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Plot Summary
Set against the backdrop of hedonistic, swinging, early ’60s London, Telstar shares the stranger-than-fiction true story of Joe Meek (Tony Award-winner Con O’Neill, who originated the role on London stage). An enormously talented but quirky maverick who blazed a unique path as the world’s first independent music producer, Meek changed the industry forever and earned adulation as a pioneer of British pop. He enjoyed enormous success early on with the biggest selling record of its time, Telstar, the first British album to hit #1 on American charts. But the flamboyant, tone-deaf songwriter was also a deeply troubled soul – dabbling in the occult and addicted to amphetamines – and his decline was as meteoric and spectacular as his rise. Bad luck, depression, heartbreak and paranoia soon lead to violence and self-destruction. Also starring two-time Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects) and Pam Ferris (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Original Soundtrack Features: Arthur Askey, The Blue Rondos, Duffy, The Flee-Rekkers, Billy Fury, Heinz, Honeycombs, Alan Klein, Johnny Leyton, The Moontrekkers, The Outlaws, The Packabeats, Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages, Syndicats, The Tornados and Gene Vincent.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
84%- Reviews Counted: 25
- Fresh: 21
- Rotten: 4
- Average Rating: 5.9/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: Fairly crackles with character and period flavor for its first 90 minutes but is let down by a repetitive and tiresomely maudlin final half-hour.
Fresh: Nick Moran definitely emphasizes certain characteristics of the idiosyncratic producer over others for affect, but this is still as fascinating portraits in parts.
Fresh: Even if 'Telstar' can't quite get the measure of its fascinating material, its pluck and ambition prove infectious enough to outweigh its flaws.
Fresh: This is Meek's show, and as a wild and hostile central character (the bellowed phrase "F*** off" is never far from his lips) he is likely to fascinate and alienate in equal measure.
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