Radio Unnameable

Released Sep 19, 2012

1h 31m

Documentary

List

100%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Bob Fass became a New York City disc jockey who used his radio show to pioneer free expression on the airwaves.

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Audience Member

Engrossing but dispiriting look at a late-night radio hero to the counterculture of the late '60s and beyond. Without intending to, this love letter to Bob Fass becomes just as much about the capacity for noxious self-mythologizing and that the accumulation of years doesn't equate to wisdom or perspective.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great documentary. If you lived through the 60s and 70s or not this is a must see film. If you love radio you must see this film. Bob Fass is a true artist.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Paul Lovelace

Director

Jessica Wolfson

Director

David Amram

Actor

Judy Collins

Actor

Robert Downey Sr.

Actor

Marshall Efron

Actor

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

You're overwhelmed by the feeling that you've seen this tale of corporate greed and arrogant mismanagement before. Still, the filmmakers tell it with gusto.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 29, 2012

Full Review

Scott Tobias

AV Club

Radio Unnameable is at its best when it tries to find some visual analog to Fass' vibe, courtesy of cinematographer John Pirozzi, who takes beautiful snapshots of a sleepless city.

Rated: B

Oct 18, 2012

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Directors Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson weave together archival visual and aural materials along with new interviews with Fass, his wife, Lynnie, and other WBAI alumni.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 21, 2012

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Simon Miraudo

Quickflix

Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson's love letter to Bob and his legendary program, Radio Unnameable, rewrites the record and places the disc jockey in the pantheon beside his louder contemporaries.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 27, 2013

Full Review

Sarah Boslaugh

PopMatters

...a great window into the days before cell phones and Twitter, when broadcast radio played a key role not only in delivering information to people, but also in giving them a voice and bringing them together.

Rated: 7/10

Oct 4, 2012

Full Review

Nora Lee Mandel

Film-Forward.com

Beautifully sets up the feel and the times. . .with archival photographs and footage [but] distracts from. . .the intimate aural relationship between Fass and his audience.

Rated: 6/10

Sep 21, 2012

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Synopsis

Bob Fass became a New York City disc jockey who used his radio show to pioneer free expression on the airwaves.

Director: Paul Lovelace, Jessica Wolfson
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Lost Footage Films, Twelve O'Clock Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.0K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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