Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know is a breezy, short, and snappy documentary about the best band of the ‘80s. Filled with candid interviews with the band members, old and new concert footage, scenes of the group on tour, getting mobbed by teenage girls, and of course, snippets from their iconic music videos, this is a fine “play the hits” look at the band. Fans looking for something that scratches deeper than the surface may be a little disappointed. Still, for a die-hard like me, it worked as a fun little trip down memory lane.
The best scenes focus on the formation of the group. I especially loved the bit where they reunite and sit in their first “tour bus” (a cramped sports car) and listen to their old demos. It’s equally cool seeing Simon Le Bon returning to his old church and listening to old records of him as a choir boy. The band’s whirlwind rise to superstardom is charted and highlighted by selections of some of their best songs. After their record-setting Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour, the group splinters and eventually reforms to find a career second wind with their comeback record, The Wedding Album.
Although it stops short of being a “warts and all” documentary, I admire the film for at least showing some of the backstage-in fighting and nitpicking between the band members. My biggest gripe however was that their song, “A View to a Kill” (arguably their best work) wasn’t even mentioned! I don’t know if the James Bond producers denied them permission to use the song or what, but to have a documentary on a band and not include one of their most iconic numbers is a bit infuriating. Other than that glaring omission, this is a solid doc that doesn’t set out to reinvent the wheel. Because of that, Duran Duran fans will no doubt be appeased.
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