-------

Review
GUNS N ROSES: Sex N' Drugs N' Rock N' Roll

Note: This is a review of the DVD version. The material will also be available on VHS.

Release Dates: Germany: OUT NOW! (released 2/17/2003)
U.K. & rest of Europe: 3/3/2003
USA & Japan: 4/8/2003

Reviewed Version: Germany / NTSC format / Region Code 0 / Limited Edition
Publisher: Chrome Dreams
Screen Format: 4:3
Sound: Stereo Sound Mix
Running Time: aprox. 60 minutes

The text on the DVD case promises the following:

The complete and unauthorised biography of Guns N Roses. More than forty minutes of interviews with the band and those close to them. Exclusive and previuous unseen film footage.

New insider revelations on the band. Before we take our tour through the documentary, let us have a glimpse at the Limited Edition DVD Extras. The picture gallery (containing 10 pics) shows images of the old als well as of the new band. Cool stuff but nothing new. Further a complete Discography is included.

It contains all albums, singles, EPs, Promos and a huge amount of bootlegs in form of commented text. Unfortunately the text is damn small and hard to read on a tv screen. For this you should use a DVD Rom to read the text on your computer. Next option is a bit merchandising for Chrome Dreams (they also released the interview CD Maximum Guns N Roses).

The documentary. You can choose from 13 chapters. I will start with the first one. It starts with a short summary of who Guns N Roses are and leads to the fact that Axl is the only remaining original member. Next is some damn cool info clip concerning Los Angeles and its music scene. We get short glimpses of the famous places in Paradise City like the Roxy, Rainbow, Troubadour, and so on. The documentary was filmed last year, shortly after the beginning of the now cancelled Chinese Democracy World Tour. It covers the bands history from the very beginning when Axl and Izzy were moving from Lafayette, Indiana, to Los Angeles, over the early club days (and how GNR came together from L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose), over the first Hell Tour, over the record deal and the Use Your Illusion Tour. The interviews: Unfortunately, the only real interview with the band is one (cut into some short statement like clips) with Duff, Slash and Izzy in early 1987 I think. Another scene is when Slash talks to a crowd of fans from a balcony. The rest are just thrown in pictures that underline the interviews with people from L.A., journalists, friends, a representative of the Conway Studios (where Use Your Illusion was recorded) and some more. Most interesting is a longer interview with the guy that tattoed GNR and other eighties Glam & Sleaze bands like Motley Crue and others. At the end there is a converstation with a guy in a studio where they all recorded: Guns N Roses, Slashs Snakepit, Izzy Stradlin, Gilby Clarke, up to the new lineup. One time, he says, Guns N Roses were recording, and then, after they were done, Buckethead took his mask off and jammed just like a normal guitarist.

Of course, nobody taped that scene. There is a bit of talking concerning the new tour, album and the VMA appearance.

In the end I can say that this documentary is cool and real fans should have it if only for the nostalgia. But except for some interesting or funny sidenotes (like the Buckethead story and 4 or 5 others) there is nothing really new that hardcore fans do not already know. However, it is highly enjoyable.

Important: The DVD does NOT contain any music by Guns N Roses. Due to copyright contracts the publisher was not allowed to use original music.

If you want to buy this German version of the DVD, here is where to get it:

Saturn Stores: 20.99 Euro
Music & More Stores: 19.99 Euro
http://www.jpc.de: 23.99 Euro (plus 2.99 Euro shipping inside Germany)
http://www.amazon.de: 25.99 Euro (free shipping inside Germany)

These prices were those the stores told me on February 20th 2003. All prices may differ in the future.