By: Joseph Perry (Twitter/X)
Writer: When It Was Cool
Also Featured At: Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, B&S About Movies, The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict, and Diabolique Magazine, and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum.
Film Review: They All Came Out to Montreux (Tribeca 2024)
Fans of classic hard rock will instantly recognize in the title for writer/director Oliver Murray’s documentary They All Came Out to Montreux a play on words from Deep Purple’s song “Smoke on the Water.” The film gives a firsthand account of the tragedy that inspired that song, but the main focus of the documentary is the life and work of Claude Nobs, who originated the Montreux Jazz Festival and served as its director until his death, and the wealth of talent from jazz, rock, blues, and beyond that has performed there over the years.
The Montreux Jazz Festival began as an idea Nobs had that was supported by the tourism office in the Swiss town of Montreux, and from its first edition in 1967, it grew into a highly renowned event boasting musical talent from around the globe. Amazingly, Nobs recorded almost every performance given there, and They All Came Out to Montreux includes a wide variety of live performances from the likes of Prince, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Carol King, Marvin Gaye, and Miles Davis, to name but a few. Viewers are also treated to stories such as how Nobs suggested at a barbecue that David Bowie and Freddie Mercury do some work together in the recording studio he built, and how that led to the hit song “Under Pressure” just a couple of hours later.
Nobs, well respected by musicians and said to be a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge, led a highly interesting life, which Murray explores well through archival footage and interviews with musical luminaries and legends. Highly recommended for music lovers of all types, They All Came Out to Montreux is a fascinating, wholly absorbing look at how one man built a cultural sensation along with an archive of incredible performances for future generations.
They All Came Out to Montreux screened as part of Tribeca 2024, which ran June 5–16. For more information, visit https://tribecafilm.com/festival/film.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/). He also writes for the websites Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), B&S About Movies (bandsaboutmovies.com), The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict (gbvreviews.com), and Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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