Directors: Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern
Running Time: 290 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Full Final LCD Soundsystem Concert From Madison Square Garden, Swearing Outtake Reel, Catching Up With Keith, Choir Outtakes, Extended Interview With James Murphy and Chuck Klosterman, Original Theatrical Trailer
Concert movies have aims: sell more tour tickets, sell more albums, and get a band ‘out there’. SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is a whole different animal chronicling 48 hours in James Murphy’s life before, and after LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’S final concert in 2011. Told through concert footage, Murphy’s interview with Chuck Klosterman, and trailing Murphy the day after the gig the camera never misses a beat and directors Lovelace and Southern, who previously worked with Blur on NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN (2010), have captured the essence of LCD Soundsystem – the manic band, the spectacular light show – perfectly. Filmed at Madison Square Garden we see every bead of sweat, tap of keyboard and strum of guitar from the band during both the documentary and the complete 3 and a half hour concert included on discs 2 and 3. Unsurprisingly all the hits are included and show the band moving with the same enthusiasm for ‘New York I Love You’ as they do for opener ‘Dance Yrself Clean’. The energy is infectious, and you’ll find yourself dancing on your sofa in no time.
Whilst the music on show is sublime, and perfectly displayed it is James Murphy who is the star. The leader of a successful troupe he is down-to-earth, funny, and most of all very likeable. Lovelace and Southern have done a tremendous job in portraying the man as a lost soul – someone of extreme talent who is happy to go missing in a crowd. This portrayal makes SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS impossible not to enjoy. The documentary is a personal journey surrounded by thousands; has more heart than many Hollywood films, and is a perfect document of a perfect night. LCD Soundsystem fans and music-doc fans rejoice together for you’re in for a hell of a ride.
Extras: Catching up with Keith Wood is a nice little chat between Murphy and Wood a year on. Swearing outtakes is a 20-second compilation of Keith Wood swearing a lot which only reinforces the perception Brits swear a lot, whilst the extended interview is for die-hard fans only.
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM: SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is released on Blu-ray and DVD 8th October
