This post is not a review of Scott 3, but rather the third in a series of weekend posts looking at the enigmatic Scott Walker. Today, I’m going to focus on a recently released film and DVD on the life of Scott Walker, called 30th Century Man (named from one of Scott’s songs).
The film has been a labor of love put together over many years by director Stephen Kijak. He did have the backing of David Bowie as executive producer (Bowie has covered a Scott Walker song and has acknowledged Scott’s influence on his later work). Indeed the movie features a bit of a whos-who of some of big name artists who not averse to a bit of musical experimentation- Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), Damon Albarn (Blur), Johnny Marr, Radiohead, Alison Goldfrapp….
But more than the big names, the movie tells the fascinating story of an artist who left his native USA for England, became almost as big as the Beatles, gained artistic credibility as he lost commercial success through his early solo albums, disappeared as an artistic force and then returned to make some of the most challenging music ever. It’s a big story, and one that could be an excellent biopic.
Overall, this is an excellent visual insight you’ll get into the life of Scott (who does give his own insights during the film). The film was shown in a number of festivals all over the world before being recently released on DVD. It was recently rated as high as number 13 in TimeOut’s list of the greatest music films ever. With other excellent reviews as well, this is definitely one for your collection.
