The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN takes us into the studio with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for the recording of their pivotal album. Grammy Award® and Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny has gained access to extensive, never-before-seen footage shot between 1976 and 1978, capturing home rehearsals and recording sessions that allow us to hear songs in their earliest stages. For those uninitiated to Springsteen, the film unlocks the door to a rich musical world. For fans, it’s a trip to paradise.

New interviews with Springsteen and the band – who all recall the period in rich, vivid detail – bring fresh perspective to the archival footage. Prior to recording Darkness, the band had experienced a worldwide hit with the album Born to Run, which was musically influenced by Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production technique. Everyone, including fellow band members, expected Springsteen to follow that seminal celebration of youth with something similar, but Springsteen became enmeshed in a lawsuit with former management that halted recording for two years. By the time the case was settled, Springsteen – now teamed with new producer Jon Landau – had found fresh storytelling inspiration in country and western icons like Hank Williams, while also gravitating towards the new, stripped-down sounds of punk. In songs like “Factory” and “Racing in the Street,” he explored new themes about reckoning with the adult world and the compromises it demanded.

  • Country USA
  • Rating NR
  • Running Time 85 minutes
  • Director Thom Zimny

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