Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Bachman

July 13, 2019

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Bachman

Bachman is a rockumentury about Randy Bachman, one of a musicians to have number one hit songs with two different bands. I tried to figure out how many other musicians can make that claim, but my Google-Fu failed me. You would think that would be an easy task. As a Canadian, I am patriotically bound to watch this movie, but will it appeal to others who loved The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive while growing up?

The Movie

Randy Bachman grew up in Winnipeg, on the poorer part of town. He discovered his love of the guitar at an early age. The film tells the story of how he formed he first band, their early struggles, the change that made the band a success, and then how he was kicked out for behavioral issues. It then switches to him forming his second band, that band’s early struggles, the change that made that band a success, and then how he was kicked out for behavioral issues. Whatever behavior you are thinking led to him getting kicked out of the band, unless you know the story of Randy Bachman, you are probably very wrong.

Bachman

When it comes to biographical documentaries, there are two questions that a review has to answer. Firstly, is the subject interesting enough to be the subject of a documentary? And secondly, does the documentary do enough to bring out the interesting elements in the subject’s life? The answers to those question for Bachman are “Yes,” and “For the most part.” We hear a lot from Randy Bachman talking about his life and career and this is very engaging. This is especially true when we see a too-brief scene of him showing off his guitar collection. We also hear from musicians that have worked with him or were inspired by him. I don’t have any major faults with this part of the movie.

However, while I have no major complaints with the film, the film also doesn’t do a whole lot new or innovative with the genre. If you’ve seen a number of rockumentaries, then you won’t be surprised by what the filmmakers did here. Additionally, there were some people I would have liked to hear from. I would have loved to have Burton Cummings involved in this movie, as the pair were arguably at their peak when they were working together. Then again, if your biggest complaint is, “I would like to hear more.” then the movie did a good job of selling its subject.

The Extras

There are five deleted / extended scenes with a total running time of just under 12 minutes. That’s not a lot of extras, but on par with most documentary releases.

The Verdict

Bachman doesn’t do anything new with the genre, but Randy Bachman’s life and career is interesting enough that the film is still engaging. There are not a ton of extras on the DVD or Blu-ray, but enough that it is worth picking up for fans of the musician or of rockumentaries in general.

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