The Sparks Brothers
Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
- Released: 2021-06-18
- Runtime: 140 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries, Music
- Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Beck, Gary Stewart, Mike Berns, Jane Wiedlin, Sal Maida, Christi Haydon, Dean Menta, Harley Feinstein, Tony Visconti, Mike Myers, Fred Armisen, Tammy Glover, John Hewlett, Giorgio Moroder, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Muff Winwood, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Flea, Hilly Michaels, Jason Schwartzman, Jonathan Ross, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino, Mark Crowther, Vera Hegarty, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Katie Puckrik, Patton Oswalt, Steve Jones, James Lowe, Bernard Butler, Scott Aukerman, David Kendrick, Stevie Nistor, Chris Difford, Martyn Ware, Alex Kapranos, Paul Morley, Julia Marcus, Pamela Des Barres, Roddy Bottum, Les Bohem, April Richardson, Lance Robertson, Jack Antonoff, John Congleton, Earle Mankey, Larry DuPont, Patricia Lowe, Vince Clarke, Andy Bell, Björk, Mark Gatiss, Richard Coble, Nick Heyward, Ian Hampton, Thurston Moore, Peter Knego, Michael Silverblatt, Adam Buxton, Tosh Berman, Edgar Wright, Rusty Egan, Jake Fogelnest, Dave Weigel, Madeline Bocchiaro, Sue Harris, Ben House, Evan Weiss, Alex Casnoff, Patrick Kelly, Eli Pearl, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Leos Carax, Adam Driver, Daniel Palladino
- Director: Edgar Wright
Comments
- SnoopyStyle - 5 March 2023
nostalgic by association
Ron and Russell Mael are Californian brothers who created the longtime eccentric band, Sparks. They have made 25 albums with differing loyal fans over the years. I have no idea who these guys are. This may as well be a mockumentary. With all the old footage, it's obvious that they are real. I just wish for one trans Atlantic hit that I can grab onto. They seem to be bigger in Britain. That probably explains it. It's part of the pop culture that I missed back in the day. They also seem to be big in L. A. and Germany for awhile. This is nostalgic by association. I didn't actually listen to them, but they influence so many others that means so much to me. Part of the issue may be their satirical sensibilities and that they're always changing their sound. It does allow for an interesting retrospective in that these guys are so unusual. - christopher-underwood - 2 April 2022
beautifully made
A rather likeable and very beautifully made documentary even if I hardly like or know of The Sparks Brothers. It was only one of their songs that I did like but had no idea that they had made 25 albums or even still made music. It certainly seemed that through the 80s and 90s there was little of anything good but that they did carry on and is really okay. I think the reason that Edgar Wright cares he takes to make the film and because a couple of musicians keep coming on and every, now and again, and still make some good songs.
