‘Dig! XX’ Review — One of the Greatest Rock Docs Ever Gets Even Weirder

Twenty years ago, documentarian Ondi Timoner released one of the greatest rock documentaries of all time with DIG!, which followed the bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols and their love-hate relationship over seven years. As The Dandy Warhols became something of an indie rock success in the late 90s, The Brian Jonestown Massacre became renowned for nightmarish live shows that often ended with fights among the band and the audience, as well as the band’s lead, Anton Newcombe’s absurd and disturbing behavior. DIG! became a fascinating look at the rock star lifestyle, as one band attempted to change things while working within the system, while the other couldn’t be any more anti-establishment.

Now, two decades after the Sundance release of DIG!—which won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize in 2004—the remarkable documentary has received a new edit, entitled DIG! XX, which includes 35 minutes of new footage. After all these years, this documentary is still as jarring, hilarious, and deeply strange as it ever was, and these new additions only make this shocking story even more astonishing.

What Does ‘DIG! XX’ Add to ‘DIG!’?

The original version of DIG! featured a narration from The Dandy Warhols’ singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor, and coming from the lead of the self-proclaimed “most well-adjusted band in the world,” DIG! at times felt like it could be a bit one-sided. As Taylor-Taylor praised his band for their modest successes to the top, he could also criticize the monstrous behavior of Newcombe. However, in this new cut, we get to see the other side of the story, with the occasional narration by Joel Gion, The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s eccentric tambourine player. It’s through his eyes that we realize that Taylor-Taylor wasn’t exaggerating, and things on the other side were even worse than originally imagined.

Featuring unseen footage, DIG! XX takes the time to delve deeper into Newcombe’s destructive behaviors, his addictions, and his dedication to being the start of “the revolution,” while also remaining underground. Seeing this additional half-hour of footage from The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s side of things is horrifying. They’re a group that is dedicated to Newcombe’s genius, but gets sucked into an attitude that will lead the band to remain stagnant for years. DIG! could often feel comedic in how these two bands counterbalance each other, but in DIG! XX, it becomes more clear than ever that this is truly a tragedy.

‘DIG! XX’ Gives Us Even More of Anton Newcombe

DIG! XX knows that the most interesting aspect of this story has always been Newcombe and plays on that. In this longer cut, we start to deeply understand the exhaustion and terror that one must feel being in a band with a leader who is a monster. The majority of the extra footage seems to be from the perspective of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s side of things, and we get to see just how dark things were from their end. Not only does that manifest itself in moments we’ve seen, like members leaving the band in the middle of nowhere, or Newcombe’s determination to get things “right,” from his point of view, but we also are shown just how much his drug use tears band what the band has built. What begins as the story of an underrated musician becomes a disastrous look at addiction and its path of destruction.

This new footage is compelling, for sure, but it shifts the tone of the film in ways that change how we view this story. Instead of being about two bands and their tribulations, it does begin to shift towards a focus on The Brian Jonestown Massacre, with The Dandy Warhols taking more of a backseat. For those who have lived with this doc for the last twenty years, it’s intriguing to see how these additions alter how this story functions. But for newcomers, this might not be as balanced as the original iteration.

Similarly, the addition of Gion doesn’t add too much to DIG! XX. At times, we’re shown the same footage again, or Gion is simply stating things that have already been said. At the very least, Gion’s narration does add some context from the last twenty years, as when The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s biggest fight was parodied on Gilmore Girls, what happened to some of these band members since 2004, and it all wraps up with a far stronger confluence of the two bands than how the original film ended. But Gion’s asides don’t add up to much—beyond exploring what happened after the events of DIG!—and his inclusion alongside this new BJM-focused footage does throw off the balance of the two bands a bit too much.

‘DIG! XX’ Can Sometimes Be Too One-Sided

Meanwhile, DIG! XX doesn’t add much in the way of The Dandy Warhols, and while that does make sense, considering how much of the footage is focused on The Brian Jonestown Massacre, it would’ve been nice to have some added insight after all these years from the other side. Again, we learn more about what they’ve been up to from the perspective of Gion, but it’s a bit of a shame that no one from the Dandys joined in on this retrospective anniversary edition.

But at its core, DIG! XX works because of what made the original DIG! so great. As The Dandy Warhols’ Peter Holmström succinctly puts it, “We are a lucky band. They are not a lucky band.” It’s the push and pull between these two bands, the highs and extreme lows, and the absolutely ludicrous path to hopeful success that still makes this a rockumentary classic twenty years later. Watching DIG! back in 2004, it was easy to think that Newcombe might become this underrated musical genius at some point, and now, after all these years, hearing the surprisingly excellent songs he’s created, it’s enough to make you still root for him, regardless of evidence that some things will never change. As a longtime fan, it’s great to see this new footage and learn more about the context of this story, but for someone who has never seen this film, DIG! XX is just as essential as it was back in 2004.

DIG! XX

REVIEW

DIG! XX takes a look at the great roc doc 20 years later, making new choices that alter the film, for better and for worse.

Pros

• The key clashing between The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre is still compelling.
• The new footage gives us a deeper look into Anton Newcombe.

Cons

• The added bits of narration don’t add much to the overall film.