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Amazon.co.uk Review
Don Letts' superb Westway To The World documentary allows The Clash to tell the second greatest punk story in their own words. Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and a touchingly frank Topper Headon each give personal accounts of the band's career in separate talking head interviews that triumph through their simplicity. Live footage and rare film of the band rehearsing is intercut with the anecdotes but this video is really about spoken memories rather than visual ones. The emotion in Strummer's voice as he talks about the demise of The Clash or the moment where a visibly humble Headon apologises to the band for his heroin use are worth a thousand grainy super eight segments. Simonon, meanwhile, is simply the coolest man ever to strap on a bass and has a charm to match. And Jones is clearly a music obsessive who kept the band one step ahead with the advent of hip-hop. Perhaps the only weakness of this account is the lack of contextualisation. Unlike Julien Temple's "Filth And The Fury", there are only fleeting glimpses of the outside world. Even so, Westway To The World is exhaustive and utterly inspirational.
On the DVD: The DVD contains a wealth of extra interview footage (including Paul Simonon talking about setting fire to Lester Bangs!) and Letts' earlier Clash documentary Clash On Broadway. The account of The Clash's two week stay in New York is slightly more impressionistic than Westway To The World but contains a hilarious Topper Headon interview. A full band discography and a set of photos of the Clash also feature on the DVD. --Ian Watson
Special Features
English
Region 2
PCM Stereo English
PCM Stereo
Photo Gallery
Interactive Menus
Album Discography
English\French\Spanish
Region 2
PCM Stereo English
PCM Stereo
Photo Gallery
Interactive Menus
Album Discography
English\French\Spanish
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Clash in my opinion were the greatest band ever conceived, they were smart, they took punk to new areas and remained the western world that there was other music outside of pop, rock and even punk. It's only fitting that Don Letts (Mick Jones' band mate in big Audio Dynamite &) Clash's video maker among other talents should make this documentary about them, which charts the band members from their early years to the bands destruction in the mid eighties.
The doc is made up of interviews with the main members Joe, Mick, Paul and Topper as well as others who were in connection with the group most notably Terry Crimes and Guy Stevens. The rest of the doc is filled with footage from the period, and from Letts' old clash film 'Clash on Broadway' (the remnants of this doc are featured in the special features section). The dvd is a great treat for fans and is just as interesting for music fans in general. Fans of recently deceased Joe will remember his fire and his shortcomings. The film is of course, dominated by live recordings and clips of the clash, this makes the doc flow and remain pacey, admittedly a chapter screen is a little over used.
On the dvd, the special features contain extra interview footage, which are as valuable as what was left in the doc. We get an excellent photo gallery dominated by long time Clash photographer Pennie smith, a genius in her own right. Plus, most notably is a picture gallery with music plying in the background! Top marks for a dvd bothering! Also there is the Don Lett's 'Clash on Broadway' from 1981 which is missing a large chunk of its original footage, but is interesting especially for fans.
This is a dvd which fans will treasure. On the negative side it's a shame there's none of the bands videos or a live gig of the clash on dvd yet. But so far this is the best clash release on video or dvd. Magnificent!
The doc is made up of interviews with the main members Joe, Mick, Paul and Topper as well as others who were in connection with the group most notably Terry Crimes and Guy Stevens. The rest of the doc is filled with footage from the period, and from Letts' old clash film 'Clash on Broadway' (the remnants of this doc are featured in the special features section). The dvd is a great treat for fans and is just as interesting for music fans in general. Fans of recently deceased Joe will remember his fire and his shortcomings. The film is of course, dominated by live recordings and clips of the clash, this makes the doc flow and remain pacey, admittedly a chapter screen is a little over used.
On the dvd, the special features contain extra interview footage, which are as valuable as what was left in the doc. We get an excellent photo gallery dominated by long time Clash photographer Pennie smith, a genius in her own right. Plus, most notably is a picture gallery with music plying in the background! Top marks for a dvd bothering! Also there is the Don Lett's 'Clash on Broadway' from 1981 which is missing a large chunk of its original footage, but is interesting especially for fans.
This is a dvd which fans will treasure. On the negative side it's a shame there's none of the bands videos or a live gig of the clash on dvd yet. But so far this is the best clash release on video or dvd. Magnificent!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If you are a fan of the Clash, this DVD is a must have. You can move from being a fan of the band to knowing all that there is to know about them in a very short amount of time. It starts off with the band talking about how they grew up and what musical influences they had. It then moves on to talking about the early days of the Clash and how they formed. Then the documentary progresses from each important event to the next, in chronological order. Ending with Joe Strummer making a tearful speech about how he didn't want the band to end the way it did. It is a truely moving moment. An amazing documentary about one of (if not the) greatest bands of all time.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This Clash documentary highlights an unusual fact about the band: even though they split acrimoniously (at the height of their fame and success), all four core members seem to regret the fact that the band fell apart as it did, and none of them appears to harbour any ill-feeling for the others. 'Westway to the World' is a mix of current-day interviews with Joe Strummer, Topper Headon, Mick Jones and Paul Simenon, and seventies / eighties footage of the band and their performances. The music is all great, and the band all seem like genuinely nice people. The version of this documentary shown on TV in late '99 was an abriged edition of this video cut. After watching this, I'm now looking forward to the upcoming new Sex Pistols documentary, 'The Filth and the Fury'.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Letsagetabitarockin
I am a Clash fan and saw them in 1984, but I wasn't really drawn to this rock-doc and it has sat on my shelves for many months. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Merlin's Owl
Great
I am a Clash fan of many years - hence this is great as it has interviews and footage not seen elsewhere.
Published 13 months ago by Mr. I. S. Waddell
The Clash - Westway to The World
Superb DVD which tells the story of the band from their inception to their final demise. Each band member has plenty of opportunity to explore their memories with pride, warmth +... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mrs. F. J. Bradbury
Very good
Arrived in time and in good conditions, that is what I was most worried about ;-))
Published on 19 Mar 2010 by Manu
it just blew me away...
I rented the DVD from amazon it just blew me away, the live clips though short get me moving everytime, the story is equally intresting, if this documentary doesn't inspire you... Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2006 by Mr. W. A. Third
Good as far as it goes
The interview footage is great and gives a great insight into the different personalities of the four main characters in the Clash story.
But... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2006
Punk Rock filmmaking at its best.
This is a must if you are a punk fan along with The Filth And The Fury film.
A career overview of THE punk band of all time. Read more
Published on 27 July 2003 by Jean Bradbury
If you are a fan...you've got to get this!
If you have the VHS version or taped the TV showing...you will still want to get hold of this.
Extra interview time with Mick,Joe, Paul and Topper and great footage of the New... Read more
Extra interview time with Mick,Joe, Paul and Topper and great footage of the New... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2001
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