This year brings with it not one but two movies from British filmmaker Edgar Wright. There is, of course, his upcoming psychological horror flick Last Night In Soho (check out an exclusive new image from that one here) – but on top of that, he’s cooked up his first ever feature documentary. It’s called The Sparks Brothers, and it’s a rock documentary about, well, Sparks – the ultimate cult pop band, beloved by musicians and creatives everywhere, if not quite a household name. Just as you’d expect from Wright, the first trailer for the doc reveals a film that’s stylish, playful, and energetically constructed – bringing all of his signature look and feel to a very different kind of movie. Check it out here:
For Sparks super-fans and complete newbies alike, this looks like a captivating and involving tale of oddball brothers who blazed their own trail across a multiple-decade-spanning career. There are plenty of fascinating flourishes in there – not just that Wright has shot the usual talking heads interviews (no, not David Byrne and co) in crisp, moody monochrome, but there’s animation here too, and pleasantly punchy, pacy editing. Among the familiar faces popping up are music titans like Flea, New Order, Weird Al Yankovic, Jack Antonoff, Beck, Duran Duran, and Giorgio Moroder, as well as the likes of Patton Oswalt, Jason Schwartzman, Adam Buxton, Neil Gaiman, and Mike Myers.
The Sparks Brothers comes to UK cinemas from 30 July – or you can catch it a day early as part of the London Sundance Film Festival on the 29th.