Springsteen Documentary Features Previously Unseen Studio Footage
News — By ATF on August 21, 2010 7:50 pmFilm focuses on the making of a singular classic Springsteen album
The forthcoming Bruce Springsteen documentary The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town opens with spare but powerful imagery: black and white footage of a young Springsteen working in the studio on his landmark 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. The film will air on HBO in October — about the time Springsteen plans to release a deluxe edition of the disc — and screen as part of the prestigious Gala section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14th.
Rolling Stone recently spoke to Thom Powers, the Toronto festival’s documentary programmer. “Lots of rock & roll movies are about something [besides artistry] — substance abuse, ego problems or the glamour of being a rock star,” Powers explains. “What’s missing from those films is an emphasis on what makes us interested in this artist, their creative process. The strength of this movie is that is just concentrates on the making of just one album. There’s not even much concert footage.” (It’s been widely reported that Edward Norton will interview Springsteen at the Toronto Film Festival. Powers, however, can’t yet comment on that.)
The doc combines the studio footage — previously unknown to fans — with present-day interviews with main members of the band, including Danny Federici before he passed away. (Patti Smith is also interviewed in the movie, discussing how she co-wrote “Because the Night” with Springsteen.) “What really struck me about these interviews is the vivid sense of recall that they have,” says Powers. “You don’t get the feeling that these are the same old stories they’ve polished up for the press all the time — especially with Springsteen. He gave long interviews for the film and just about everything he says is really interesting.”
Powers points out a special bonus for fans of the music: a trove of original studio recordings. “In the video footage there are scenes of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt improvising songs you’ve never heard before,” he says. “Making use of the audio tracks you really get a sense of how those songs came together.
View vintage Springsteen photos through the years
Courtesy of Rolling Stone, Andy Greene
Tags: Awaiting The Flood, Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town, documentary film, Patti Smith
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With the much-anticipated release of a commemorative box set for Darkness on the Edge of Town slated for this October, Bruce Springsteen’s classic record is getting renewed attention in the music world. Details on the project are scarce; however, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Steven Van Zandt mentioned that about 10 unreleased songs will be included in the box set. Fans are surely hungry for any and all material they can get from the 1978 recording sessions and subsequent tour.
For our own preview of what’s to come, we contacted Dick Wingate, who was intimately involved in the launch and marketing of the album and tour. He offers an insider’s view of what the Darkness era meant to Bruce and the band, while painting an often-humorous behind-the-scenes account of some of the tour’s highlights.
Enjoy, and be certain to check out the book The Light in Darkness, which one fan said, “… would also make a great companion piece to the much anticipated commemorative Darkness box set…”