with coming up with the name; the performance was the 101st and final performance of the tour (and coincidentally also the number of a famous highway in the area). The film was directed and produced by D.A. Pennebaker.
101 people are people
Film history and development
The band's original concept for the film "101" was going to be about how Depeche Mode fit into the 1980s. They had considered shooting the documentary with an "experienced director," but felt that the (unnamed) choice was going to do something "too glossy." Wanting to present something more interesting, Depeche Mode reached out to renowned documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, who discarded this initial concept for the film, feeling that it was "impossible to examine in an entertainingly cinematic fashion."
Ultimately, the film focused on what Depeche Mode considered to be their strongest selling point - their live performance - as well as capturing the spirit of their fan base. The film prominently features a group of young fans travelling across America as winners of a "be-in-a-Depeche-Mode-movie-contest," which culminates at Depeche Mode's landmark concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The film does not depict the full Rose Bowl concert, instead showing interspersed snippets of the band, the "bus kids" and live performances recorded throughout the tour. The 2003 reissue included more concert footage, but as Pennebaker "was shooting a documentary, not a concert film," a complete video record of the Rose Bowl concert does not exist.
Pennebaker used his direct cinema approach, which he described as "letting the camera run as unobtrusively as possible, thereby encouraging events to unfold on their own. ... You edit more and the film changes every three days, but [the band] were very nice and patient about it."
Pennebaker admitted there was a similarity between Depeche Mode and some of the other artists he'd filmed before (Bob Dylan and David Bowie): "I found the audience very rapt; they were there for that band. Not any band would do. I got the feeling that maybe there was no other band they'd ever go out for again in that assemblage, and it made me take that audience fairly seriously."
Due to the prominence of the "bus kids," the film is widely considered to be the impetus for the "reality" craze that swept MTV in the following years, including The Real World and Road Rules.
In various interviews, DVD commentaries and on their own website, both Pennebaker and collaborator Chris Hegedus have cited 101 as "their favorite" and "the one that was the most fun to make" out of all their films to date.
2003 audio reissue
In 2003, Mute Records reissued 101 as a hybrid SACD. In essence, the two-disc set contained 101 in three formats - multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD and PCM stereo (CD audio). The multi-channel audio was presented in 5.1 and gave a better representation of the live experience. The SACD was not released in North America.
Due to pressing errors, however, the first run of the set was marred by a mis-encoded multi-channel SACD layer that skipped and was unlistenable on the first disc. The stereo SACD and CD audio layers were unaffected.
As a bonus hidden track, the multi-channel layer also included the full version of "Pimpf".
2003 video reissue
In 2003 the film was released on a two-disc DVD with the main film on the first disc. The second disc had interviews with the three fans and their experiences with the band. There were also interviews with Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andrew Fletcher talking about their solo projects which they were working on at the time (Gahan - Paper Monsters, Gore - Counterfeit², Fletch - Client). All three interviews were conducted separately by Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. At the time, the commentary on the film was recorded at separate times and edited together later. Alan Wilder, who left the band almost seven years after 101 in 1995, chose not to be interviewed. Additionally, there was an interview with Daniel Miller and on the state of Depeche Mode, and includes comments on Vince Clarke and the old Depeche Mode days. There were also interviews with manager Jonathan Kessler and three of the "bus kids."
In addition to the interviews there was also isolated video footage of the concert, including previously unreleased footage.
SACD: Mute / LCDStumm 101
VHS: Mute Film / MF007 (UK)
- "101 – The Movie" – 117:00
DVD: Mute Film / DMDVD3 (UK)
Disc One
- 101 – The Movie (includes optional audio commentary)
Disc Two All songs are isolated live video footage, uninterrupted by documentary footage. Songs with a * are exclusive to the DVD and were not in the VHS film. Footage of "Sacred", "Something To Do", "Things You Said", "Shake The Disease", "Nothing", "People Are People", "A Question of Time" and "A Question of Lust" are lost and were not able to be recovered for the DVD.