Starring Shane MacGowan, Victoria, The Pogues, Shane’s Parents, Nick Cave, Phillip Chevron, The Popes, Other people
Written By:
Directed By: Sarah Share
Studio:
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This is the documentary of Shane MacGowan, formerly of the Pogues. Shane’s life has been very infamous, drugged-induced and has been drinking since he was 6 years old (I think?). Now you can hear stories about Shane Macgowan from bandmates, family, friends and well Shane MacGowan.

I originally viewed this movie on the Sundance Channel on St Paddy’s Day. I’ve seen this film a few more times after that because it’s just got an interesting story about one of my favorite musicians. The Pogues have been my favorite band ever since I heard their music a few years ago. They are the type of the band where I can listen to their music and listen to it every day for a months straight. But anyway, Shane was in the Pogues in the late 80s-early 90’s, and grew famous for his rock star antics but also for his beautiful songwriting. He’s also known for his rotten out teeth and yellow finger tips. Before the Pogues, he was in the punk rock band, The Nipple Erectors or The Nips for short. After that band, he wanted to combine traditional irish music with rock music and get a sound that hasn’t really been done before. It was rebellious at the time because there was a lot of anti-Irish stuff going on but also covering traditional irish songs in a rock format wasn’t necessarily praised by elders. Or that’s what I gathered from watching this. The Pogues founded this type of genre, it’s quickly getting more and more popular because of contemporary celtic punk/rock bands like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.

In this documentary, you hear stories from various people about his life, and you also hear Shane’s side of the stories. The filmmakers also film Shane walking around London & Ireland, discussing current events with friends, dancing with old ladies at a ballroom, playing piano at a pub, etc… It’s kind of hard to listen to Shane talk because he makes complete sentences with something like this: “” Along with candid interviews, you get to see some live concert footage with Shane performing with the Popes and also a lot of music videos from The Pogues, The Nips and Shane MacGowan and the Popes (his newer band). You also get to see some footage from TV appearances, like the Pogues performing with the Dubliners, and Shane singing with Sinead O’ Connor. I wished all those concert footage and music videos were in it’s entirety because they are very rare to see, especially for U.S. fans. Though you do get to see most of the footage, and besides this is a DVD on Shane’s life, not an official Pogues DVD. But it stillwould have been nice to have that as an extra.

I think the most interesting part of the film was the debate whether or not Shane got kicked out of the Pogues or did he quit. From Shane’s point of view, he left the band because they were touring too much and departing from their original sound. The others felt Shane was seriously needing help and succumbing to the drink too much, which resulting in many cancellations of concerts, etc. After the Pogues, he joined the Popes and has been doing music with them on and off since then. I believe he’s writing new songs for a new album finally! I think the reason why Shane has stayed alive all these years is because he’s got a lot of caring people pushing him back up like his long time partner Victoria, not sure if they are still together though. But she understands him, and is the equal balance that he needs to continue in life and to hopefully make more music.

Extras on this disc include extra footage of Shane rambling on (his gargling laugh is priceless), extended interviews with singer/songwriter Nick Cave, former pogues member Phillip Chevron, plus a conversation with Clash member Paul Simonon and sing alongs to the songs that are featured on the DVD. Plus a nice added bonus of Shane taking a leak in the bushes. Just what I wanted to see! haha.

The film is really great and you get to know what’s Shane MacGowan is all about. If you are a Pogues fan, definitely pick this DVD up because you’ll enjoy it.

Features:
-Sing Along option
– Extended Shane Interviews and outtakes
– Conversation with Paul Simonon of the Clash
– Bonus Phillip Chevron & Nick Cave interview

Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Video:
Aspect Ratio(s): 1.85:1

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Infatuation, Streams of Whiskey, A Rainy Night in Soho, White City, Song with No Name, Lonesome Highway
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 110 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: