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Movies / Upcoming / Died Young, Stayed Pretty
Died Young, Stayed Pretty

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Died Young, Stayed Pretty (2009)

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Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:13

Rotten:10

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: Poor organization weighs down this exploration into the subculture of indie-rock poster art, Died Young, Stayed Pretty, diluting the effect of its enthusiastic energy.

Genre: Education/General Interest

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They... Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of America's schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art that's both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, they're virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. They've created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of America's morbidly obese consumer culture. --© Official Site [More]

Director: Eileen Yaghoobian

Director: Eileen Yaghoobian
Studio: Roxie Releasing

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Reviews for Died Young, Stayed Pretty

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Are these cultural artifacts or just more trash littering the light posts and bulletin boards of your city? That all depends on the eye of the beholder.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
11/30/09
Mark Fagan
Mark Fagan
Austin Chronicle

It's a visually stunning film, even if the subject matter isn't hugely compelling.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/30/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

What a cool, unexpected kick this film was.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
11/30/09
Tim Basham
Tim Basham
Paste Magazine

It soon becomes apparent that there's no real structure or point of view to it all.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/05/09
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The poster makers... mine the outer limits of violence and misogyny with a garish, pop art palette.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
10/21/09
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press

Suffer the perverse undertones and this is a fitting examination of a significant yet overlooked contemporary art form.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
10/21/09
Adam Woodward
Adam Woodward
Little White Lies

The film reminds us of a tactile, cut-and-paste subculture that’s still alive and well in the internet age.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
10/21/09
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

The equivalent of being trapped in the lift of an east London style magazine while the entire staff simultaneously shout their theories of civilisation at you, this documentary is that tragic thing.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
10/16/09
Stuart McGurk
Stuart McGurk
Sunday Times (UK)

A decent concept but ultimately a bit messy and unfocussed.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/09/09
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The lack of narrative direction, exploitable drama or character growth strands the film at the level of an animated picture-book accompanied by lots of gratuitous whining.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/09/09
India Bourke
India Bourke
Time Out

A worthwhile doc about an unreported arm of the alt-rock industry.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/09/09
Jon Fortgang
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film

Hampered by its director’s pretentious, self-advertising style. Eileen Yaghoobian lacks any journalistic sense of the basic information the audience needs in order to grasp what’s happening onscreen and the film is often confusing.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/09/09
Toby Young
Toby Young
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Eileen Yaghoobian's indulgent, cut-and-paste documentary hangs loose (and slightly awry) with the unsung titans of the concert poster.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/09/09
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Weird, wacky and full of arresting promo images for bands like Arcade Fire, Teengenerate and Turbonegro.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
10/09/09
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
Total Film

Yaghoobian proves she has a flair for the telling detail every bit as keen as her subjects'.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
08/27/09
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

Though Died Young Stayed Pretty could have used some serious streamlining, it still succeeds as a showcase for some of this decade's most arresting examples of graphic design.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
08/12/09
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
Toronto Star

This "movement" needs context, narration, history, archival footage.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/12/09
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

It’s apparent that Eileen Yaghoobian has almost no control over Died Young, Stayed Pretty. Ostensibly, her documentary is about the demise of rock-concert poster art. But few of the artists have anything enlightening to say about their craft.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/30/09
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Yaghoobian's nonlinear editing is as offbeat as the posters, with non sequiturs and strange asides. She lets scenes run a few seconds longer than most directors would -- to good effect.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/17/09
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post

Unstructured and free-associative, cutting among interviews and images at breakneck speed to no discernible narrative or thematic purpose, the documentary is mercurial to the point of incoherence.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
07/17/09
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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