Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback
Encyclopedia
Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback is a 2006
film
directed by Dietmar Post
and Lucia Palacios
about the seminal German-American beat band The Monks
. The film was produced by Play Loud! Productions
and shot on location in the USA and Germany between 1997 and 2002. In 2008 the filmmakers obtained the German TV Oscar, the Adolf Grimme Awards
.
named it a "penetrating and loving documentary". Dennis Harvey of Variety
praised that "Helmers do a vivid job etching the creatively fervid times, with an editing style whose dynamism echoes that of Monk music". New York critic and John Cage expert Richard Kostelanetz compared "Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback" with the documentary film "Comedian Harmonists" (1976) by Eberhard Fechner: "Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback" vividly recalls several American military veterans who in the early 1960s formed in Germany a short-lived proto-punk rock group calling themselves the Monks (and cutting their hair appropriately). Much like Eberhard Fechner’s great documentary about the Comedian Harmonists (1974), the film, through individual interviews made decades later, neatly documents not just how they came together and fell apart, but the remarkable performances they did in between. This film is moving, informative, and unforgettable."
- a tribute to the monks. This record served as financial support to the film and was released officially on October 23, 2006 at the famous Volksbühne in Berlin (Germany). At the same event the film was premiered to a full house. play loud! also had invited The Monks and some special guests from Silver Monk Time. For The Monks it was their first live performance in Germany for almost 40 years. After the film screening The Monks were received with standing ovations by a frenetic audience. Special guest musicians Mark E. Smith
(The Fall), The Raincoats
, Schorsch Kamerun
(Goldenen Zitronen) and Peter Hein (Fehlfarben) celebrated together with The Monks their comeback. Among the audience were also some of the old collaborators, such as, Walther Niemann, Wolfgang Gluszczewski and Jimmy Bowien.
Since the completion of filming in 2002 five of the film's protagonists have died:
re-issued the 1966 single "Complication" b/w "Oh-How to Do Now".
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Dietmar Post
Dietmar Post
Dietmar Post is a film director, producer and owner of a film and music label.- Biography :Dietmar Post worked as an off set printer before studying Theatre and Film Studies and Spanish Language at Free University in Berlin and at Complutense University in Madrid. In 1995 he obtained his master's...
and Lucia Palacios
Lucia Palacios
Lucía Palacios is a film director, producer and owner of a film and music label.- Biography :Lucía Palacios studied Cinema Studies at Complutense University in Madrid. In 1995 she obtained her master's degree. Between 1996–2003 she lived and worked in New York. It was in New York where she worked...
about the seminal German-American beat band The Monks
The Monks
Monks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...
. The film was produced by Play Loud! Productions
Play Loud! Productions
play loud! productions is a Berlin-based film production company and film and music label, founded in 1997 in New York by filmmakers Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios...
and shot on location in the USA and Germany between 1997 and 2002. In 2008 the filmmakers obtained the German TV Oscar, the Adolf Grimme Awards
Adolf Grimme Awards
The Adolf Grimme Award is a television award and one of the most prestigious awards for German television, which is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme . It is also called the "German TV Oscar".The awards ceremony takes place annually at Theater Marl...
.
Cast
- Gary Burger – Himself
- Dave Day - Himself
- Larry Clark – Himself
- Roger Johnston – Himself
- Eddie Shaw – Himself
- Hans-Joachim Irmler - Himself
- Jon Spencer - Himself
- Charles Paul WilpCharles Paul WilpCharles Paul Wilp was a German advertising-designer, artist, photographer and short-movie-editor.-Study and career:...
- Himself - Genesis P-OrridgeGenesis P-OrridgeGenesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
- Himself - Jimmy Bowien - Himself
- Gerd Henjes - Himself
- Wolfgang Gluszczewski - Himself
- Byron Coley - Himself
- Uschi Nerke - Herself (archive footage)
- Mal Sondock - Himself (archive footage)
Synopsis
Jake Austen for Time Out described the film as follows:- After the Beatles conquered the world, America responded with the Monkees, a friendlier version playing Brill Building hits. Inversely, in Germany, a pair of avant-garde geniuses (Walther Niemann and Karl-H. Remy) conceptualized the monks, a group of bizarre anti-Beatles who would write their own dark minimalist rock. The gifted band, a group of five Americans who had recently finished their U.S. military service at a German base, had honed its skills by playing up to 40 hours a week in the same beat clubs that provided the Beatles’ training. The musicians’ new managers dressed them in black, shaved their heads like monks, provided them with a series of manifestos, and coached them to reconfigure their band to feature tribal drumming, feedback and electric banjo. Somehow, this resulted in one of the greatest albums in rock history. Despite experimenting with minimalism, tension and antipop sensibilities (backup vocals are sung in creepy unison instead of sweet harmony), the record is danceable and joyous.
- One of the most fascinating aspects of the film is seeing the five contemporary monks discussing the history they had all buried upon returning to America in 1967, after the band’s dissolution. Larry Clark, the Chicago-bred R&B keyboardist, won’t allow himself to attach any significance to his work with the monks. Absurdly, of the five articulate interviewees, only guitarist and lead singer Gary Burger is willing to attribute political significance to the Vietnam lyrics in their theme song. With this lack of singular vision, it’s not surprising that the filmmakers framed their story by focusing on the conceptualists’ vision.
Critical reception
The film was well received by critics. Chris Morris of The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
named it a "penetrating and loving documentary". Dennis Harvey of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised that "Helmers do a vivid job etching the creatively fervid times, with an editing style whose dynamism echoes that of Monk music". New York critic and John Cage expert Richard Kostelanetz compared "Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback" with the documentary film "Comedian Harmonists" (1976) by Eberhard Fechner: "Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback" vividly recalls several American military veterans who in the early 1960s formed in Germany a short-lived proto-punk rock group calling themselves the Monks (and cutting their hair appropriately). Much like Eberhard Fechner’s great documentary about the Comedian Harmonists (1974), the film, through individual interviews made decades later, neatly documents not just how they came together and fell apart, but the remarkable performances they did in between. This film is moving, informative, and unforgettable."
Comeback, first German live show after 40 years and a tribute record
In conjunction with the film play loud! productions initiated a double CD tribute record by the title Silver Monk TimeSilver monk time
Silver Monk Time is both a tribute record to the German-American beat band The Monks and the soundtrack to the award winning film Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback. The record was produced and compiled by the filmmakers Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios. It was released in October 2006. The official...
- a tribute to the monks. This record served as financial support to the film and was released officially on October 23, 2006 at the famous Volksbühne in Berlin (Germany). At the same event the film was premiered to a full house. play loud! also had invited The Monks and some special guests from Silver Monk Time. For The Monks it was their first live performance in Germany for almost 40 years. After the film screening The Monks were received with standing ovations by a frenetic audience. Special guest musicians Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
(The Fall), The Raincoats
The Raincoats
The Raincoats are a British post-punk band. Ana da Silva and Gina Birch formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art, London, England.-Career:...
, Schorsch Kamerun
Schorsch Kamerun
Schorsch Kamerun, whose real name is Thomas Sehl, is a German musician, singer, author, theatre director, and club proprietor....
(Goldenen Zitronen) and Peter Hein (Fehlfarben) celebrated together with The Monks their comeback. Among the audience were also some of the old collaborators, such as, Walther Niemann, Wolfgang Gluszczewski and Jimmy Bowien.
Since the completion of filming in 2002 five of the film's protagonists have died:
- In 2004 Roger Johnston, the drummer of the Monks.
- In 2005 Charles Paul WilpCharles Paul WilpCharles Paul Wilp was a German advertising-designer, artist, photographer and short-movie-editor.-Study and career:...
, who tried to convince the Monks to perform his outstanding music for Afri Cola. - In 2008 Dave Day Havlicek, the banjo player of the Monks.
- In 2009 Walther Niemann, the co-inventor and creative manager of the Monks.
- In 2009 Wolfgang Gluszczewski, the booking agent of the Monks.
Awards
- 2006 - Leeds Film Festival (Audience Pick)
- 2006 - Hessischer Filmpreis (Nomination for Best Documentary)
- 2007 - San Francisco Berlin & Beyond Festival (2. Audience Award)
- 2007 - Würzburger Filmtage (Audience Award Best Documentary)
- 2007 - Milan Doc Festival (Best Editing)
- 2008 - Adolf Grimme AwardsAdolf Grimme AwardsThe Adolf Grimme Award is a television award and one of the most prestigious awards for German television, which is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme . It is also called the "German TV Oscar".The awards ceremony takes place annually at Theater Marl...
(Best Directing and Best Script)
DVD release 2009
A DVD of the film was released on March 13, 2009. It included full videos of the 1960s German TV performances as a bonus feature. Because of the underground success of the documentary film Universal (Polydor) re-issued Black Monk Time on vinyl and CD. Play Loud! ProductionsPlay Loud! Productions
play loud! productions is a Berlin-based film production company and film and music label, founded in 1997 in New York by filmmakers Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios...
re-issued the 1966 single "Complication" b/w "Oh-How to Do Now".
External links
- the transatlantic feedback Official movie site
- silver monk time Soundtrack and Tribute-Album to the film
- play loud! productions Official site of production company