Danny Says (2015) User Reviews (6)

Credit where it's due

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 14 June 2015]

Greetings again from the darkness. Tying in nicely with the repertory showing of Rock 'n Roll High School (1979) at the Oak Cliff Film Festival, this documentary from Brendan Toller aims to give credit to one of the unsung (and mostly unknown) influencers of cultural and music changes in the 1960's and 1970's. Danny Fields was the behind-the-scenes "mover and shaker" who helped shine the light on bands such as The Doors, Velvet Underground, The Stooges, MC5 and The Ramones.

Fields is described as having his pulse on the underground music scene, and this is meant to be a compliment … he knew what the "cool" people were listening to. More than just a keen social observer, Fields finished 6th in his class at Penn – as the youngest graduate - and went on to drop out of Harvard Law School in order to be on the front line of the cultural changes occurring in the 60's.

Director Toller's respect and admiration for Fields is on full display, and we are treated to interviews from the likes of Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop, to multiple sit downs with Fields himself … the highlights of the film. The stories about "16" Magazine, Jim Morrison, Nico and Edie Sedgwick are all interesting, but it's watching as Fields personally recalls his involvement that offer us something we've never before seen.

Fields' time at Elektra Records is chronicled, as is his fallout with The Ramones … whose song provides the title of the movie (also covered by Tom Waits and Foo Fighters). It's also noted that Fields decision to take The Ramones on a UK tour, helped drive the popularity of The Sex Pistols and The Clash … the foundation of the new Punk era. It's always refreshing when accolades and credit find the proper target – even when delayed by a few decades.

A documentary about a hidden force who helped change people's lives

[meathookcinema · 8/10 · 13 February 2018]

A documentary about Danny Fields, the record industry A&R man/artist liaison/cultural barometer who was the friend of so many great bands and artists and more importantly, had a hand in making sure they could get record deals and record their music so that their genius could be shared with the world.

This documentary gets it just right- there are moments of animation to illustrate the narrative but these don't overpower the film, there are many musicians and personalities who are either interviewed or spoken about but it doesn't feel like some kind of bragging rollcall. There are also perceptive and very interesting insights into being gay in a small town and also when Danny had left home and was carving his adult life.

As for the artists, all of the groups and singers who changed my life are here. From hanging out with The Velvet Underground to working and socialising with The Doors, The Ramones, Jonathan Richman, The Stooges, Nico, MC5...This is a life spent in the thick an alternative American musical history and you feel privileged to be a part of this. There are also hidden gems that are priceless- a taped phone call with Nico, a recording of the first time Lou Reed is played The Ramones and how elated he is by it.

I bought Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges at the age of 14 and it changed my life. And Danny Fields is partly responsible for this. This documentary helps to shed light on a hidden force who made this possible.

Clive Davis of Punk

[st-shot · 7/10 · 11 March 2021]

While music producer Clive Davis was guiding and grooming the royalty of pop music, scruffy Danny Field was busy discovering and promoting the punk sound in lower Manhattan before it blossomed world wide. Iggy Pop, The Ramones, The NY Dolls, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, Nico, Warhol and The Factory, Field was a tireless ( started doing amphetamines as a kid ) promotor of an underground movement with a sharp eye for talent that was ushering a new sound onto the music scene.

Field is a remarkable witness to the times of course but his engaging openness and honesty, comic sarcasm and lack of bitterness with little care for cash make him a wonderful guide to this period in history. There are brief interviews with some of the "surviving" players back then along with some footage from that rebellious era that Danny sardonically recalls. Iggy Pop among others chips in a good tale or two along the way but Danny remains the admirable focus of the doc, someone who labored for love and not greed and inadvertently helped change the music scene around the world a raucous way.

An Ear For Music

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 6/10 · 28 July 2017]

Danny Fields is considered a visionary by many. He was the right person in the right place in the sixties, seventies and on who found his niche when it came to musical tastes. DANNY SAYS is a documentary about Fields combining interviews, footage from the time period, animated sequences and more. Most of the film is filled with interviews with Field's himself as well as those who knew him.

A Harvard Law student who dropped out and to become part of the counter culture at the time, Fields had an ear for music. This led him to various jobs with several record companies as well as working with different bands. He worked with notables like The Doors and Judy Collins and was one of the biggest voices to push groups like The Velvet Underground, Nico, MC5 and the Ramones. All of his efforts on behalf of these groups led to his being called an influence on our culture.

For the most part the movie offers a fairly straightforward look at the life and times of Fields. We see him as a youngster growing up, his involvement with the different bands he helped promote and manage and more. His story is told in chronological order and we see not only his rise but what some would consider his fall as well, his influence waning in later years.

The film seems to focus a lot on Field's being gay, something that for the most part America didn't embrace when he was younger. It doesn't show that it influenced his career choice or his love for the music of the artists he helped along the way but it was a big part of who he was. He discusses it at length in the film bringing it up in conversations now and then. Did it affect his abilities in what he did? I don't know which is sad. Had the film makers chosen to pursue that aspect rather than just have it mentioned throughout the film it might have helped understand his abilities. Instead it just becomes a side note.

The film is an interesting slice of history though, giving us a backstage look at the life of rock starts from that time. The good, the bad and the ugly are all on display for each of them. Fields influence on them is here to witness as well. A kind word or a bit of praise can go a long way to help an artist reach stardom.

The only question I was left with after watching this was determining the amount of influence that Fields actually had on culture as a whole. Yes, he helped promote a number of bands who went on to fame and fortune. But most of those bands seem to have garnered larger followings with their demise than when they were together and performing (with perhaps the exception of The Doors). Nico has a large cult following but few if asked today could tell you who she was. Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground might be known by particular songs but how many were actually influenced by them? The same with the Stooges.

I love these groups and have listened to them perhaps more than most of those who I grew up with. Bands like Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple and Yes were more popular and listened to more. Their music doesn't seem influenced by these other bands much. It seems like the less popular and more cult based a band is the more "influential" they appear to be watching this film.

This is not to discredit those bands or the work the Fields did. Perhaps those bands might have faded into obscurity had he not been singing their praises. I suppose we should thank him for that. As for the film it will be one that rock fans should see, that fans of the bands mentioned should see and that the curious should check out. All others should know that it moves at a slow pace and you might still walk away not knowing as much as you'd like about Danny Fields.

Very punk rock in its delivery.

[subxerogravity · 7/10 · 10 February 2017]

Not the best documentary format wise but it's very fitting for the subject matter of Danny Fields who talked about his run ins with great people.

Danny Fields' life is not all that fantastic but he just seemed to get lucky enough that there were enough photos and documentation of him hanging out with some really famous people that someone could put together an hour and forty five minutes worth of his life into a featured doc, that includes an interview with Iggy Pop about his run in with Danny Fields.

It always helps that you have a pic of yourself with The Beatles so you can say you were right their when rock and roll started and that you have pictures of yourself with Andy Warhol so you can say you're too cool for school.

Danny Fields worked as A&R for Electra while the Stooges were there and managed the Ramones at one point, so he's not a nobody, but I do feel his life does not seem worthy of a documentary, but that's what makes Danny Says so great, and so punk rock. It has an attitude about it that states that your life is good enough to produce a documentary and that's what I like most about it.

Wonderful Time Capsule

[mdwarsh · 10/10 · 23 January 2021]

I was born 15 years later than Danny Fields, and grew up with the music and artists he loved and promoted, beginning with the mid sixties, and following his exploits all the way to punk rock. This documentary of Danny Fields, a name most people are probably unfamiliar with, is unique in it's presentation, making use of illustrations, archival music video, personal films, and extensive interviews presenting unique perspectives of the influential musicians, artists, and people behind the scenes. Danny Fields comes across as a truly genuine genius of musical taste, but also a man who just wanted to have friends, and love. I absolutely loved this film!