Mystify Michael Hutchence [DVD]

I was so looking forward to this documentary and was close to going to the cinema to watch it. Well I am so glad I did not do that. I rented the video and was so disappointed. He was clearly such a talented, complicated and then a damaged (physically and mentally) soul. This documentary is disjointed, poorly sequenced and really it just lost the plot in showing the essence of this truly remarkable guy and artist. Well meaning but the director is way too self indulgent and fails to tell such a wonderful and tragic story in any meaningful way.

Michael Hutchence is probably my favourite musician; both from a technical point of view, and a personal point of view. A lot of people focus on his charisma onstage; his pure, carnal power - and not the lyrics he wrote, or the man he was. Mystify: Michael Hutchence deals with that. It tells the intimate, bare-faced story of what kind of man Hutchence was, his ups and his downs, and his eternal quest to find love; whatever it cost him.It's a beautiful, genuinely well-crafted recollection of his years, from childhood to the origins of INXS, the band's commercial peaks and his work as a solo artist, as well as with Max Q. The last half hour of the documentary/film, however, is just a staggeringly haunting portrait of Hutchence's life as it spiralled out of control and he risked losing everything he had. It's not a movie with a happy ending. But it's one that's been poured over with time and effort. And it shows. I still get goosebumps watching this.Mystify also features the recently-remastered footage of INXS' 1991 gig, as well as other shows, and a plethora of unreleased, archival footage. You feel like you see every aspect of Michael here, including accounts from his friends, family and bandmates. It's not a dull, talking heads kind of documentary. It's arty. It's human. It's real. It's Michael Hutchence - not some hyped-up, glossy facade like people would expect.Absolutely phenomonal film, particularly poignant if you don't already know the story of INXS or its frontman. A genuinely brilliant music documentary.

Superbly put together and clearly a labour of love by long-time Hutchence friend and colleague Richard Lowenstein. Using plenty of archive footage, using no talking heads (all interviews are voice-over) is a great choice and allows the anecdotes to perhaps be more personal and moving than they might otherwise have been (loved Mr Farriss' comment about Michael saying, as a kid, he should take up a musical instrument). A thorough portrait of a man who clearly loved life and wanted to experience everything, this is great fun up to the taxi driver when you know everything is going to go down hill. Very moving, this is a wonderful documentary for a proper force of nature. Well done, Richard Lowenstein and team!

Poignant & carefully thought out documentary, telling the story of Michael Hutchence’s life & loves. I was (& still am) a huge fan of INXS’ music, especially MH’s amazing voice.Life events just seemed to conspire against him. So very sad.I can only hope that his darling daughter is living a happy life, unencumbered by all of this “baggage” but how very sad that she never got to know her wonderful father (or her mother).If you’re in the UK, this film will be shown on BBC2 between Christmas & New Year.

A thoughtful and very interesting account of Michael Hutchence with contributions from the band, Kylie and his father amongst many others. Lots of home movie clips are scattered throughout as well as archive news footage. Ultimately sad but mostly glorious and as a casual fan there are some things I didn’t know. A fan will already have this, others like me will enjoy the ride.

Finally a realistic and Heart Wrenching account of this Beautiful Mans life , this proves micheal was pushed over the edge by Sir Bob !

Great hommage to a vulnerable and highly intelligent rock star. Michael Hutchence had too much bad luck and grief in his life. Then you are actually very alone, no matter how rich and famous you are. A beautifully made documentary that you really should see. The 90s would have been gray without Hutchence. The documentary shows what kind of gifted smart and passionate sweet man Hutchence was.

This is technically quite interesting in the way it splices footage together. Otherwise it is a boring account of the sad life of someone with real but limited talented who could not handle it at the top (and neither could I by the way). But it does not add anything to what we know. It would have needed more depth to make it compelling. I felt sad but that was all.