Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop
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| Live Forever | |
|---|---|
 UK theatrical poster by Damien Hirst |
|
| Directed by | John Dower |
| Produced by | John Battsek |
| Written by | John Dower |
| Starring | Noel Gallagher Liam Gallagher Damon Albarn Jarvis Cocker |
| Editing by | Jake Martin |
| Distributed by | BBC |
| Release date(s) | 21 March 2003 |
| Running time | 82 mins |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Britpop is a 2003 documentary film written and directed by John Dower. The documentary is a study of popular culture in the United Kingdom during the mid to late 1990s.
The focus of the piece, as the title would suggest, is British popular music (or "Britpop") which underwent a resurgence during the mid-nineties and then seemingly retreated with similar haste towards the end of that decade.
The political landscape of the time also feautures. Much is made of Tony Blair and New Labour's efforts to align themselves with the distinctly British cultural resurgence that was underway.
The documentary features a number of prominent UK musical and artistic figures, but relies heavily on contributions from Noel & Liam Gallagher of Oasis, Damon Albarn of Blur and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp.
Other contributors inclued 3D from Massive Attack, Louise Wener from Sleeper, fashion designer Ozwald Boateng and modern artist Damien Hirst.
[edit] Criticism
A focal criticism of the documentary is its overlooking or exclusion of a number of Britpop's leading protagonists. Bands such as Radiohead (who do not actually consider themselves Britpop), Supergrass and The Verve receive little more than passing mentions while Oasis and Blur in particular constitute the bulk of the material. Aside from serious omissions with regards to artists Live Forever pays little heed to a coherent timeline. It jumps forwards and backwards in time failing to establish a true perspective of the era in question. Furthermore, although the documentary essentially begins with The Stone Roses and their 1990 performance at Spike Island there follows a crucial gap in the years between this and the emergence of Oasis.
