Cole Clay // Film Critic
LAMBERT & STAMP| 120 min | Rated R
Director: James D. Cooper
Cast: Christopher Stamp, Kit Lambert, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Terence Stamp
In the documentary LAMBERT & STAMP, we follow the unlikely partnership of Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert, who accidentally inspired a generation by nurturing one of the great rock bands of the 20th century, The Who.
Kit Lambert, a gay man who died in 1981, came from an upper class English family helmed by famous composer Constant Lambert. He exuded class, spoke several languages and attended Oxford. Stamp, who died in 2012, came from a working class background and is the brother of renowned actor Terence Stamp. The duo entered the arts to pick up girls and to ultimately make their own films, but they found that task to be increasingly difficult. They found a way to shoehorn their way into managing a band called The High Numbers, who ultimately became The Who. And as they say, “The Rest is History…”
James D. Cooper puts his directorial debut to good use with clever talking-head interviews with the likes of the Chris Stamp, his brother Terence, and the surviving members of The Who– guitarist Pete Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltry. The story penetrates the burgeoning counter culture of a generation that craved rebellion and expression. His use of archival footage blends verite’ concepts that harken back to some of the most revered “roc-docs” like DON’T LOOK BACK and GIMME SHELTER.
Cooper infuses his own style and voice to reminisce seminal moment in the history of rock n’ roll that may never have happened if it weren’t for LAMBERT & STAMP.
LAMBERT & STAMP opens tomorrow (5/8) at Angelika Film Center Dallas and Sundance Cinemas Houston
