New York Doll (2005)

One of the best films I’ve seen this year. New York Doll (2005) is a documentary film about Arthur “Killer” Kane—a recovering alcoholic, a Mormon, and the bass player for The New York Dolls.

Director Greg Whitely hit the jackpot when he chose Kane as the subject of his first documentary film. In 2004, Kane and his bandmates David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) and Sylvain Sylvain reunited for a couple of shows at Royal Festival Hall in London.

Although the film is more about Arthur Kane than a rockumentary about The New York Dolls, there are plenty of clips from Morrisey, Bob Geldoff, Chrissy Hynde, Mick Jones, Iggy Pop and more. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, you’ll have a greater appreciation for them by the end of this film.

Arthur Kane is a goofy, messed up, washed up rock star that you’ll grow to love through this film. His story is bitter sweet one that Greg Whitely does a beautiful job of telling.

The film is a part of the Hot Docs Doc Soup program. Tonight was the Canadian premiere at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto. Whitely flew in from Los Angeles to introduce the film and conducted a lengthy Q&A afterward. He mentioned that the film was purchased by Odeon Films and should be in theatres soon.

There is a great website for the film at www.newyorkdollmovie.com that has a trailer, production notes and more.

Posted in DVD Reviews at 10:45 PM