Oasis: Supersonic

I have never been a big fan of Oasis, considering them to be a simple rehash of old musical ideas spiced up with a heavy dose of Manchester attitude, but I found this film to be utterly compelling. It was shown on TV in the UK at 10pm when I was ready to retire to bed but my wife and I ended up glued to it and watched the whole thing.

I played in a Manchester band in the early 90s and I thought I knew everything I needed to know about Oasis but this film revealed a new perspective. Rather than the snarling, foul-mouthed oaf he is depicted as in the UK media (and by his brother) we see Liam as a far more three-dimensional character, projecting glimmers of genuine charisma and talent alongside the sweary outbursts. It's a PR job of course, but a very good one nonetheless.

And that's where the only real problem with this film lies; it is an advert for brand Oasis and it is very kind to them. The film sees us through to the peak of their fame with the massive sold-out shows at Knebworth, but we don't get any insight into the wasted opportunities and rapid decline which followed. As impressive as the band's rise was, the story arc doesn't feel complete.

I would recommend this film to anyone interested in rock music though, even if they don't particularly like Oasis. In fact, if you don't know their story already that probably just makes it all the more interesting.

Oasis climbed to success at an amazing speed. They went from performing together for a few times to recording an album and gaining some fame and momentum, to recording a second album and becoming the biggest band on the planet. At their peak, they claimed to be better than the Beatles. Well, I don't know about that, but I guarantee that the legion of fans they had, that could have filled up a stadium 2 weeks in succession is not something to take jokingly. Either way, we are not here to discuss the quality of the band, but rather, the quality of the documentary. My opinion: the documentary is great, but I don't know if I am biased and that the cheer pleasure of seeing footage of one of my favorite bands makes me the worst person to give an opinion about it. Let's put it this way: unless you hate the Gallaghers, what you find in the documentary is guys with great personality, full of desire to enjoy life who became rock stars and lit up the world. I think that's a good enough reason to watch anything.

Popular musicians can pass from obscurity to worldwide fame in a very short period of time; and that's the focus of 'Oasis: Supersonic', a documentary which charts the rapid rise of the Gallagher brothers' band. It's a not uninteresting story: the group sprung from humble origins, its two leading figures were both combative in nature (especially with each other), but the basic narrative here is the story of sudden, overwhelming fame. There's a merciful absence of outside talking heads, which means we are spared solemn pontification abot their musical significance, but also there's no discussion of the general 'Britpop' phenomenon of which Oasis were just one part. But Noel and Liam are sufficiently frank that it doesn't feel like an airbrushed history either; we do get a sense of what it was actually like to be part of Oasis at this time. As with any music documentary, the music itself is part of it: personally I liked Oasis's their retro rock-and-roll sound even if it wasn't outstandingly innovative, so I enjoyed the soundtrack. The film ends with musing that, in the modern digital age, a similar story couldn't happen now. In general, I'm sceptical about theories about the end of history; even so, twenty-plus years since Oasis played Knebworth, it's hard to think of a band since that has, however briefly, seemed so totally to capture the national mood.

If you are an Oasis fan dont miss this .. i also like the fact that the documentary focused on how oasis defined a generation of music .. not how it ended.

Just returned from watching this at Vue Bolton. Was mesmerising. The live Q&A after the film was light hearted & warm, with Liam trademark expletives. Charts the remarkable meteoric rise from a Manchester council estate to the massive Knebworth brace of gigs pumping out tracks to 250,000 exuberant fans. They were so hot, with 2.5 m requests for tickets, as Liam says, they 'could 'av still been playin now!'. In their own words, 'the biggest band in the world' at that time. This film was heartwarming in it's authenticity, it's portrayal felt very real. I left the theatre with a real sense that I knew Liam and Noel a little better, and understood them a little more. Their journey was extraordinary. The soundtrack powerful. There were many points in the film when the volume ramped up the rockin beats and the audience excitement palpable. A great feeling in the theatre that we had all seen something special. I also laughed many times. I hope there is a 'Part Two' charting what happened after Knebworth. Brilliant film & documentary. 9.5 / 10. Tony P