Lambert & Stamp 2014

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: Lambert & Stamp is at its best when it chronicles the high-wire act of the band's early years, as the pair guided the band through ever-greater levels of success. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Riotously entertaining. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Shot through with '60s London energy, illuminating on several fronts and featuring bits of many great Who tracks, the film is nevertheless a mess that should be taught in film schools to illustrate how not to edit a documentary. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: James D. Cooper's impeccably directed debut is a definitive screen bio of the Who and its-rock operatic rise. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Pop oral history at its most formless and fannish: fixated on juicy tidbits, points of influences, and historical cameos, and sorely lacking a point of view. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The film is fascinating in its exploration of the give-and-take between art and commerce. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: From this vantage point, what's most miraculous is that, almost by accident, Lambert and Stamp corralled the chaos of four unsightly, sulky talents and fashioned it into something for the ages. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: An engrossing business story that approaches the band as a showbiz concern, recognizing the two managers as full creative partners and probing their relationships with the fractious musicians. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Lambert and Stamp are at least a bit fascinating, or at least somewhat interesting. But this film runs nearly two hours. They are at best an hour-and-a-half's worth of interesting. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: The band's first managers take center stage in this fascinating time capsule of swinging '60s London: Kit Lambert was a blue blood with a dizzying musical IQ; Chris Stamp had the Carnaby Street flash. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A wonderfully alive behind-the-music chronicle that rescues two genuine mavericks from the footnotes of rock history. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Los Angeles Times: Although Lambert .. died in 1981, his presence is felt in the rich archival footage and the perceptive on-screen accounts that compellingly demonstrate the alchemy that can transpire when kismet and perseverance intersect ... Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: They weren't much to look at, but with a little backstage help, they saw for miles. Lambert & Stamp never makes it so far, but it's an admirable addendum to rock history. Read more

Jim Farber, New York Daily News: Many great docs have been made about The Who (including the ecstatic "The Kids Are All Right"), but "Lambert & Stamp" gets closest to the band's fragility and unlikely story. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: There is enough archival footage to make you feel as if you were there, or at least sorry that you missed it all. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Opens the window on a pivotal time in 1960s (and early 1970s) pop culture. Read more

Charles Cross, Seattle Times: Who fans will be this film's biggest audience, but the storytelling is limited by the fact that Lambert died in 1981 (of alcohol and drug abuse). Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: A vital and untethered account of one of the prime bands of its era, along with a revealing portrait of that era. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: If you're not a world-class Who fan, this is deep inside baseball. If, like me, you are, it seems like a missed opportunity ... Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The two fellows who managed the Who aren't so well known, but what they represent about their era - and the extent to which they documented it - makes "Lambert & Stamp" the cinematic equivalent of an ambitious double album. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: You might call this a business story. But I call it a love story, and I think director Cooper might, too. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Blessed with a wealth of golden b&w footage, James D. Cooper's poundingly fun, scrappy profile has an unusually satisfying nuts-and-bolts perspective on the '60s fame machine. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: The rare truthful and beautiful film about the rock 'n' roll life. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: For all the Who's flamboyance and rock-god excess, the more fascinating story behind them may well have been that of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp ... Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Lambert and Stamp played a crucial, heretofore largely hidden, role in shaping pop-culture history - not to mention the noisy, visceral, rebellious zeitgeist of th-th-th-their generation. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Fans of The Who will find this film a rock Rosetta Stone. Students of the often anarchic creative process will be fascinated. Read more