TRIUMPH ROCK AND ROLL MACHINE movie review

TRIUMPH: ROCK AND ROLL MACHINE is directed by Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli. The film features a combination of new interview footage with band members, family, friends, and contemporaries, and vintage clips and archival footage of the band, as well as new animated sequences.

Gil Moore, Mike Levine, and Rik Emmett were Triumph, the Canadian power trio. Forming in Canada in the middle of the 1970s, the group won audiences over with a combination of sounds, blistering live performances with pyro and laser lights, and impactful MTV music videos. The group largely lived in the shadows of another Canadian trio, Rush, and ultimately imploded due to management disputes and in-fighting, and ill-fated attempts to keep the band going into the 90s. Despite this, the band opts to reunite for a fan event, uniting and playing for a select group of fans for what may be the final time.

ROCK AND ROLL MACHINE is the long-awaited documentary from one of Canada’s greatest rock bands. If any band deserves a doc, it’s certainly these guys, who had their share of successes even if they’re largely overlooked compared to many of their contemporaries. It’s great to get an ensemble cast of interviewees and looks at many era of the group. The archival footage, new interviews, and animation all come together nicely to create a mostly satisfactory final product, but the 97-minute running time is too limited to give the band the in-depth treatment it needs.

ROCK AND ROLL MACHINE succeeds in finding plenty of rare archival footage to show off for fans of the group. This is fantastic; seeing this rare video content is worth the price of admission alone. You’ll love what you see if Triumph is one of your favorite bands. It includes old school content of the band playing small and big stages alike, shedding some light on the group’s youth and early musical genesis. These clips and photographs tell one hell of a rock and roll story, from the clubs of Canada to the stages of the 1983 US Festival.

Despite their past differences, the three classic members are assembled for this documentary. Rik, Mike, and Gil are all interviewed, sharing their experiences, and of course, uniting for the fan event. It’s especially surprising to see that the documentary doesn’t overlook guitarist Phil X, who briefly replaced Rik Emmett in the early 1990s, who is also given some interview time. Also interviewed are several fans, as well as record industry man Irving Azoff, and even fellow Canadian rocker/superfan Sebastian Bach!

The doc also incorporates animation for certain sequences for which there isn’t a proper visual in the form of photographs or video footage. This isn’t anything new when it comes to rock docs, but it’s incorporated well here, further adding to the flow of things.

Unfortunately, the doc does suffer from a handful of problems that prevent it from reaching rock doc greatness. The 97-minute running time means that this presentation only gets to scratch the surface, only covering much of the subject matter briefly. While this fan appreciated the “fan event” content, much of this could’ve been excised to focus more on band history. What’s absolutely criminal here is that there’s not a single mention of touring band member Rick Santers, not to mention certain albums aren’t even mentioned/talked about/shown. The limited running time and omitted content work against the final product, though the end result is still good.

The film is available on Blu-ray Disc, however there are no bonus features (or even on-disc menus) whatsoever.

Triumph has long needed a documentary. ROCK AND ROLL MACHINE mostly succeeds despite a too-short running time, and fans of the band should be mostly happen with what they find. It’s tough to say if this film will make any new fans, but the end results are mostly satisfactory. Moderately recommended.