Watch The Kids Are Alright For Free

Best movie ever!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The title of the following Summary is probably one that has been asked regarding many a rock film, such as The Song Remains the Same, The Last Waltz, or even A Hard Day's Night or Help! (although with the fictional pretexts and the plots alone, those last two might not qualify as standard "rock films") could easily be in the running for such a title.However, the reason I would put it at No.1 is the way it flows. In a sense, it flows like a great rock concert. Now, this film consists of scenes from several rock concerts, along with scattered interviews and specially filmed sequences scattered throughout. Jeff Stein, the director, along with "Eddie the Editor" Rothkowitz, brought the various scenes and concert excerpts together in such a way that it's not as much a documentary, but a series of short subjects that somehow come together as one huge visual experience. Musically, The Kids Are Alright is filled with many effective "one-two punches," and very little filler to distract an audience's attention. This movie came right on the heels of MTV and the concept of "music video" had barely been invented, but Stein and Co. had a handle on it long before the folks at MTV hired their first VJ.From the start, the first one-two punch of "My Generation" from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, coupled with "I Can't Explain," from the last Shindig installment, grabs any viewer, even one who may not be a fan of the band, alerting him/her to be prepared to enjoy a wild visual and musical ride. Other one-two punches in this extraordinary film include a reprise of "My Generation" (from the Monterey Pop Festival)/"Won't Get Fooled Again" (from Shepperton Studios), "Pinball Wizard"/"See Me, Feel Me (Listening to You)" (both from Woodstock), and "Barbara Ann" (from Shepperton rehearsals)/"Sparks" (from Woodstock). There are many others, often inter cut with brief "sound bites" from interviews and various television appearances. It all adds up to something transcending a strict documentary or concert film.The improvements the DVD has over the previous video releases are nothing short of astounding. The sound has been brought more than up-to-speed, with every moment of the film possessing a clarity that just did not exist at all in any edition before this, even the laser disc edition. Elements that had been missing from the film since its initial video release have been restored (including the full, majestic "A Quick One, While He's Away" from The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus) to near pristine quality. All the visual flaws have been corrected and the various speed and film stock disparities have been removed and/or improved upon.I know it's my humble opinion, and everybody has different ones (which is as it should be), but even now, after seeing The Kids Are Alright many, many times, the film still grabs my attention and doesn't let it go until the final credit rolls off of the screen. Yes, this is the greatest rock film ever made, humble opinion or not. Check it out and see if it doesn't do to you at least a little bit of what it does to me. You'll be surprised.

This shows the band the Who from 1962-1978. It shows them performing their music for TV shows and in front of live audiences. Intersperced are interview bits with Pete Townshend talking about the band and performing. Also the manic antics of Keith Moon are shown in detail.I'm a fan of the Who. I wasn't one until I saw the movie "Tommy" and this on cable TV back in the early 1980s. I loved the music and the energy the band displayed on screen. Most kids today don't even know who the Who were! They were one of the loudest British bands out there and, at the end of virtually every concert, Townshend would smash his guitar into the speakers and then on the floor destroying it. Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon would destroy the drum set. John Enwhistle would just stand quietly by watching them with an amused smile on his face. This all sparked audiences into absolute riots! This movie somehow manages to catch the violent but fun spirit of the Who and rock and roll itself. The performances are full of life and the Who come roaring out of the TV set. Also get a look at Keith Moon's hilariously fake drumming for TV shows! However this film is far from perfect. The songs aren't performed in chronological order or ANY order that I can see. They start with "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain" from the 1960s, jump to the late 1970s with "Baba O'Riley" then we're BACK in the 1960s with "Shout and Shimmey" and "Young Man Blues"! It's bewildering trying to figure out what the film is going to show next. Next--where are the songs from their second rock opera "Quadrophenia"? "The Real Me" and "Love Reign' Over Me" are two of the best Who songs ever. Next--why are all the interviews with Townshend and Moon? Don't Daltrey and Entwhistle have anything to say (maybe Entwhistle doesn't but Daltrey was VERY vocal in the groups heyday). Also cutting up the interviews into little pieces and spreading them throughout the film doesn't work. It keeps intruding into the songs.Still this is an essential rock and roll film. It shows one of the loudest and most violent bands out there and shows how music used to be before MTV made everything family friendly. Try to see the restored 2003 DVD. The picture and sound are remastered and there's a whole disc of extra material!

I like the Who's music and think the band is under rated. I had seen this movie when it originally came out and have had fond memories of it.I re-watched the movie last night and came away a little disappointed. The Who's musical performances were good and the clips covered their early years and on up to when the movie was made. What I wish was that the clips would have been organized better and placed into a context.By the end of the movie I had the feeling I saw a few of the same songs being performed in another setting. Without letting the viewer know why this was done, one could get the incorrect perception The Who did not have any more songs worthy of being in the film and the director has to reuse another version of the song to fill out time.People who are very familiar with the band probably will be satisfied, but for others wanting more than band's self depreciating, irreverent humor (over and over - I get the point) will be left wanting. The movie shows the image The Who wanted to present to the world at that time, so much so that the movie seems to be just a long commercial for the band.It seems as if the director mainly relied on a few performance and a few TV show interview clips to make a movie. I would have liked to see more insight into the various personalities. The lack this insight may be because the band wanted to only portray their facade of "nothing matters". Perhaps the director was unable to get the band members to open up as to their true feelings. Maybe the band members are not all that deep as people, though I doubt that.While there were clips of the band performing songs from 'Tommy', there was nothing connected to the movie "Tommy". No comments about that film and their thoughts and experiences with it. I find this odd.

I saw this in 1979 at the movies, loved it, best rock doc i've ever seen, but i never seen it on TV or even in a video store, tons of other OK and so so, as well as garbage rock films, but can't seem to come across this one. this one I would love to see again. is it available on DVD? anyways I love the little videos, the magic bus one sticks out the most. the who without Kieth moon was just memory of what was, and this film shows the solidness of that group, you can't remove one, not even John Entwistle the ever quiet bass player, they are a group, made up of individual characters that form the one. like the Beatles. Looking forward to seeing this movie again, hopefully very soon. if not it was a good memory.