The Runaways [Blu-ray]

Overview

The story of the groundbreaking '70s female rock group the Runaways is recounted in this River Road Entertainment production focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett (portrayed by Twilight's Kristen Stewart) and lead vocalist/keyboardist Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record label woes under the malevolent eye of abusive manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) during their teen years. Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, with Scout Taylor-Compton co-starring as guitarist Lita Ford.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/20/2010
UPC:	0043396355194
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	R
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kristen Stewart	Joan Jett,Grandma Oni
Dakota Fanning	Cherie Currie
Michael Shannon	Kim Fowley
Stella Maeve	Sandy West
Riley Keough	Marie Currie
Scout Taylor-Compton	Lita Ford
Alia Shawkat	Robin
Johnny Lewis	Scottie
Tatum O'Neal	Cherie's Mom
Brett Cullen	Cherie's Dad
Hannah Marks	Tammy
Jill Andre	Aunt Evie
Ray Porter	Band Member
Kiaya Snow	Cashier
Allie Grant	Club Girl
Brendan Sexton III	Derek
Shammy Dee	DJ
Aaron Mouser	Fat Employee
Robert Romanus	Guitar Teacher
Jay Thames	Headliner's Roadie
Masami Kosaka	Japanese Journalist
Masayuki Yonezawa	Japanese Photographer
Hiroshi Sakata	Japanese Promoter
P.D. Mani	Cake Shop Manager
Mickey Petralia	Record Executive
Antonella Sigismondi	Rockabilly Saleslady
Nick Eversman	Rocker Boy
Keir O'Donnell	Rodney Bingenheimer
Lisa Long	Sandy's Mom
J.R. Nutt	Skinny Employee
Alejandro Patino	Grocery Store Manager
John Konesky	Studio Engineer
Time Winters	Wolfgang
Adam Silver	Boy in Audience
Koji Wada	Announcer
Lillian Berlin	Composer

Technical Credits

Floria Sigismondi

Floria Sigismondi	Director,Screenwriter
John Linson	Producer,Producer
Bill Pohlad	Producer
Joan Jett	Executive Producer,Producer
Kenny Laguna	Executive Producer,Producer
Brian Young	Executive Producer
Wendy O'Brien	Casting
Keith Campbell	Stunts
Larry Fioritto	Special Effects
Robert E. Turk II	Special Effects
Loren Corl	Key Grip
Edward Tise	Sound Mixer
Jay Jennings	Sound/Sound Designer
Jay Nierenberg	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

If you're planning to see the 2010 biopic The Runaways out of a pre-existing interest in the titular '70s all-girl rock band, then there's a good chance that you're also coming in with some concerns about casting. Can angsty Twilight teen Kristen Stewart really handle playing the original badass rock chick Joan Jett? Are we really supposed to buy the unnervingly articulate child star Dakota Fanning as jailbait bombshell Cherie Currie? Seeing as how the film is based on Currie's memoir, and focuses for the most part on her and Jett's friendship (as well as their semi-witting roles as commercially exploited teenagers/bird-flipping feminist pioneers in a male-dominated industry), there's a lot riding on the performances of the two leads. Well you can breathe a sigh of relief, because Stewart and Fanning both hit it out of the park. Starting with some traditional background info on Currie and Jett, the movie walks us through the basics of life as a latchkey rocker girl in the San Fernando Valley. Currie gets booed at the school talent show when she does a hyper-stylized tribute to David Bowie. A well-meaning music teacher tells Jett that "girls don't play electric guitar." In addition to being generally alienated people, both girls have co-dependent sisters and unreliable parents, so when they meet at a local club through flamboyant/creepy/possibly abusive record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), they click. Partly through Fowley's Svengali-ism and partly through their own creative alchemy, the girls team up with a handful of other high-school-aged female musicians and form the Runaways. On paper, the story is no different than any other musical biopic, complete with the eventual decent into the show-business pit of drugs, egos, and creative strife. But while the story may be a little unsurprising, the way it plays out onscreen is absolutely striking. The narrative is totally personal, telling the tale so intimately from Jett's and Currie's points-of-view that the visceral nature of the film is almost unnerving. And that's really to Stewart's and Fanning's credit; they both play extremely reticent characters, and yet they still evoke penetrating internal views into the young women's experiences and friendship. For a band so flashy and loud, it may be a more cerebral take on the Runaways than fans would have expected, but the film's emotive style serves the group well, telling the side of the story that we didn't already know.