Amy (2015 film)
Amy | |
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Directed by | Asif Kapadia |
Produced by | James Gay-Rees |
Starring | Amy Winehouse |
Cinematography | Matt Curtis |
Edited by | Chris King |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Altitude Film Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 128 minutes[1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.4 million[2] |
Box office | $23.7 million[3] |
Amy is a 2015 British documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia and produced by James Gay-Rees. The film covers British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's life and her struggle with substance abuse, both before and after her career blossomed, and which eventually caused her death. In February 2015, a teaser trailer based on the life of Winehouse debuted at a pre-Grammys event. David Joseph, CEO of Universal Music UK, announced that the documentary titled Amy would be released later that year. He further stated: "About two years ago we decided to make a movie about her—her career and her life. It's a very complicated and tender movie. It tackles lots of things about family and media, fame, addiction, but most importantly, it captures the very heart of what she was about, which is an amazing person and a true musical genius."[4]
Amy premiered at the
Synopsis
The film narrative is focused on the life of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, who was found dead on 23 July 2011 from alcohol poisoning, at the age of 27 at her home in Camden, North London.[5]
The film starts with a 1998 home movie depicting a 14-year-old Winehouse singing along with her long-time friend, Juliette Ashby, at the birthday party of their mutual friend, Lauren Gilbert, at a home in Southgate, London. The rest of the documentary shows the songwriter's life, in a chronological order from her early childhood, to her music career, which attained commercial success through her debut album, Frank (2003), and second, final album Back to Black (2006), to her troubled relationships, self-harm, bulimia, the controversial media attention, and her downfall with her drug and alcohol addiction, all until her death in 2011. Winehouse is featured throughout the film talking about her early influences and how she felt about fame, love, depression, family and her music career.
Kapadia conducted more than 100 interviews with Winehouse's friends and family that combine to provide a narrative around the star's life and is billed as "the singer in her own words."[6] The film shows extensive unseen footage and unheard tracks Winehouse had recorded in the years before she died.[7] Unheard tracks featured in the film are either rare live sessions, such as "Stronger Than Me", "In My Bed", "What Is It About Men?" and Donny Hathaway's "We're Still Friends", a cover of Johnny Mercer's "Moon River" from when Winehouse attended the National Youth Jazz Orchestra at the age of 16 in 2000 or never-before heard songs the star wrote, such as "Detachment" and "You Always Hurt The Ones You Love".
There are various pieces of extensive, unseen archive footage of Winehouse, such as when she is video-recorded in a cab with friend
The film also features footage from when she was filmed with her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, various performances, and when she auditioned at
Contributors
The following heavily contributed in the documentary through archive footage and recorded interviews:
- Amy Winehouse
- Mitchell Winehouse, father
- Janis Winehouse-Collins, mother
- Raye Cosbert, manager and promoter
- Nick Shymanksy, ex-manager and friend
- Blake Fielder-Civil (credited as Blake Fielder), ex-husband
- Tyler James, friend and flatmate
- Juliette Ashby, friend and flatmate
- Lauren Gilbert, friend
- Blake Wood, friend
- Mos Def(credited as Yasiin Bey), musician
- Pete Doherty, musician
- Tony Bennett, musician
- Mark Ronson, producer
- Salaam Remi, producer
- Andrew Morris, bodyguard
- Cristina Romete, doctor
- Chip Somers, drug counsellor
- Sam Beste, pianist
- Dale Davis, musical director and bass guitarist
- Shomari Dilon, sound engineer
- 'Spiky' Phil Meynell, promoter of Trash Club
- Monte Lipman, chairman & CEO of Republic Records
- Lucian Grainge, head of Universal Music Group
- Guy Moot, UK President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing
- Nick Gatfield, president of Island Records
- Darcus Beese, A&R of Island Records
Production
In 2012,
On 25 April 2013, it was confirmed and announced that the team behind the documentary film Senna (2010), including director Asif Kapadia and Universal Music, were making a film about the late singer-songwriter.[8] It was revealed that the film would be very similar to Senna, and that unseen footage of Winehouse would be shown. Kapadia and Gay-Rees stated: "Everyone fell under her spell. But tragically, Amy seemed to fall apart under the relentless media attention, her troubled relationships, her global success and precarious lifestyle."[9] They introduced the project at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and it was said the documentary film would be released in 2015.[10]
Music
The documentary features various unheard tracks Winehouse had completed from when her career began in 2003 until her death. The film includes live sessions, such as: "There Is No Greater Love", "Stronger Than Me", "In My Bed", "Rehab" and "What Is It About Men", covers of Johnny Mercer's "Moon River" from when Winehouse was 16 at the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2000 and Donny Hathaway's "We're Still Friends" and never-before heard songs the star wrote, such as "Detachment" and the lyrics to "You Always Hurt The Ones You Love", combined with Pinto's composition "Amy Lives". Winehouse is recorded in March 2006 when she is recording her 2007 single "Back to Black" and there are also cuts and edits of her well-known tracks, which helps unveil every piece of footage in the film.
Soundtrack
On 8 October 2015, Island Records announced that the soundtrack for the film would be released on 30 October 2015. The soundtrack includes various tracks that were included in the documentary; including classic tracks from Winehouse and compositions that were featured in the film by composer Antonio Pinto. The soundtrack was later released for the second time on vinyl in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 1 April 2016.
The twenty-three track album includes well-known tracks by Winehouse, such as "Stronger Than Me", "
The commercial success and music behind the film earned Winehouse her second posthumous nomination at the
Release
Amy was released on 3 July 2015 in the United Kingdom, New York, and Los Angeles[13] and worldwide on 10 July.[14]
The film had its world premiere at the midnight screenings section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2015.[15] Musicians such as HAIM, Leona Lewis, and Emeli Sandé were in attendance and gathered for the event, as well as the film crew. The film received its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2015.[16]
The film received a special screening in cinemas around the United Kingdom on 30 June, which was broadcast live from the London GALA Premiere at the Picturehouse. The screening provided questions from the public on Facebook, Twitter and from the audience. The film director Asif Kapadia, producer James Gay-Rees, and friend Nick Shymansky answered them and concluded with a tribute to Winehouse with her 2007 music video "Love Is a Losing Game".[17]
Marketing
On 8 February 2015, a
Various official teaser clips from the film were released on
On 18 May 2015, the official theatrical poster was released on the film's Twitter page.
Home media
On 16 September 2015, it was announced by
Reception
Box office
Amy broke the UK box office record for the highest opening weekend of a British documentary film, grossing at £519,000 from 133 cinemas three days after its release on 3 July. It also enjoyed success in the US, earning £142,000 from just six cinemas before it expanded in the following weeks. The film scored a $37,002 site average in the US in three days. The film opened with $222,015 across six sites, with a location average of $37,002 – $10,000 more than Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) managed on its first weekend and even beating March of the Penguins (2005) 's $44,373 and the film had increased its box office peak after its initial release nationally on 10 July.[21]
Critical response
Amy received high critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 95% rating based on 227 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "As riveting as it is sad, Amy is a powerfully honest look at the twisted relationship between art and celebrity—and the lethal spiral of addiction."[22] Metacritic reports an 85 out of 100 rating based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]
Robbie Collin from The Telegraph rated the film as four out of five stars and praised the fact that "Amy Winehouse's glorious rise and heartbreaking fall is movingly documented by the director of Senna.[24] Guy Lodge from Variety stated that: "The rise and devastating fall of the gifted British soul singer is chronicled in this deeply felt doc from 'Senna' director Asif Kapadia."[25] Heat and Stylist both also rated the film five out of five, describing the film as "brilliant" and "unmissable". Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film five out of five, describing it as "a tragic masterpiece", and saying, "This documentary about the late British soul singer is an overwhelmingly sad, intimate—and dismaying—study of a woman whose talent and charisma helped turn her into a target".[26] Geoffrey Macnab from The Independent also rated the documentary five out of five, reviewed it as "brilliant" and "unutterably sad", and stated: "There were many, many contributory factors to Amy Winehouse going off the rails, which are explored in the effect of Amy".[27] According to The Guardian, Amy has been placed at no. 3 out of "The 50 Best Films of 2015 in Australia" at the end of the year[28] and has been placed at no. 6 out of "The 50 Best 2015 Films in the UK".[29]
Family's response
The film has been heavily criticised by Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse. He has distanced himself from the documentary, stating the film is "misleading" and "contains some basic untruths", according to his spokesman.[30] On 7 May 2015, Winehouse's father Mitch appeared on This Morning and described the film as "preposterous". He further stated:
"The film is representing me in a not very good way. There is no balance, there's nothing about the foundation. It's portraying me and Amy in not a very good light."[31]
However, he also said that the film contains "superb" and "beautiful" footage of Winehouse. He then added: "Half of me wants to say don't go see it. But then the other part of me is saying maybe go see the videos, put your headphones in and listen to Amy's music while they're watching the videos. It's the narrative that's the problem."[32]
Mitch requested that he wants the film to be further edited, but the film crew have declined his wish, adding: "When we were approached to make the film, we came on board with the full backing of the Winehouse family, and we approached the project with total objectivity." They said the film reflects findings from around "100 interviews with people that knew Amy". On 3 July 2015 (the day Amy was initially released), the singer's father, Mitch appeared on
An upcoming biopic about Winehouse's life will be released entitled Back to Black (2024) which has been fully endorsed by the Winehouse estate, almost a decade after the release of Amy.
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards[35] | Best Documentary Feature
|
Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees | Won |
ACE Eddie Awards | Best Edited Documentary | Chris King | Won |
Austin Film Critics Association | Best Documentary | Amy | Nominated |
Bodil Awards[36] | Best Non-US Film | Amy | Nominated |
Boston Society of Film Critics[37] | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won |
BRIT Awards[38]
|
Best British Female Solo Artist | Amy Winehouse | Nominated |
British Academy Film Awards[39] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Outstanding British Film
|
Amy | Nominated | |
British Independent Film Awards[40] | Best British Independent Film | Amy | Nominated |
Best Director | Asif Kapadia | Nominated | |
Best Documentary | Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees | Nominated | |
Producer of the Year | James Gay-Rees | Nominated | |
Outstanding Achievement in Craft | Chris King | Nominated | |
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
|
Best Documentary Feature | Amy | Won |
Cannes Film Festival | L'Œil d'or | Amy | Nominated |
Queer Palm | Amy | Nominated | |
Chicago Film Critics Association[41] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association[42] | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won |
Detroit Film Critics Society[43] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
East End Film Festival | Best Documentary | Amy | Nominated |
Edinburgh International Film Festival | Audience Award | Amy | Nominated |
Best Documentary Feature Film | Amy | Nominated | |
Empire Awards[44] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
European Film Awards[45] | Best European Documentary | Amy | Won |
Evening Standard British Film Awards[46][47] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Film Club's The Lost Weekend Awards | Best Soundtrack | Amy - The Original Soundtrack | Won |
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
|
Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Golden Trailer Awards[48] | Best Documentary | Amy ("Trailer 2") | Nominated |
Best Foreign Documentary | Amy | Won | |
Best Foreign Graphics in a Trailer | Amy ("Teaser") | Nominated | |
Best Foreign Teaser | Amy ("Teaser") | Nominated | |
Most Original Foreign Teaser | Amy ("Teaser") | Nominated | |
Best Documentary TV Spot | Amy | Nominated | |
Grammy Awards[49] | Best Music Film | Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees[50] | Won |
Hollywood Film Awards | Documentary of the Year | Amy | Won |
Houston Film Critics Society[51] | Best Documentary Feature | Amy | Nominated |
Indiewire Critics Poll
|
Best Documentary | Amy | Runner-up |
International Documentary Association[52] | Best Feature Award | Amy | Nominated |
London Film Critics' Circle[53] | Film of the Year | Amy | Nominated |
British / Irish Film of the Year
|
Amy | Nominated | |
Documentary of the Year | Amy | Won | |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association[54] | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won |
MTV Movie Awards | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
National Board of Review | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won |
National Film Awards | Best Director | Asif Kapadia | Won |
Best Documentary | Amy | Won | |
New York Film Critics Online[55] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Online Film Critics Society[56] | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Nominated |
Producers Guild of America Award[57]
|
Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures | James Gay-Rees | Won |
San Diego Film Critics Society[58] | Best Documentary | Amy | Nominated |
San Francisco Film Critics Circle[59]
|
Best Documentary | Amy | Nominated |
Satellite Awards | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won |
St. Louis Film Critics Association
|
Best Soundtrack | Amy - The Original Soundtrack | Nominated |
Best Documentary Film | Amy | Won | |
Toronto Film Critics Association[60] | Best Documentary Film | Amy | Runner-up |
Vancouver Film Critics Circle[61] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association[62] | Best Documentary | Amy | Won |
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
|
Best Documentary by or About Women | Amy | Won |
See also
- Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (2018)
References
- ^ "Amy (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Chagollan, Steve (23 June 2015). "'Amy': Amy Winehouse Documentary Paints Intimate Picture of Singer". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ^ "Amy (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "Amy Winehouse post-mortem takes place". BBC News Online. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ a b Aftab, Kaleem (19 June 2015). "Amy director Asif Kapadia defends himself against Mitch Winehouse criticisms". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015.
- ^ Strang, Fay (18 March 2015). "Amy Winehouse documentary: Poignant film poster revealed as it's given release date". The Daily Mirror.
- ^ Itzkoff, David (25 April 2013). "Amy Winehouse Documentary Coming From Director of 'Senna'". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Amy Winehouse film to be made by Senna director". BBC Newsbeat. 25 April 2013.
- ^ McNary, Dave (24 April 2013). "Amy Winehouse Documentary Planned by 'Senna' Director". Variety.
- ^ "Soundtrack to Amy Winehouse documentary gets October release". The Guardian. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (15 December 2015). "Amy Winehouse to battle Adele for 2016 Brit Awards after posthumous nominations". Archived from the original on 17 March 2017.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (18 March 2015). "Amy Winehouse documentary release date confirmed, poster unveiled". Digital Spy.
- ^ Falcone, Dana Rose (13 May 2015). "Amy Winehouse documentary gets U.S. release date". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "2015 Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (27 May 2015). "Amy Winehouse Doc 'Amy' Getting U.K. Premiere at Edinburgh Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Levine, Nick (17 June 2015). "London premiere of Amy Winehouse documentary to be screened live at cinemas nationwide (Special preview screenings will be taking place across the UK on Tuesday, June 30)". NME.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (8 May 2015). "Watch First Official Clip From Amy Winehouse Documentary". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (18 May 2015). "Heartbreaking Amy Winehouse Doc 'Amy' Gets Release Date". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Ayers, Mike (20 May 2015). "Watch the Solemn Trailer for the New Amy Winehouse Documentary". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine (6 July 2015). "Amy Winehouse documentary breaks box office records". The Guardian.
- ^ "Amy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Amy". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ Collin, Robbie (8 January 2016). "Amy review: 'piercingly sad'". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (16 May 2015). "'Amy' Review: Intimacy and Intelligence Make Amy Winehouse Doc a Hit". Variety.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (16 May 2015). "Amy review: Asif Kapadia's Amy Winehouse film is a tragic masterpiece". The Guardian.
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (16 May 2015). "Amy, Cannes film review: Brilliant, unutterably sad film depicts the descent of Amy Winehouse". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016.
- ^ Barnes, Henry (15 December 2015). "The 50 best films of 2015 in Australia: No 3 – Amy". The Guardian.
- ^ Barnes, Henry (15 December 2015). "The 50 best films of 2015 in the UK: No 6 – Amy". The Guardian.
- ^ "Amy Winehouse documentary is 'misleading', says family". The Guardian. 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Mitch Winehouse upset and angry at Amy film". ITV.com. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- The Daily Mirror.
- The Daily Mirror. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ Hardingham-Gill, Tamara (24 February 2016). "Amy Winehouse's dad wants Adele to win the BRIT over his late daughter". Metro. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ Ford, Rebecca (14 January 2016). "Oscar Nominations: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Jensen, Jorn Rossing (11 January 2016). "Summer of '92 a strong candidate for the Bodil Awards". Cineuropa.
- ^ Tapley, Kristopher (6 December 2015). "'Spotlight' Named Best Film of 2015 by Boston Society of Film Critics". Variety.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (15 December 2015). "Amy Winehouse to battle Adele for 2016 Brit Awards after posthumous nominations". The Independent.
- ^ "Bafta Film Awards 2016: Winners". BBC News. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "The Lobster on a roll with seven British independent film awards nominations". The Guardian. 3 November 2015.
- ^ "'Mad Max: Fury Road' Leads The Race For 2015 CFCA Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Name "Spotlight" Best Picture of 2015". Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association. 14 December 2015.
- ^ "The 2015 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Nominations". Detroit Film Critics Society. 10 December 2015.
- London Evening Standard. 18 February 2016.
- ^ "'Youth,' 'The Lobster' Lead European Film Award Nominations". Variety. 7 November 2015.
- London Evening Standard. 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Evening Standard British Film Awards 2016: Idris Elba and Dame Maggie Smith lead list of winners". London Evening Standard. 7 February 2016.
- ^ "The 17th Annual Golden Trailer Award Nominees". GoldenTrailer.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ "Grammys: Taylor Swift wins album of the year". BBC News Online. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Grammy Past Winners Search: 2015 Music Video/Film". Grammy.com. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Houston Film Critics Society nominees". Texas Art & Film. 14 December 2015.
- ^ "31st Annual IDA Awards Nominees". International Documentary Association. 6 December 2015.
- ^ "'Carol,' '45 Years' and Tom Hardy Lead London Critics' Nominations". Variety. 15 December 2015.
- ^ "LAFCA awards best picture prize to 'Spotlight'". Screendaily. 6 December 2015.
- ^ "New York Film Critics Online Name 'Spotlight' Best Film of the Year". Variety. 6 December 2015.
- ^ "'Carol' and 'Sicario' Lead the 19th OFCS Nominations". Online Film Critics Society. 7 December 2015.
- ^ "2016 Awards Nominees for Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures". Producers Guild of America. 23 November 2015.
- ^ "2015 San Diego Film Critics Society's Award Nominations". San Diego Film Critics Society. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ "2015 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards". San Francisco Film Critics Circle. 13 December 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "The Toronto Film Critics Association names Todd Haynes' Carol the Best Film of the Year". Toronto Film Critics Association. 14 December 2015.
- ^ "2016 Nominees Announced". Vancouver Film Critics Circle. 14 December 2015.
- ^ "D.C. Film Critics Shine a 'Spotlight' on Award Winners". Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. 7 December 2015.
External links
- Official website (UK)
- Official website (US)
- Amy at IMDb
- Amy at Box Office Mojo
- Amy at Rotten Tomatoes
- Amy at Metacritic