A Band Called Death
Drafthouse Films | Release Date: June 28, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirJun 27, 2013
And then would come this generous, spirited documentary, to capture one of the strangest and most inspiring of all family stories of tragedy and triumph that this crazy country has produced. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJun 27, 2013
Joy and redemption aren't exactly punk mantras, but A Band Called Death might just give your heart a thrashing. Read full review
90
Village VoiceBrian McManusJun 26, 2013
A beautiful tale of life, love, music, and family, of things not working out but also working out just as predicted. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJun 27, 2013
A Band Called Death lacks the thrill of mystery but makes up for it with pathos. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKatie WalshJun 26, 2013
This rock doc rewrites punk history while telling an emotional story about an artist’s spirit and his faithful family. Read full review
80
The DissolveNathan RabinJul 11, 2013
It’s a soul-stirring tribute to a man whose vision was too bold and revolutionary for his lifetime, or the convention-bound ways of the music industry, but was ultimately too powerful to be denied. Read full review
80
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJun 27, 2013
A Band Called Death is more concerned with bringing out the personal connections behind their driven music than with insisting upon the group’s distinction in the perennial music history search for oddities and firsts. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 27, 2013
Like the recent "Searching for Sugar Man," A Band Called Death celebrates music born in Detroit that, with a turn of the wrist and a different roll of the dice, might've found the audience it deserved the first time. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 26, 2013
The film springs to life in its second half, when the members’ grown kids, who are also working musicians, discover that their dads/uncles were in a forgotten, innovative band that the family had never once mentioned. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDrew HuntJun 26, 2013
The film is made impetuously watchable and disarmingly emotional by the filmmakers' strong command of docudrama and nonfiction narrative style. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJul 4, 2013
A Band Called Death is more effective as a chronicle of the intensely close relationship between three musically ambitious brothers than as proto-punk archaeology. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJun 26, 2013
Although the film is never fully convincing about this rock band’s overlooked potential – despite testimonials from the likes of Alice Cooper, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, and Elijah Wood – the story of Death sure adds an interesting and virtually unknown footnote to the annals of punk rock. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughJul 16, 2013
In the end Death triumphs, but its allure and obsession remain a mystery. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 25, 2013
Too much of the doc takes our taste for granted; Alice Cooper, Henry Rollins and others won’t persuade you that Death could have been huge, nor does a clichéd last-act reunion show. But the film’s alternating inquiry — into family love, slow compromise and, yes, death — resonates strongly. Read full review
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