The Clash - Westway to the World

If you love the Clash, or just wonder why they mattered, you should see this doc. Excellent, revealing interviews with Strummer, Jones, Simenon and Headon, filmed mostly at the turn of the century, so there's a bit of perspective there. We miss you, Joe, and not just for the music.

In WESTWAY TO THE WORLD director Don Letts takes footage of old Clash shows and works them around interview footage with the band members. The result is a riveting documentary, sure to please Clash fans, both casual and diehard. From their origins in mid-1970's England to their worldwide fame and breakup, it's all here.Even the backing music, during the interviews, is music by The Clash. "Guns of Brixton," "Bankrobber," and other songs play behind Joe Strummer's resonant baritone as he describes the band's trials and tribulations, war stories and the stories behind the songs, and these songs sound great. Chapters describe landmark Clash shows, from dingy clubs in their early days to Shea Stadium in NYC during the height of the popularity.Interviews with Joe Strummer yield amazing lines, which seem to put everything about music and life in perspective. Topper Headon seems to nearly cry as he recalls his addiction and exit from the group. Strummer's recall of an encounter with Paul Simonon (bass) and Mick Jones (guitar and vocals) in which he thought he might have to punch Mick then "leg it"? HILARIOUS. Why didn't he punch the beefier Simonon? Paul looked quite "tasty," said Joe, and we know that Strummer didn't fancy a fight with him. I laughed so hard I almost choked on my soup. The concert footage on this DVD will make you want to sing, and the interviews will make you want to laugh and cry.The Clash was such a great band. This DVD is for everybody who ever thought so.Joe Strummer, Rest in Peace.Ken32

It's a great documentary, but I agree with the previous reviewer that more material needs to be released. The DVD release should have taken advantage of the opportunity to get more material into the hands of fans. I would have paid good money for the footage from Rude Boy minus the irritating story about the rude boy of the title. I'm sure there's personal footage that would prove fantastic, i.e. the Sex Pistols DVD. And what about their videos? For completeness, it looks like the upcoming Jam release will be the 70's punk DVD to beat.That said, the documentary sheds some light on the chemistry of the band. Most effective are the moments that imply the band members are truly disappointed that they made mistakes that led to the breakup of the band, that they now know they had something special, lost it, and would never get it back. And with the passing of Joe Strummer, this sad fact is now proven to be profoundly true.

You will love this dvd. It's not just old geezers. It's a vibrant band captured in their prime.The Clash, who I first heard and saw perform while I was in college, profoundly affected me. They still do. It's funny, a lot of older, jaded people will tell you that you will not retain your idealism, and that you will sell out and the music you now love will not mean much to you later on. Don't believe them. The Clash are as important to me now as they were then, and I don't believe that I've sold out or become jaded. For me, their music and lives helped provide a blueprint for dealing with the contradictions that come with growing older. I listen to a lot of new music and am not stuck in some nostalgiac cocooon. Anger, irony, curiosity, and humor are every bit as valid at age 42 as at age 19. I think that the divisions of age and race and musical purism are for closed-minded people. If you have an open mind, check out this dvd and don't let anyone tell you that you can't grow older and still maintain your ideals, enthusiasm for life, and dignity. Most important, this dvd is a lot of fun to watch.

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By far - the best documentary on the Clash I have seen and I've seen them all for I am a librarian and can find what all is out there. Watching Joe is a little haunting for he died soon after of his freak heart attack, but the wisdom and humor that comes out of his mouth is so moving. Paul still is so cool, Mick is Mick and Topper is not in the best shape. Good clips from the past as well. If you are looking for a book on the band, please try, "The Clash" by The Clash - published in 2008 with hot pink cover. The pictures in there are amazing and the the whole band contrubutes.

Fantastic documentary about one of the most influential bands of our generation! Raw and unfiltered it gives you a full picture of the band's formation in 1976 to their slow demise following the firings of Mick Jones and Topper Headon to their implosion in 1986. To me the band "died" after Mick Jones left in 1983 but they will always be " The band that matters " RIP Joe Strummer.If you love The Clash add this DVD to your collection!

This is The Clashe's complete documentary and overview of the entire span of the band's career. The documentary touches on important and detailed episodes of the rise and fall of the band, although very implicitly. The majority of the film centers on each member's opinions and perspectives on their life, politics, and the philosophy of humanity.