Hired Gun

Released Jun 29, 2017

1h 30m

Documentary

Music

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for Hired Gun: Trailer 1

List

50%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Just 20 feet from stardom, elite musicians share behind-the-scene stories of touring and what it takes to play songs with the world's most iconic bands; includes interviews with Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Steve Vai, David Foster and Ray Parker Jr.

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Brad Newsome

Sydney Morning Herald

The players' sheer love of music shines through everything.

Sep 12, 2018

Full Review

John DeFore

Hollywood Reporter

Scattershot, introducing instrumentalists who've played everything from heavy metal to Disney kid-pop, and rarely doing much to capture its subjects' individual quirks.

Jun 29, 2017

Full Review

Benjamin H. Smith

Decider

Like the musician whose technique overshadows their expressiveness, there's simply too much going on, even if a lot of it is good.

Apr 4, 2018

Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Music docu is best for rock, heavy metal fans; cursing.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 21, 2018

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

A "Wrecking Crew" or "Twenty Feet from Stardom" for the metal generation. Familiar stories and complaints about working "in the shadows," but funnier.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 29, 2018

Full Review

David N. Butterworth

La Movie Boeuf

An A-list roster of session musicians -- on tour with the likes of KISS, Pink, and Billy Joel -- get their 15 minutes of fame in director Fran Strine's slick and professional tribute.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 4, 2016

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Audience Member

Pretty cool to get the unsung heroes perspective on their contributions to A list artists albums and live performances. However, the documentary as a whole didn’t flow well from one segment to the next. I drum for a few bands so I know what it’s like with the highs and lows. Alice Cooper is a really cool dude and Nita Strauss is amazing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

Mats B

Had been so much better if they had cut out Ray Parker Jr who got famous by doing a rip-off of "I want a new drug" by Huey Lewis and the News, when he wrote the title track to Ghostbusters.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/28/24

Full Review

júlio a

Bem legal, se aprofundasse mais em algumas partes, e onde estÃ£o todos os mÃºsicos citados, seria mais legal ainda.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting documentary on rock music's unsung heroes. A documentary on the nameless musicians behind the stars - the people in the touring and/or studio bands of major stars. Shows the highs and lows, the pros and cons, how some of them got where they are and their lives as hired guns. An interesting documentary on rock music's unsung heroes. For every famous, successful artist there's dozens of musicians who played on studio albums or performed in the bands of the famous artist, with little to no recognition. This documentary does a good job of empathising with and highlighting the skills, trials and tribulations of the sideman. Wasn't always that promising though: started off pretty dully, with a heap of (largely metal) musicians trying to out cheerlead each other. The first bit focuses mostly on how they got their big break and while there are some really interesting, even historic moments (e.g. the guitar solo on Steely Dan's 'Peg" and the drum fill on John Cougar Mellencamp's 'Jack and Diane'), involved it just seems pretty conventional. Moreover, you feel like you've seen this before - '20 Feet From Stardom' and 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' already covered the life and influence of backing musicians. However, in the second half it gets really interesting and engaging. Now we see what touring life is like and how expendable these musicians are. It's quite sad how they are treated and how things turn out for some of them. The latter half also shows why, despite the insecurity and treatment, these guys still do what they do - the love of music. This leaves the ultimate note a positive one.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

william s

Brought me back to when rock ruled and I loved that....guilty pleasure for sure but hey sue me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

'Hired Gun' is a disjointed, but decent documentary that highlights the careers of a few well-established studio musicians who worked their way up to join some of the most iconic bands like Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, Ozzy Osbourne, and Five Finger Death Punch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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Fran Strine

Director

Alice Cooper

Self

Rob Zombie

Self

Ray Parker Jr.

Self

David Foster

Self

Steve Vai

Self

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Hired Gun: Trailer 1

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Hired Gun: Fathom Events Trailer

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Synopsis

Just 20 feet from stardom, elite musicians share behind-the-scene stories of touring and what it takes to play songs with the world's most iconic bands; includes interviews with Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Steve Vai, David Foster and Ray Parker Jr.

Director: Fran Strine
Producer: Todd Poulson, Heather Bendler, John Smithyman
Screenwriter: Fran Strine, Tim Calandrello
Distributor: Vision Films
Production Co: Drama Kills
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 30m

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