Kurt & Courtney
- 1998
- Tous publics
- 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
7.4K
YOUR RATING
A documentary on the life of Kurt Cobain and his relationship with Courtney Love.A documentary on the life of Kurt Cobain and his relationship with Courtney Love.A documentary on the life of Kurt Cobain and his relationship with Courtney Love.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
Kurt Cobain
- Self
- (archive footage)
Chelsea Rae
- Self - Friend of Nanny
- (as Chelsea)
Victoria Mary Clarke
- Self - Author
- (as Victoria Clarke)
Featured reviews
Not being particularly interested in either Kurt or Courtney, I was surprised how director Nick Broomfield managed to attract me to his film. His unique style gets us involved with the story that no one really knows where it's going. Not even the director himself. This may prove frustrating to those who have become accustomed to polished and hollywoodized type of film making, or those who are looking for a clear "angle". To me however, it was a wonderful gallery of many slices of real life: from director's own challenges to one of the best documentary film endings I've ever seen.
Hats off to Nick Broomfield for his uncompromising style and bravery.
Hats off to Nick Broomfield for his uncompromising style and bravery.
I heard somewhere that Courtney Love tried like the dickens to get this little documentary banned. If there is no truth to it, why would she care so much? Makes you think...
Nick Bloomfield interviews people a courtroom wouldn't consider reliable witnesses- El Duce, for one- a singer who was one bizarre addict himself. He claims Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Looking at this guy, you automatically rely on his testimony like your local weather report. Still, it is very interesting that weeks after this interview, El Duce was found dead on the railroad tracks by his home. An investigor who was at Cobain's "suicide" scene claims Cobain had way too much heroin in his system to be coherent enough to pull a trigger on himself with any accuracy. Cobain's Aunt claims the whole conspiracy theory is a load of bunk, and she feels Kurt had suicidal tendencies as well as addictions. Yet most of the people interviewed agree that Courtney was a vindictive slag, jealous of Cobain's success and tried to hitch her wagon to Nirvana's rising star (memories of Courtney and Kurt on the cover of the now defunked "Sassy" magazine, with Courtney trying to portray herself has the Nancy Spungen of the '90's comes to mind). I've never been a big Love or "Hole" fan, mainly because I don't think Love is that talented a musician or singer. I feel she has what they call "delusions of grandure", which is why this documentary, for as shaky as the evidence presented is, makes me wonder if it isn't the naked truth.
Nick Bloomfield interviews people a courtroom wouldn't consider reliable witnesses- El Duce, for one- a singer who was one bizarre addict himself. He claims Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Looking at this guy, you automatically rely on his testimony like your local weather report. Still, it is very interesting that weeks after this interview, El Duce was found dead on the railroad tracks by his home. An investigor who was at Cobain's "suicide" scene claims Cobain had way too much heroin in his system to be coherent enough to pull a trigger on himself with any accuracy. Cobain's Aunt claims the whole conspiracy theory is a load of bunk, and she feels Kurt had suicidal tendencies as well as addictions. Yet most of the people interviewed agree that Courtney was a vindictive slag, jealous of Cobain's success and tried to hitch her wagon to Nirvana's rising star (memories of Courtney and Kurt on the cover of the now defunked "Sassy" magazine, with Courtney trying to portray herself has the Nancy Spungen of the '90's comes to mind). I've never been a big Love or "Hole" fan, mainly because I don't think Love is that talented a musician or singer. I feel she has what they call "delusions of grandure", which is why this documentary, for as shaky as the evidence presented is, makes me wonder if it isn't the naked truth.
Nick Broomfield tries to clarify that absurd theory that says that Kurt Cobain was murdered. No one would actually believe that Kurt was killed because it is quite clear that his addiction and his depression killed him.
Anyway, Broomfield lets everyone to make their point, all those that defend the conspiration theory. But let me tell you, some of them, just like Courtney Love's father or that grotesque guy called The Duce are not reliable sources precisely.
Maybe Nick goes too far accusing Courtney. I mean, she's not Mother Theresa, but she isn't the root of all evil either. She's nothing but an arrogant and eccentric rockstar... just like most of people there in Hollywood.
Otherwise, "Who killed Kurt...?" has valious moments for all the fans of Kurt: early recordings, interviews with some of his relatives and childhood friends...
*My rate: 6/10
Anyway, Broomfield lets everyone to make their point, all those that defend the conspiration theory. But let me tell you, some of them, just like Courtney Love's father or that grotesque guy called The Duce are not reliable sources precisely.
Maybe Nick goes too far accusing Courtney. I mean, she's not Mother Theresa, but she isn't the root of all evil either. She's nothing but an arrogant and eccentric rockstar... just like most of people there in Hollywood.
Otherwise, "Who killed Kurt...?" has valious moments for all the fans of Kurt: early recordings, interviews with some of his relatives and childhood friends...
*My rate: 6/10
Is it objective? No. Is it informative? Yes. Is is accurate? Only as accurate as those talked to. Is it an interesting film? Without a doubt.
This should have been called "Trying To Make 'Kurt & Courtney", because he never succeeds in making a decent look at their relationship but rather an intriguing look at his struggle to get the whole thing off the ground. He ran into a lot of trouble via Courtney Love and of course threw in his feelings toward her quite obviously in the film.
Fans of Kurt may respect it, fans of Courtney are likely to despise it. I admit I am more a fan of Kurt than I could ever be of Courtney, he just seems a hell of a lot more real to me and she has scared me, long before this film made, with all the image make-overs and lame self-promoting publicity stunts. So I had no problem watching her get ripped into in this documentary. But a warning to hardcore HOLE fans, you may get extremely frustrated!
Like it or hate it, it won't bore you!
This should have been called "Trying To Make 'Kurt & Courtney", because he never succeeds in making a decent look at their relationship but rather an intriguing look at his struggle to get the whole thing off the ground. He ran into a lot of trouble via Courtney Love and of course threw in his feelings toward her quite obviously in the film.
Fans of Kurt may respect it, fans of Courtney are likely to despise it. I admit I am more a fan of Kurt than I could ever be of Courtney, he just seems a hell of a lot more real to me and she has scared me, long before this film made, with all the image make-overs and lame self-promoting publicity stunts. So I had no problem watching her get ripped into in this documentary. But a warning to hardcore HOLE fans, you may get extremely frustrated!
Like it or hate it, it won't bore you!
Nick Broomfield is a great documentary filmmaker - his pics on Heidi Fleiss & Aileen Wuoronos are especially effective. He was criticized for this film being too one-sided and featuring himself too much. But, as you watch the film, you realize he really had no choice because, everyone (especially people who are pro-Courtney) is terrified of suffering the wrath of Courtney (who is, no matter who you hear from, obviously a violent psychotic) if they speak out in Nick's film. This leaves only people with nothing to lose (addicts, losers, and disgruntled ex-employees) to interview. Thus, most of the footage consists of Broomfield desperately trying to glean ANY information on his chosen subject. What we learn we learn by reading between the lines. For instance, the very fact that Love put pressure on his financers from the very beginning of his filming speaks volumes. If Broomfield didn't set out to lambast her at the start, she certainly helped change his mind quickly. The film does little to clear up the decidedly murky circumstances of Cobain's death (though the guy seemed to be a walking suicidal time-bomb). What it does prove is that Love basically got her claws into Kurt, chewed him up, spit him out, and got his millions - all in a span of about three years! And it's all worth it to see Broomfield call an auditorium full of hypocrites - the ACLU - on the carpet for allowing Love, who regularly makes death threats to journalists, to be their spokesperson for free speech.
Did you know
- TriviaMade without the approval of Courtney Love who was very opposed to the project.
- SoundtracksPyramid's Babylon
Written and Performed by Theatre of Sheep
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- ¿Quién mató a Kurt Cobain?
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $668,228
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,835
- Mar 1, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $890,324
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