INTERNATIONAL ROME FILM FESTIVAL

Bruce Springsteen will be at the Festival for the film “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town On” on 1st November, a movie by Thom Zimny, in competition within the Extra section coordinated by Mario Sesti. One of rock and roll’s greatest living myths has accepted to participate in the Rome Film Festival, where the film will be premiered. The film, which has received an amazing approval in the U.S., shows the making of a famous album, Darkness on the Edge of Town, which was the product of a defining creative phase for Springsteen. After 1976 and his success with Born to Run, Springsteen began a totally different project which gave a decisive change to his style. In just a few weeks he filled his notebook with lyrics for over 50 songs. A new masterpiece was about to be created, and this film narrates both his artistic research (the desire to recreate in studio the sound of the band playing live) and his intense aesthetic and existential aspiration (“More than rich, more than famous, more, more than happy, I wanted to be great”, Springsteen confesses). “It was a great experience to work with Bruce, Jon Landau and the E Street Band”, says director Thom Zimny. “It is a great honor for me to participate in this worderful Festival, and I’m really thrilled at the idea of presenting my film”. Multi-awarded director, and formerly Springsteen’s stage collaborator and archivist for over ten years, Zimny reconstructed with The Promise the rehearsals and the recording, between 1976 and 1978, of one of the most important albums in the history of music. At the same time he gathered testimonies of all those who took part in that unique season (Patti Smith, manager Jon Landau, Patti Scialfa and other members of the E Street Band). Seldom have images testified the work of an artist with such simplicity, realism and evidence. Springsteen was 26 years old back then, and the white and black images in which he appears as a tireless young man facing an extraordinary feat, makes him very similar to an actor of a fascinating film. On 16th November Sony Music will be releasing The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story by Bruce Springsteen. A fantastic Deluxe Package comprising over 6 hours of film and unseen footage, and more than two hours of audio realized in years 1976-1978. A rich box set containing 3 CDs: one with the 2010 remastered version of the 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and two CDs with 21 previously-unreleased songs. Among these, the extraordinary rock version of Racing in the Street, the original recordings of Because the Night, Fire, and Rendezvous, the supreme pop opus Someday (We’ll Be Together), the hilarious Ain’t Good Enough for You, the superb soul-based vocal performance on The Brokenhearted, the utterly haunting Breakaway, and the fully orchestrated masterpiece and title song The Promise. All 21 songs have been mixed by Springsteen’s long-time collaborator Bob Clearmountain. Besides, The Promise: Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story includes material that is not to be missed: an 80-page notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen’s original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to never-seen-before photographs. The three dvds/Blurays will include the following: 90 minutes of unseen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band between 1976 and 1978 (with both rehersals at home and sessions in studio), as well as new interviews with Bruce Springsteen, the members of the E Street Band, manager Jon Landau, ex manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the production of the album. This extraordinary documentary will be presented in Italy, at the International Rome Film Festival, at the presence of director Thom Zimny, winner of Emmies and Grammy Awards A long set of 4 hours with images from Thrill Hill’s archive with live and in studio performances, recorded from 1976 to 1978. Among these, 5 famous songs from the Phoenix concert held in July 1978, recorded for promotional purposes and never totally used with the exclusion of ‘Rosalita’. An HD recording with the execution of the album Darkness On The Edge Of Town in its wholeness and with the full sequence of the songs. It was recorded in 2009 at the Paramount Theather of Asbury Park, without audiences in order to recreate the atmosphere of the original album. At the same time of The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town, a double CD will be released, The Promise, which will exclusively contain the 21 unheard songs.

by Ilaria Rebecchi

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