Depeche Mode 101

Audience Reviews

View All (17) audience reviews

Paul A As "Depeche Mode 101" (1989 release; 118 ,in) opens, the guys in Depeche Mode drive into the Rose Bowl in a convertible, to announce that on June 18, 1988, they will play the very last show of their "Music For the Masses" world tour at the Pasadena venue. We then go back in time as the band is in the US leg of the tour... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie. Couple of comments: this film is co-directed by none other than D. A. Pennebacker himself. I've had the live album of the same name (taped entirely at the Pasadena show) in my extensive CD collection for many years, but as crazy as it sounds, I had never seen the documentary of the same name. Imagine my surprise that the documentary was very different from what I expected. I thought it would be a straight-forward rendering of the Pasadena show, but as it turns out, the Pasadena show is not featured much at all. Instead we get a road movie of what life is like for a band fast on the rise as DM was back then. Even more fascinating, it shows a time capsule of what the US was like back then in the late 80s, more than 30 years ago. As to Depeche Mode, they look so incredibly young, but you can also see what this could lead to. One of the reviewers here terms this "Depeche Mode At Their Height" and I will respectfully disagree with that. After "Music For The Masses", DM truly became a global phenom with albums like 1990's "Violator" and 1993's "Songs of Faith and Devotion". It is in fact on that 1993-94 "Devotional" tour that the band reached its absolute peak in creativity and live prowess (but that's just my opinion, of course). "Depeche Mode" is currently streaming on Showtime, where I caught it the other night, among many other music documentaries available there. If you are a fan of Depeche Mode and, like me, you know the 101 album but had never seen the movie, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review S K I always wanted more concert, less contest winners galavanting across the country, but it is what it is. The nostalgia for the '80s is strong, but the music is what keeps me coming back. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the very greatest concert films of all time. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/22/19 Full Review james b I honestly never got why the kids were in this movie. I always thought the movie would have been better without the group of kids following the band. After listening to the additional audio tracks from the producer/director....it makes more sense now. It is a great concert DVD, and really captures a great moment in Depeche Mode's career. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Caught most of this on TV. Solid doc. about these guys. Might pick it up sometime if I can find it on DVD somewhere. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The teens on the journey to see Mode, are a little annoying; other than that, a great insight into one of the greatest (and largely underrated) bands ever, around one of their best albums. The Rose Bowl finale is jawdropping. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Depeche Mode 101

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now