

Looking for Johnny
A documentary on the dangerous life of the New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist
Genres
Overview
Johnny Thunders was the legendary hard-living rock'n'roll guitarist who inspired glam-metal, punk and the music scene in general. 'Looking For Johnny' is a 90-minute film that documents Thunders' career from his beginnings to his tragic death in 1991. The film examines Johnny Thunders' career from the early 70's as a founding member of the influential New York Dolls; the birth of the punk scene with The Heartbreakers in New York City and London; Gang War and The Oddballs. It also explores Johnny's unique musical style, his personal battle with drugs and theories on his death in a New Orleans hotel in 1991 at age 38. The film includes forty songs with historic film of Johnny, including unseen New York Dolls and Heartbreakers footage and photos. Cult filmmakers Bob Gruen, Don Letts, Patrick Grandperret, Rachael Amadeo and others contribute classic archive footage.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
94 min
Release Date
2014-06-01
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
5
Vote Average
6.6
Johnny Thunders
Himself (archive footage)
Jerry Nolan
Himself (archive footage)
Sylvain Sylvain
Himself
Malcolm McLaren
Himself
Bob Gruen
Himself
Leee Black Childers
Himself
Alan Vega
Himself
6.1
Anarchism in America
A colorful and provocative survey of anarchism in America, the film attempts to dispel popular misconceptions and trace the historical development of the movement. The film explores the movement both as a native American philosophy stemming from 19th century American traditions of individualism, and as a foreign ideology brought to America by immigrants. The film features rare archival footage and interviews with significant personalities in anarchist history including Murray Boochkin and Karl Hess, and also live performance footage of the Dead Kennedys.
1983-01-01 | en
6.8
The Encampments
Students flooded Columbia University’s lawn to create the Gaza Solidarity Encampment in order to pressure their university to divest from the US and Israeli weapons companies. THE ENCAMPMENTS follows the central organizers of the encampment as they are thrust into the spotlight, face violent police repression and suspension, congressional pressure, and a media firestorm, all while fighting to attain their goal of divestment at any cost.
2025-03-28 | en
6.3
A Night at the Garden
Archival footage of an American Nazi rally that attracted 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden in 1939, shortly before the beginning of World War II.
2017-09-24 | en
5.8
X: The Unheard Music
A documentary about the band X. Includes live and studio performances and interviews with the band members.
1986-03-01 | en
0.0
Citizen
A collection of personal anecdotes from those who have navigated through a tumultuous year in America.
2021-06-21 | en
8.0
There We Were, Now Here We Are... The Making of Oasis
A documentary made for television that looks back on the development and rapid rise of Oasis from being a band practicing nightly in the Boardwalk to one the biggest British bands of the last thirty years. Building from the formation of the band (with Liam apparently just fed up waiting for other bands to release records and decides to do something himself), the film uses contributions from key people really well to tell the story in an engaging way.
2004-09-03 | en
6.8
Banksy Does New York
On October 1, 2013, the elusive street artist Banksy launched a month-long residency in New York, an art show he called Better Out Than In. As one new work of art was presented each day in a secret location, a group of fans, called “Banksy Hunters,” took to the streets and blew up social media.
2014-11-17 | en
6.3
Acústico MTV: Charlie Brown Jr.
The acoustic album of the Brazilian band Charlie Brown Jr. broadcast on MTV Brazil. The album contains interviews with the band and the making-of video recording, and features music known to the public, along with new songs "Vícios e Virtudes" and "Não Uso Sapato". The concert, which was recorded in São Paulo, with the participation of special guests. Marcelo Nova, Negra Li, the group RZO Marcelo D2 and sang with the Acoustic whiner. The repertoire some recordings of other composers, such as "Samba Makossa" (Chico Science, with special participation of Marcelo D2), "Hoje" (Marcelo Nova), with participation of the artist himself and "Oba Lá Vem Ela" (Jorge Ben Jor).
2003-09-20 | pt
6.0
Coney Island
Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny piece of New York real estate was internationally famous. On summer Sundays, three great pleasure domes--Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland--competed for the patronage of a half-million people. By day it was the world's most amazing amusement park, by night, an electric "Eden".
1991-02-04 | en
1.0
QUEERCORE (a punk-u-mentary)
The urban on-line dictionary defines queercore as “Gay-themed, underground, independent music; usually punk rock (Team Dresch, Pansy Division, The Butchies, The Need, etc.)”. See for yourself.
1997-03-01 | en
6.5
The Road to Magnasanti
In 2010, an obsessed gamer designed the perfect game of Sim City. Achieved through a repeating pattern of clustered high rises, “Magnasanti” exposes the hellish consequences of top-down civic design. In his new documentary, John Wilson explores how New York City is creeping closer and closer to realizing this fictional metropolis.
2017-09-30 | en
0.0
Riqueni
2023-11-03 | es
7.0
Life of Crime 2
This follow-up to the 1989 documentary ONE YEAR IN A LIFE OF CRIME revisits three of the original subjects in New Jersey during a five-year period in the 1990s. We share in their triumphs and setbacks as they navigate lives of poverty, drug abuse, AIDS, and petty crime.
1998-12-15 | en
0.0
The Beach Boys - California Surfin
2004-01-01 | en
6.4
The King
A cultural portrait of the American dream at a critical time in the nation’s history. Set against the 2016 American election, The King takes a musical road trip across the country in Elvis Presley's 1963 Rolls Royce.
2018-06-22 | en
7.5
We Were Once Kids
In the early nineties, before the massive gentrification of many of New York's then slums, several young people from very disparate backgrounds left their broken homes and ventured onto the brutal streets of the city. United by their love of skateboarding, they formed a family and built a unique lifestyle that eventually inspired Kids, a groundbreaking and outrageous film directed by photographer Larry Clark and released in 1995.
2021-06-10 | en
6.8
American Hardcore
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
2006-09-22 | en
6.0
In Memory of Rock
The rock-wild youth of the 1960s during the apparitions of their idols.
1963-01-01 | fr
5.9
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
The 29th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The 2014 Ceremony was open to the public, as it had been for the Induction Ceremonies in Cleveland (2009, 2012) and Los Angeles (2013). This was the first time that the event was held in New York. With performances by Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, KISS, Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens.
2014-05-31 | en
9.0
Scotch Mist: A Film with Radiohead in It
Radiohead plays songs from their album In Rainbows for a webcast broadcast on New Years Eve. The film was made by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich, Adam Buxton, Garth Jennings, Stanley Donwood, Ric Jerrom, Hugo Nicolson and Dan Grech-Marguerat.
2007-12-31 | en