How
is it remotely possible the Plastic People of the Universe have yet to be
inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? They are not merely one of the
most enduring European hard rock bands in history. Their arrest and
imprisonment directly inspired the Charter 77 movement, thrusting a little-known
Czechoslovakian playwright named Vaclav Havel into international prominence.
They’re still rocking today. The story of how the PPU and their fellow
underground rockers helped undermine the Communist system is chronicled in Jim
Brown’s Free to Rock (trailer here), narrated by Kiefer
Sutherland, which is now available on DVD, just in time for Christmas.
During
the Cold War, America and the West enjoyed an overwhelming soft power advantage.
Radio Free Europe subtly spread an awareness of western freedom, particularly
effectively with rock & roll (FYI, Voice of America did something similar
with jazz). If you were a youth in the Baltics, you could listen to Elvis and
the Beatles on the outlawed RFE or stick with the opera and marching music on
the official State-sanctioned station. No contest.
Eventually,
the Soviets realized rock & roll was maybe here to stay, so they tried to
coopt the music with officially recognized, light beer versions of the rebel
rock bands known as VIAs, Vocal Instrumental Ensembles (it works in the
original Russian). The notorious Dean Reed (an expat American teen idol
failure) was definitely a VIA act. However, Free
to Rock challenges our perceptions of Dean, observing his presumptive
accidental death from drowning occurred shortly after an increasingly
disillusioned Reed expressed a desire to return to America.
Whether
or not Reed fully deserves his treasonous reputation, there are plenty of
genuine heroes in FTR. For instance,
there is Andrey Makaravich, who has yet again been harassed and demonized for
playing a benefit concert for Ukrainian orphans and refugees. In fact, we see
many of the old Cold War-era rockers reuniting for a concert protesting the
detention of Russian political prisoners, such as Pussy Riot and Khodorkovsky.
It
is quite inspiring that rock took a stand against tyranny during the Cold War—and
is starting to do so again under the Putin regime, but it is deeply depressing
that such effort might be necessary again. It is also rather unsightly to watch
Jimmy Carter take credit for the fall of Communism, because he sent the Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band on a goodwill tour in 1977. Fortunately, the rest of the film
is on solid historical (and moral) ground.
The
DVD release of FTR comes with a bonus
disk of the outtakes and supplemental material. Frankly, there is so much good
stuff on disk two, it is a shame it isn’t curated better, because a lot of
viewers will probably miss legendary Latvian rocker Pete Anderson visiting the
KGB building where he was tortured or the profile Russian rock journalist
Artemy Troitsky, who has been forced into exile in Estonia.
FTR’s subjects are true
rock & roll rebels. Heck, even its expert commentator Oleg Kalugin, a
former KGB General and Yeltsin ally, is currently wanted in Russia for treason.
The film itself might feel like a PBS special, because it was, airing
extensively this past summer. However, the stories of musicians like
co-producer Stas Namin are inspiring and their music is still potent. Highly
recommended as a gift for rock fans and Cold War history buffs, Free to Rock is now available on DVD,
from MVD Visual.
