S R
Bizarre, slow, artsy. I did enjoy the soundtrack and Sting's small role. More importantly, I enjoyed the visits to London and Bristol in particular. It was fun that the main character went to a club "Platform 1" in Bristol that was around the corner from my old flat. It was even funnier that he was turned away. I doubt they would have turned anyone away when it was still open. Saw it because it was on my Time Out BBF list. It was on Tubi.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
10/22/24
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Audience Member
The slow pace kills this self-reflective film.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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Audience Member
A radio DJ drives from London to Bristol to investigate the death of his brother. Along the way he encounters some odd people and listens to some pretty cool music. Former film critic Christopher Petit crafts a very deliberate homage to the early films of Wim Wenders (who was a producer), even using Wenders's cinematographer and actress Lisa Kreuzer (who may even be reprising her role from "Alice in the Cities"). This is a very slow and uneventful film, but if you appreciate Wenders's existential road films, you should love this one. Sting's debut role here is the best role he ever had as a fanatical Eddie Cochran fan. David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Ian Dury and Wreckless Eric are all featured on the soundtrack.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
suitably stark and beautifully shot in brilliant black and white, Radio On is a virtual visual representation of the British music scene in the late 1970's. The plot is razor thin, and even the protagonist is a secondary character. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC.
In a movie absolutely dripping with insecurity, it seems fitting... better, poetic, that the soundtrack is the true star of the show. Bowie, Devo, Robert Fripp, The Clash, Ian Dury, Kraftwerk, and my favorite Wreckless Eric song. There's an unpolished gemstone in the form of STING playing acoustic guitar while having a conversation about nothing. With a sigh and a mustache, one of the characters says "Fuck all else to do where I come from. No jobs, no prospects." And if that's the true underlying villian of the film - listlessness- then the real hero of the film (as in life) is music. Uplifting, exciting, emotional, ceremonial, dangerous, music. It's almost a film in contradiction with itself, but that's the real beauty of it... It doesn't know what it wants to be. The film shares the plight of it's very humble narrator.
Radio On is a rare and exacting slice of life from a certain place at a certain time. It can't be recreated. It can't be revived, nor would anyone want it to be. It can only be preserved and identified with. A minor museum piece with a killer soundtrack.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
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Audience Member
Perhaps Christopher Petit's flawed attempt at fashioning a Wim Wenders-style road movie in Britain isn't the most auspicious debut in cinematic history. but it at least provides a lingering snapshot of the country as it was at the tail-end of the '70s: falling apart & in the midst of political & social turmoil. It starts well but the story quickly peters out - nevertheless, it looks great (in stark b&w) & the soundtrack is excellent. Disappointing but still worth a look.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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eric b
Minimalist to an extreme, "Radio On" is a low-budget, black-and-white film obviously informed by the ruminating works of Wim Wenders (who co-produced) and Michelangelo Antonioni. A quietly hip, late-night DJ (David Beames) hears of his brother's suicide and takes a long, slow drive to visit the scene. He encounters various people along the way (including the punk-era Sting as a singing gas-station attendant who loves Eddie Cochran) and has some aimless conversations before moving on. He meets a few women, but his character is so vacant and withdrawn that there's no question of him pursuing sex with them. This is a solitary journey.
"Radio On" has a fine period soundtrack (David Bowie, Robert Fripp, Kraftwerk, Devo, Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric though, oddly, no Modern Lovers) and mostly serves as a mood piece. It's also a time-capsule look at a dour, depressed England. If this quintessential road movie's lack of story doesn't make you bail out in frustration, you'll finish in a satisfying, reflective state of mind. The film is also mandatory for Jim Jarmusch fans -- and bear in mind that it was released five years before "Stranger Than Paradise."
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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