Dig!
A volatile rockumentary charts how friendship, ambition, addiction, and artistic ego turn two rising bands into bitter rivals.
Overview
A gripping exploration of friendship and rivalry in the world of rock music.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- volatile
- raw
- darkly entertaining
- music night
- documentary marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the documentary as a compelling, chaotic, and unusually intimate portrait of rock ambition, addiction, and rivalry.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor-Taylor's friendship, separation, and competition provide the film's organizing structure.
Heroin use, junkie culture, fighting, and Newcombe's destructive lifestyle repeatedly affect the bands' careers and relationships.
The camera follows the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre through performances, travel, conflict, and career development.
The bands' differing ambitions and lifestyles create a sustained contrast between career advancement and artistic rebellion.
Films like Dig!, and why
The Filth and the Fury
music documentary portrait of volatile artists, creative rivalry, and destructive rock culture
Some Kind of Monster
rockumentary focused on band dynamics, ambition, self-destruction, and backstage conflict
Searching for Sugar Man
intimate documentary treatment of musical ambition, addiction, and fractured artistic relationships
Movie Details
- Director
- Ondi Timoner
- Release Date
- 2004-05-14
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (71)
Cast
- Anton Newcombe
- Courtney Taylor-Taylor
- Joel Gion
- Matt Hollywood
- Peter Holmström
- Zia McCabe
- Brent DeBoer
- Eric Hedford
- Dean Taylor
- Genesis P-Orridge
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Dig! about?
- A volatile rockumentary charts how friendship, ambition, addiction, and artistic ego turn two rising bands into bitter rivals.
- What is Dig! like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Dig! as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Dig! violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Dig! as moderate.
- What did critics think of Dig!?
- Critics broadly regard the documentary as a compelling, chaotic, and unusually intimate portrait of rock ambition, addiction, and rivalry.
- Which films are like Dig!?
- Films with a similar feel include The Filth and the Fury, Some Kind of Monster, and Searching for Sugar Man.
- How long is Dig!?
- Dig! runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Dig!?
- In United States, Dig! is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
