Veteran documentary filmmaker and hipster Lech Kowalski creates this film about his friend and hard-partying rock god Johnny Thunders, member of legendary proto-punk band the New York Dolls. Through archive footage and interviews with such musicians as Dee Dee Ramone and Sylvain Sylvain, the film details his stint with the Dolls, the formation of his other band, the Heartbreakers; his rise to fame, particularly in Japan; his descent into heroin addiction, and the mysterious circumstances of his death.
Direction
Kowalski's too-close intimacy — this is grief disguised as biography.
Editing
Chaotic archival collage that mirrors Thunders' unraveling.
Director
Lech Kowalski
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Thunders' final show was captured on camera just days before his death in New Orleans, 1991 — the footage was so disturbing Kowalski almost didn't include it.
The film's title references the Heartbreakers song that became Thunders' epitaph, cementing how he curated his own tragic mythology.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
