In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
{{About|the documentary film|the King Crimson album from which the film takes its name|In the Court of the Crimson King}}
{{Infobox film
| name = In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
| image = King Crimson at 50.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical poster
| director = Toby Amies
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Toby Amies
- Nick Freand Jones
- David Singleton
}}
| writer =
| narrator =
| music = King Crimson
| cinematography =
| editing = Ollie Huddleston
| studio = {{plainlist|
- Discipline Global Mobile
- Succulent Pictures
}}
| distributor = Monoduo Films
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2022|3|14|South by Southwest}}
| runtime = 86 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $68,776{{mojo title|10148150}}
}}
In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 is a 2022 music documentary film about the British progressive rock band King Crimson. It was directed and co-produced by Toby Amies. The film follows the final eight-piece incarnation of the band throughout their 50th anniversary tour from 2018 until 2020, complemented with interviews with past members and archival footage of TV broadcasts and concert performances throughout their years of activity.
The documentary features former and current members of the band such as Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Mel Collins, Michael Giles, Trey Gunn, Gavin Harrison, Jakko Jakszyk, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Jamie Muir, Pete Sinfield, David Singleton, Jeremy Stacey and Ian McDonald. The main action, however, revolves around the personality of co-founder and bandleader Robert Fripp, his personal philosophy and relationships with bandmates. Significant time is also dedicated to Bill Rieflin and his involvement in the band whilst suffering from cancer; the film was dedicated jointly to Rieflin, who died in 2020, and Amies' mother Elizabeth. The film also includes interviews with several fans of the band, most notably, Norwegian nun, sister Dana Benedicta from {{ill|Dominicaines de Notre-Dame de Grâce|fr}}, Oslo.
The film premiered on 14 March 2022 at South by Southwest film festival and was positively received by the critics.
Production
The idea to create a film about King Crimson was born in winter 2017 when Robert Fripp met director Toby Amies at a Christmas party in Brighton, where both live, and got to talking about filmmaking.{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=John |date=2022-05-25 |title=King Crimson on In The Court Of The Crimson King, a new documentary marking their 50th anniversary |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/interviews/king-crimson-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-new-documentary-50th-anniversary-robert-fripp-138549/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=UNCUT |language=en-GB}} Later Fripp recruited Amies to produce a documentary about the band, commemorating its 50th anniversary. Amies agreed "with no idea of how hard that would be to make".{{Cite magazine |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |date=2022-02-02 |title='Some of Us Went Through Hell': New King Crimson Doc Trailer Reveals Agony and Ecstasy of Legendary Band |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-documentary-trailer-robert-fripp-1293969/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} The reported initial title of the documentary was "Cosmic FuKc", which was a reference to The Man Whose Mind Exploded, a previous work by Amies liked by Fripp.{{Cite magazine |last=Shteamer |first=Hank |date=2019-04-09 |title=King Crimson's 50th Anniversary Press Day: 15 Things We Learned |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-robert-fripp-press-conference-819254/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
King Crimson manager David Singleton said that Amies was asked to "reimagine the format" of the music documentary and was given "complete creative freedom". The director confirmed that he had no editorial interference from Fripp, claiming that only one former or current band member reserved the right to make some changes regarding their appearance in the film.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Ben |title=December 2022 |url=https://members.mojo4music.com/read/december-2022/life-death-and-talking-shite-king-crimsons-warts-and-all-film-portrait-is-here |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=members.mojo4music.com |language=en}} Amies "spent a long time getting my subjects comfortable" before "taking a picture of that relationship" within the band.{{Cite web |last=O'Byrne |first=Ellie |date=2022-10-08 |title=A jester in the court of the Crimson King |url=https://tripeanddrisheen.substack.com/p/a-jester-in-the-court-of-the-crimson |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Tripe + Drisheen}} He closely followed the band in 2018-2019 during 50th anniversary tour, adding interviews alongside some historical footage. However, no clear overview of the band's history was provided as the director focused on "personality rather than performance, relationship rather than recording"{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=On Screen – 'In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50' {{!}} 360°Sound |url=https://360degreesound.com/on-screen-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-king-crimson-at-50/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=360degreesound.com |language=en-US}} of former and current King Crimson members described as the "complete opposite of how a documentary is done".{{Cite web |date=2022-11-20 |title=Toby Amies - In The Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 |url=https://echoesanddust.com/2022/11/toby-aimes-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-king-crimson-at-50/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Echoes And Dust |language=en-US}} Another method used by Amies was the decision "to write himself into the story" including off-camera questions and personal comments. The Guardian compared film with "an episode of The Office but with huge drum kits, grizzled roadies and rapturous fans".{{Cite news |last=Felperin |first=Leslie |date=2022-10-19 |title=In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 review – a rollicking workplace comedy |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/19/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-king-crimson-at-50-review-a-rollicking-workplace-comedy |access-date=2023-12-23 |issn=0261-3077}}
Described as a "modern form of roving Cinéma-Verité", the camerawork by Amies, although criticized by the filmmaker himself, captures the natural state within the band, resulting in some shots even being out of focus.
Release
The release of the documentary was announced in a 2019 press conference by Fripp that also featured a screening of a few brief clips.
The premiere of the film took place on 14 March 2022 at the South by Southwest festival. The film was also shown at the IFI Documentary festival,{{Cite web |title=IFI Documentary Festival: IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING: KING CRIMSON AT 50 |url=https://ifi.ie/film/docfest-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Irish Film Institute |language=en}} Gothenburg Film Festival,{{Cite web |title=In the Court of the Crimson King |url=https://program.goteborgfilmfestival.se/en/program/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Göteborg Film Festival |language=sv}} and DOK.fest München.{{Cite web |last=Michael Bartle |first=Bayerischer Rundfunk |date=2023-05-05 |title=Pop&Rewind: Wie die Band King Crimson seit 50 Jahren mit ihrer Musik an die Grenzen geht |url=https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/podcasts/wie-die-band-king-crimson-seit-50-jahren-mit-ihrer-musik-an-die-grenzen-geht-100.html |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=www.br.de |language=de}} For one day only on 19 October, it entered a limited theatrical release in the US and on 22 October received a separate screening in London.{{Cite web |title="A grown-up film about working players living, dying, laughing, playing" King Crimson documentary gets release date, live stream event |url=https://guitar.com/news/music-news/king-crimson-documentary-release-date/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Guitar.com {{!}} All Things Guitar |language=en-GB}}
The DVD was released on 2 December 2022, which included music from the soundtrack, a 23-minute edit from the early version of the film, a 38-minute short film of additional backstage footage, and the final performance by the band on 8 December 2021 in Tokyo.{{Cite web |title=In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson at 50 |url=https://burningshed.com/king-crimson_king-crimson-at-50_boxset |website=burningshed}}
On 8 November 2023 there was a wider theatrical release across North America, and on 1 December 2023 the documentary was made available on streaming platforms.{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=2023-11-06 |title=King Crimson documentary 'In the Court of the Crimson King' in theaters now, streaming in December (watch the trailer) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/king-crimson-documentary-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-in-theaters-now-streaming-in-december-watch-the-trailer/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}}
Reception
The film was generally very well received critically. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 21 critics' reviews are positive.{{cite web|work=Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_court_of_the_crimson_king_king_crimson_at_50|title=In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=December 23, 2023}}{{cbignore}} {{Metacritic film prose|score=80|count=8|ref=yes|access-date=December 23, 2023}}
Iowa Public Radio called it a "love letter to making music".{{Cite web |date=2023-11-01 |title=New King Crimson doc is a love letter to making music |url=https://www.iowapublicradio.org/arts-life/2023-11-01/new-king-crimson-doc-is-a-love-letter-to-making-music |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Iowa Public Radio |language=en}} Leslie Felperin of the Guardian awarded 4 out 5 stars to "a rollicking workplace comedy" that "ends up being about a lot more than just King Crimson". The Variety called it "as good as rock documentaries get"{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=2022-03-15 |title='In the Court of the Crimson King' Review: Doc About a Prog-Rock Perfectionist Is Nearly Perfect Itself |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/in-the-court-crimson-king-review-roger-fripp-1235205120/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} and National Review deemed it "one of the finest rock documentaries ever made".{{Cite web |date=2022-03-20 |title=Excellence, Existence, Tyranny, Death, and Rock |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/excellence-existence-tyranny-death-and-rock/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=National Review |language=en-US}} Mojo compared the film with King Rocker and Dig! saying that "it goes straight into the pantheon of those documentaries, which enable us to appreciate the painful truth of what being in band is actually like". The Telegraph concludes that "by turns comical and melancholy, it may be the most revealing film about working life in a band since Spinal Tap".{{Cite news |last=McCormick |first=Neil |date=2022-10-18 |title=Robert Fripp: 'My videos with Toyah upset some King Crimson fans' |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/interviews/robert-fripp-interview-videos-toyah-upset-king-crimson-fans/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |issn=0307-1235}} Uncut gave the film 9 out of 10 calling it "more than just historical documentary", while The Observer awarded 4 out of 5 stars concluding that "the film is angular and abrasive, exacting and playful, extremely funny and achingly melancholy".{{Cite news |last=Ide |first=Wendy |date=2022-10-16 |title=In the Court of the Crimson King: angular, hilarious portrait of prog rock's noodlers-in-chief |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/16/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-at-50-documentary-toby-amies-review |access-date=2023-12-23 |issn=0029-7712}} Hank Shteamer of Rolling Stone summarized film as "elegant, intimate, funny and surprisingly moving [that] covers every aspect of the group".
Boston Herald gave the film C+ saying that it was a "dull take on the practices and insanely disciplined methods of Fripp".{{Cite web |last=Critic |first=James Verniere Movie |date=2023-11-13 |title='In the Court of the Crimson King' rock doc a one-note wonder |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/11/13/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-rock-doc-a-one-note-wonder/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Boston Herald |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist|3}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb title|10148150}}
- {{Discogs master|2894065}}
{{Clear}}
{{King Crimson}}
Category:2022 documentary films
Category:British documentary films