Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart

John Chard

Bitty doc about the Avante Garde Rocker. Lou Reed,legend, simple as. Here under the American Masters series he gets just over 70 minutes of screen time, which ultimately isn't enough. For fans of his work, both solo and with the legendary Velvet Underground, it's "nice" to have something on film, to see him acknowledged, and I guess for interested outsiders this is a good "grooming" doc. Yet there's so much missing, key periods in his career are given short shrift and replaced by stock filler concert scenes - none of which play the whole songs! Is there anything here that fans will learn that is new? Possible not. The newcomers get a sample of his early influences, from romantic poets to beat street artists, the Velvet Underground period gets good time, with welcome chatter from John Cale and Mo Tucker, then his solo work is covered by a series of interview snippets, with credible and interesting back stories to some of his famous songs. The live footage pleases the eyes and ears, while the roll call of back slappers is mercifully not over-killed. But it's not even close to being definitive and that just comes off as a shame and a wasted opportunity. 6/10