Lambert & Stamp (2014)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Captivating movie !

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The acting in this movie is really good.

"Lambert & Stamp" is an American documentary movie from 2014, actually April 2015 if you don't count Sundance and stuff. It was directed by James D. Cooper and focuses on the early years of the band The Who. The film runs for almost 2 hours, so it is pretty long and I cannot deny I felt it had some lengths as well. According to IMDb, the main language here is German, but I don't think this is correct. At least the version I watched was almost nothing but English-language and German also wouldn't make much sense looking at who this is about, who gets interviewed and, last but not least, who made it. The people in the title were both film producers, both dead now sadly, Stamp only for 5 years, but Lambert already for several decades. When they were trying to make a new movie, they came across the band "The Who" in the very early stages of their existence, even under a different name back then and we see the impact these two filmmakers had on Daltrey, Townshend and co back then. The interviews with these music legends were also the somewhat only thing I found kinda memorable about this documentary. I would call myself not really a fan of The Who, but there are some songs by them that i like quite a bit. But if you watch this with the approach of becoming a fan, then it probably will not be successful, even if you know and like them already a bit before checking out this movie. On another note, the Stamp mentioned in the title here is indeed the brother of British actor Terence Stamp, somebody that I like quite a bit. But not even this affection was enough for me to end up enjoying this pretty overlong film eventually. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

Let's play a little name association game, shall we? I'll write a name and you say out loud the first thing that comes into your mind. Okay? Okay. Here we go. Kit Lambert. Nothing? Okay. Christopher Stamp. Still nothing. How about Terence Stamp? Maybe a little flash of something? Maybe? Let's try… Roger Daltry. Pete Townshend. Keith Moon. John Entwistle. We probably got something from some or all of those names, but just in case we didn't, here's one more: The Who. Most people, even those who weren't born when their music was the most popular, are at least aware of the British rock band The Who, one of the most influential of the 20th century. All the names in this paragraph are a part of the story of The Who and the documentary "Lambert & Stamp" (R, 1:57) puts them all together.Kit Lambert and Christopher Stamp were very different young men when they started talking one day in a London pub in the early 1960s – and had no intentions of pursuing the careers which would end up linking their names together forever. Lambert was a rich kid with an Oxford education and a famous father (a composer and conductor of classical music). Stamp was a working class kid whose father was a tug boat captain who worked on London's Thames River. But these two young men shared a passion – for film. They both wanted to be directors, but they were both working as assistant directors and saw no realistic chance to move up the ladder in the film industry. After spending a day together, they hatched a rather audacious plan which would change their lives, and the lives of many other people as well.Both Lambert and Stamp were interested in the burgeoning youth mod culture. Their idea was to find a rock band that appealed to that particular segment of society, make that band famous and then make a movie about that band. After months of London nightlife, they finally found the band that they felt was perfect for their project. That band was called "The High Numbers". It would soon be renamed "The Who". Lambert and Stamp became the band's co-managers, with no experience whatsoever. These guys knew nothing about rock music, but they had big ideas, lots of confidence and it soon became clear that they had great instincts. They put The Who on the map and the rest is rock and roll history… and would qualify as a series of spoilers if I told you the rest of the story here. The documentary about Lambert and Stamp's lives and their personal and professional relationship is inextricably linked to the story of The Who, but the movie's focus remains on the two men who worked tirelessly to make the group famous. The film is driven mainly by interviews and illustrated by a large amount of historic photographs and archival footage. Interviewees include Christopher Stamp (but not Kit Lambert, who died in 1981), Chris' older brother, actor Terence Stamp (who, obviously, was around for much of this story and even helped finance his younger brother's ventures at some point), and, of course, the two surviving members of the original band The Who, Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend. But this documentary is a lot more than a series of talking heads. Since Lambert and Stamp were originally out to make a movie about The Who, they were doing a lot of filming, which provides this documentary's director, James D. Cooper, with an abundance of background footage which he uses quite well. The appeal of "Lambert & Stamp" has much to do with the enduring popularity of The Who's music, but it goes well beyond that. This documentary is a fascinating look behind the scenes at the music industry, at least in one particular time and place, and an unlikely story of two men from very different backgrounds coming up with an idea that was both clever and ambitious, but then succeeding beyond their wildest dreams – in a very different direction. On the level of a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction human drama and a kind of Behind the Behind the Music story, the film works well. Unfortunately, it could have worked even better – and should have – with just a few improvements. The interviews are not really interviews in that those clips mainly just show the subjects talking and when we do hear a question asked, it's not well-stated or well-mic'ed. The film also should have provided some more background – especially at the beginning. It was a little disorienting and frustrating to have no context to get into the story. The film's opening minutes even felt a bit disorganized. Still, this is an interesting and entertaining film that's likely to please music fans and anyone who just enjoys a good story. "B"

Yes, when your mind-numbing two hour vanity piece is an hour too long even for die-hard Who fans and people are walking out in droves, have some studio p.r. flack post multiple glowing IMDb reviews under various just-created identities. I love the sixties and the whole British Invasion, but this movie is like being cornered in a bar by a bunch of misty-eyed old timers who initially seem cool, but the more they talk (and talk and talk), the more you wish they'd just shut up and go away. My wife may never forgive me for dragging her to this. Properly edited, it would have been a 25 minute bonus feature on a concert DVD.

"Lambert & Stamp"rocks your soul, moves your heart, captures your attention with raw, authentic and vibrant communications between rock icons and visionary wizard managers opening their hearts and history in a never-seen-before transparent way. Chris Stamp & Kit Lambert are pioneers in the music world and initiators of the first UK independent record label "Track Records". The magic of their co-creation, THE WHO, Jimi Hendrix, Thunderclap Newman, Arthur Brown and more. Director James D. Cooper was the only film maker trusted to make this film. Producer Loretta Harms dedicated 10 years of her life holding the privately financed, sacred, creative flow of this extraordinary film. Oscar nominated Hollywood Film editor Chris Tellefsen did a vibrant job of editing the film brilliantly.A work of art!!!! A must see!!!