Last Days Here

Last updated

Last Days Here
Last Days Here FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Don Argott
Demian Fenton
Produced by Sheena M. Joyce
StarringBobby Liebling
Sean Pelletier
CinematographyDon Argott
Demian Fenton
Edited byDemian Fenton
Production
company
9.14 Pictures
Distributed bySundance Selects
Release dates
  • March 14, 2011 (2011-03-14)(SXSW)

July 31, 2012 (commercial) [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Last Days Here is a 2011 American documentary film featuring Bobby Liebling, lead singer of doom metal band Pentagram. Directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton, the film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 14, 2011. It is distributed by Sundance Selects.

Contents

Synopsis

Last Days Here follows Bobby Liebling, lead singer of Pentagram, an Alexandria, Virginia-based doom metal band founded in 1971 and active sporadically throughout the following four decades. At the film's outset, Liebling is in his 50s, living in his parents' basement, and addicted to drugs. After Pentagram's music is rediscovered by the heavy metal underground scene, Liebling begins to recover from his lifestyle. His friend and manager Sean "Pellet" Pelletier attempts to help Liebling overcome his drug addiction and escape his old life. [2] The film ends in 2010 with Pentagram returning to the stage and Liebling sober, married and his new wife expecting their first child.

Production

Co-director Fenton first became familiar with Liebling after listening to Pentagram's 1970s recordings on cassette tape and the 2001 compilation First Daze Here , and enjoying the early Pentagram material. He heard rumors about Liebling, including living in his parents' basement and ingesting illegal drugs. When Fenton and Argott began filming Liebling, they were not sure if a documentary could result. Fenton said, "It really seemed like he was going to smoke himself to death in his parents' basement, something we weren't interested in documenting." When Liebling attempted to recover from his lifestyle, the directors saw potential for a documentary. [3]

The directors filmed hundreds of hours of footage over three years with very little budgeting. Fenton said about addressing the swift changes in Liebling's life, "Many times we had to finesse the rapid shifts in Bobby’s life so the viewer wouldn’t be left confused." He said that Liebling had shown multiple sides of himself, which the directors tried to balance for their documentary. [3]

Release

Last Days Here premiered at South by Southwest on March 14, 2011. [3] In the following month, Sundance Selects acquired the rights to distribute Last Days Here in North America. It distributed the documentary in theaters and through its video on demand platform. [2] It was released commercially on July 31, 2012 in DVD format. [1]

Reception

Stephen Saito of Independent Film Channel said Liebling's story was typical of most rock star stories and that he would normally not be interesting to mainstream viewers since Pentagram never had a mass audience. However, he said that "Fenton... and Argott spent six years waiting for the story to reveal itself and that patience has been rewarded with a tale that's sad, sometimes frustrating and ultimately triumphant." Saito applauded Fenton and Argott's use of supporting characters to share stories about Liebling. He noted, "Last Days Here isn't weighed down by history, or much of anything for that matter as it uses a traditionally straightforward, slightly shaggy narrative to tell of Liebling's rise and fall." [4]

Related Research Articles

Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics are intended to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentagram (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Pentagram is an American heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, and the sub-genre of doom metal in particular. As such, they are considered one of the "big four of doom metal," alongside Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until re-forming in the early 1980s with an almost completely new line-up. Throughout the band's history, the only constant member has been vocalist Bobby Liebling. The revolving line-up of Pentagram has featured many well-respected musicians in the local doom metal scene, with members spending time in other acts such as the Obsessed, Place of Skulls, Internal Void, Spirit Caravan, among many others. The band's current line-up consists of Liebling (vocals), Matt Goldsborough (guitar), Greg Turley (bass), and "Minnesota" Pete Campbell (drums).

<i>Rock School</i> (film) 2005 American film

Rock School is a 2005 documentary film about The Paul Green School of Rock Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witchcraft (band)</span> Swedish doom metal band

Witchcraft is a Swedish doom metal band founded in 2000.

<i>Sub-Basement</i> 2001 studio album by Pentagram

Sub-Basement is the fifth album by American doom metal band Pentagram. It was released in 2001 by Italian label Black Widow Records. Joe Hasselvander played all the instruments, while Bobby Liebling provided all lead and backing vocals. The spine reads "If Review Your Choices made you sick, Sub-Basement will take you to the tomb!!!" According to the documentary Last Days Here, the title referenced Liebling's life of living in his parents' sub-basement in Germantown, Maryland.

<i>Show Em How</i> 2004 studio album by Pentagram

Show 'Em How is the sixth album by American doom metal band Pentagram. It was released in 2004 by Italian label Black Widow Records. This album featured Bobby Liebling on vocals backed up by three members of Internal Void. The spine reads "Further infections to feed your disease".

<i>Human Hurricane</i> 1998 compilation album by Pentagram

Human Hurricane is one of many compilations featuring 1970s material of American doom metal band Pentagram. It was released by Downtime Records in 1998. A vinyl version, retitled If the Winds Would Change, was released in 2011 by High Roller Records.

<i>1972–1979</i> (album) 1993 compilation album by Pentagram

1972–1979 is the first of many compilations featuring 1970s material of American doom metal band Pentagram. It was released by Peace Records in 1993. Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling stated in a 2004 interview with Hellride Music that he gave permission for 500 copies to be issued, but had not received any royalties for this release. Most of the material was later released by Relapse Records on the First Daze Here and First Daze Here Too compilations. The mix of "Smokescreen" included on the 1972-1979 LP is different from the version included on the Relapse compilations and was not released on any other compilation after 1993.

<i>First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection)</i> 2001 compilation album by Pentagram

First Daze Here (The Vintage Collection) is the first of two compilation albums featuring 1970s material of doom metal band Pentagram. It was released by Relapse Records in 2001 and was followed by First Daze Here Too in 2006. It marked the first time that these early Pentagram recordings were officially released with worldwide distribution. The vinyl version came with a bonus 7", a replica of the 1972 Macabre single containing the songs "Be Forewarned" and "Lazylady". Many of the songs were re-recorded for Pentagram's 1980s and 1990s albums. The 2016 CD reissue of the compilation added a second disc – the previously vinyl-only Macabre single replica, this time in compact disc form.

Demian Fenton is an American filmmaker and musician originally from the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, and currently residing in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Argott</span> American film director

Don Argott is an American documentary filmmaker and musician. He has directed several documentary films and has also worked as a producer and cinematographer. He co-owns the production company 9.14 Pictures with producer Sheena M. Joyce.

Liebling may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hasselvander</span> American musician

Joe Hasselvander is an American musician. He was the drummer of heavy metal band Raven from 1987 until 2017 and was a member of the influential doom metal band Pentagram.

<i>Last Train Home</i> (film) 2009 Canadian film

Last Train Home is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Lixin Fan and produced by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm. It won the Best Documentary Feature at 2009 IDFA and has been distributed by Zeitgeist Films in the US.

<i>The Art of the Steal</i> (2009 film) 2009 American film

The Art of the Steal is a 2009 documentary film directed by Don Argott, about the controversial move of the Barnes Foundation, generally considered to be the world's best collection of post-Impressionist art and valued in 2009 to be worth at least $25 billion, from Merion, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. The move was disputed because Dr. Albert C. Barnes, who died in 1951, had specifically selected Lower Merion Township for its location. The collection was moved in 2012 to Philadelphia. The film presents an account of the claimed breaking of Barnes's will, which it presents as a decades-long process that was initiated by Philadelphians who were enemies of Barnes while he was alive, and that was continued by their heirs.

Sheena M. Joyce is an American film producer currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Sundance Film Festival</span>

The 27th annual Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Park City, Utah, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.

<i>Last Rites</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Pentagram

Last Rites is the seventh studio album by American doom metal band Pentagram. It was the first album since the band's third album, Be Forewarned, to feature guitarist Victor Griffin.

<i>Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck</i> 2015 American film about Kurt Cobain. The guitarist, singer, and frontman of Nirvana

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is a 2015 American documentary film about Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. The film was directed by Brett Morgen and premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It received a limited theatrical release worldwide and premiered on television in the United States on HBO on May 4, 2015. The documentary chronicles the life of Kurt Cobain from his birth in Aberdeen, Washington in 1967, through his troubled early family life and teenage years and rise to fame as frontman of Nirvana, up to his suicide in April 1994 in Seattle at the age of 27.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Heineman</span> American documentary filmmaker

Matthew Heineman is an American documentary filmmaker, director, and producer. His inspiration and fascination with American history led him to early success with the documentary film Cartel Land, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 "Last Days Here". Rotten Tomatoes . June 18, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Nigel M. (April 14, 2011). "Sundance Selects Acquires Rock Doc 'Last Days Here'". indieWire .
  3. 1 2 3 Harris, Brandon (March 14, 2011). "Don Argott and Demian Fenton's 'Last Days Here'". Filmmaker .
  4. ↑ Saito, Stephen (May 18, 2011). "'Last Days Here,' Reviewed". Independent Film Channel. Archived from the original on May 9, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.