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Oil City Confidential

Play trailer Poster for Oil City Confidential 2009 1h 44m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A band on the verge of international stardom implodes just before punk becomes huge in the 1970s.

Critics Reviews

View All (12) Critics Reviews
Philip Wilding Empire Magazine Authentic feel to this good-looking biopic of the ill-fated band. Rated: 3/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Kate Muir Times (UK) Julien Temple's rockumentary Oil City Confidential looks like a series of Martin Parr photographs of the British by the seaside, and then segues into thrashing guitars on the Seventies New York stage. Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian I don't think [Julien Temple's] ever made a film as good, and purely insightful as this one. Rated: 4/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Neil Smith Total Film A clearly affectionate homage to the Canvey Island foursome whose incendiary R&B paved the way for punk. Rated: 4/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Neil Spencer Uncut Magazine [UK] It's Wilko's peremptory, offbeat monologues that provide Oil City Confidential with its through-line and several of its funniest moments, not least when he describes the clouds and flames of the Shell Haven Refinery as "Miltonic" Rated: 4/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Damon Wise Radio Times Temple tries his best to make the story lively and interesting (even embarking on a brief history of the Thames estuary), but Dr Feelgood remains an R&B band of limited appeal, and Oil City Confidential won't create many new converts. Rated: 3/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member The third in Temple's punk-by-geography trilogy is right up there with THE FILTH AND THE FURY and superior to THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN. Most wouldn't call Dr. Feelgood punk--well, watch it. I knew little about them; the "official history" has little room for them. I am now a fan! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Not enough people know about this fantastic band. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Simply the best rock documentary I've ever seen. Great anecdotes mixed with "cut scene" clips from old movies and gigs. Totally engrossing and massively enjoyable. Dr Feelgood were the antidote to the over pretentious music scene in the UK. Back to basic, aggressive rock delivered with real emotion. The film really is a masterpiece in that it captures the atmosphere of "four blokes in cheap suits" taking the UK by storm. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member This is great documentary of one of the most underrated British bands of all time. Dr Feelgood were the pioneers of British punk rock, despite the fact that is not what they played, The only reason I've marked it down to four and a half stars is the overuse of black and white film footage. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Skuffende! Juilen Temple burde fått seg en ørefik for å ha rota det til med denne! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Temple does a great job of conveying the specific impacts of place on what made this pub rock band both unique, of their time, and lasting. Wilko Johnson's voice is the primary narrator here, and he's naturally entertaining and frankly humble. The usual points of the musical doc. form are stuck upon, but given a style that seems more reflective of the subject than imposed for precious effect. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Oil City Confidential

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Oil City Confidential

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Movie Info

Synopsis A band on the verge of international stardom implodes just before punk becomes huge in the 1970s.
Director
Julien Temple
Producer
Stephen Malit
Production Co
Cadiz Music Ltd, A Product of Malitsky
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 9, 2017
Runtime
1h 44m