Patti Smith: Dream of Life

2008

1h 49m

Documentary

Music

List

68%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

75%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

An intimate portrait of the musician and singer.

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Critics Consensus

Elegiac and personal, Patti Smith: Dream of Life paints an enduring and sometimes rough portrait of the titular chanteuse, complete with footage onstage and at home.

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Kat Brown

Empire Magazine

Sebring's drifting tone might leave you bemused, but take it as it comes and it's a captivating insight into modern music's godmother.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 5, 2008

Full Review

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

For all its transient black-and-white beauties, denies its subject the sort of solid context that would reveal the scale of her achievements. A patchy, frustrating, though loving tribute.

Rated: 2/6

Dec 5, 2008

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

While it fails to place Smith's work and her significance in context, the film certainly captures her charisma, wit and passion.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 5, 2008

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

It's impossible to convey the film's myriad emotions and subtle layers, its agonies and ecstasies, and the sheer rock-n-roll stream of consciousness of it all without sounding like hyperbole.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 6, 2019

Full Review

Pamela Jahn

Electric Sheep

The enormously influential punk rock poet, her music and poetry, and the times in which she flourished are indeed best served by a cinematic style that remains determinedly impressionistic.

Sep 26, 2017

Full Review

Hannah Forbes Black

Film4

An extraordinarily intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman, Dream of Life charms despite being filmed through a sycophantic haze.

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 5, 2008

Full Review

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thomas l

Interviews and insights from Patti Smith. Listen to her records, her poetry and her books. A complicated artist. A musician's musician. Her message is very clear. Everyone is an artist. Everyone creates. Think for yourself.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a conventional music doc; more like an experiment, an acquired taste, in tune with the undeniable, almost mystical, power of the one and only Patti Smith's art. The glimpse into the past (through stock footage and narration) isn't enough for the uninitiated (her 2010 memoir "Just Kids" offers much needed insight in this earlier doc's who's and where's), yet Patti's voice spitting out her life wisdom, the frenzied live clips and the intimate moments make this a must-see for fans of this icon.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fond, but meandering and - sometimes frustratingly - sentimental.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Any true Patti Smith fan will love it

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

femme rock heaven, I love her

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I remember I watched it on the T.V I can't remember the channel, But I remember I loved it, she has been one of my biggest inspirations in rock history, because she reminds me a lot of Sylvia Plath, Although Sex pistols use to make fun of her, I admire all of her songs, And I believe, 'Horses' is the best album she recorded. But I believe, she deserves, at least, more than 73% (according to her wonderful talent).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

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Steven Sebring

Director

Patti Smith

Actor

Lenny Kaye

Actor

Tony Shanahan

Actor

Tom Verlaine

Actor

Sam Shepard

Actor

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Synopsis

An intimate portrait of the musician and singer.

Director: Steven Sebring
Producer: Steven Sebring, Margaret Smilow
Screenwriter: Steven Sebring
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $30.9K
Runtime: 1h 49m

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