20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
88%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
8 wins & 18 nominations total
Revealing yet respectful, 20,000 Days on Earth is essential viewing for any Nick Cave fan
20,000 Days on Earth is a documentary that’s as slow-paced as the number of days it covers, but it’s worth the watch if you’re a fan of Nick Cave. The film captures the essence of Cave’s creative process and his interactions with others, making you feel like you’re right there with him. The filmmakers’ use of lighting and composition is impressive, but they do occasionally cross the line into pretentiousness. Overall, it’s a gripping portrait of one of rock’s last true iconoclasts, and you’ll come away feeling inspired by Cave’s creativity and action. Plus, who wouldn’t want to spend 20,000 days with Nick Cave?
Production Company(ies)
New Line Cinema, Wing Nut Films, The Saul Zaentz Company,
Distributor
Drafthouse Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 2014 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2015
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $2,105,558
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,631,415
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,342
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 286,959
US/Canada gross: $279,558
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $349,377
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,422
US/Canada opening weekend: $27,879
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $34,842
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,326
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Darian Leader – Therapist
Blixa Bargeld – Self
Kylie Minogue – Self
Ray Winstone – Self
Warren Ellis – Self
Director(s)
Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
Writer(s)
Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
Producer(s)
James Wilson, Dan Bowen
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
8 wins & 18 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (88) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (4)
“Something happens onstage,” Cave says, “where you forget who you are and become someone else.” As much as any documentary can, 20,000 Days on Earth allows us to bear witness to what goes on in that process.
January 5, 2015
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The title refers to the fact that the day chronicled is ostensibly Cave’s 20,000th alive, though the movie is so slowly paced that 20,000 days seems more like the running time.
January 5, 2015
Tal Rosenberg
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Near the end of the movie, Cave talks about living in the ‘shimmering space’ where imagination and reality intersect. He’s talking about words and music, but he could be talking about 20,000 Days on Earth.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Liz Braun
Toronto Sun
TOP CRITIC
Forsyth and Pollard are visual artists-turned-filmmakers and their fine feel for the romantic possibilities of lighting and composition shape every frame. They’re less sensitive to the line that separates drama from pretentiousness.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
An intelligent and revealing look at one of rock’s last true iconoclasts.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: A-
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
You don’t just meet and learn about Nick Cave in “20,000 Days,” you feel him.
October 24, 2014 | Rating: B+
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
A gripping portrait of Nick Cave that simultaneously mythologises and debunks its subject matter…
April 22, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Alex Denney
NME
The performances and behind-the-scenes practices are rocking and revealing. Conversations are generous and surprising; Cave’s monologuing inspiring, a celebration of a creativity and action.
February 1, 2020
Jeremy Polacek
Hyperallergic
20,000 Days on Earth is best in the moments where we see Cave interact with others.
November 27, 2019 | Rating: 3.8/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
We’re carried through in impressionistic fashion, sound and vision beautifully in sync with stirring images of the Brighton landscape where Cave lives and gig footage that betters any recent concert movie.
April 3, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Ed Frankl
CineVue
The film ultimately uncannily honours the ethos of Cave the musician, as it in a sense – like him – enjoys mythologising storytelling and the creative process.
December 2, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
There’s an ambition to Forsyth and Pollard’s work that’s hard to deny, as well as a refreshingly quixotic commitment to tweaking the generic conventions of the promotional piece they’re making.
November 13, 2017
Angelo Muredda
Cinema Scope…
Plot
“20,000 Days on Earth” is a dramatization of a day in the life of musician and cultural icon Nick Cave, featuring a therapist’s questions and a visit to a voluminous archive.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features musician and cultural icon Nick Cave, as well as appearances from other musicians such as Kylie Minogue and Blixa Bargeld.
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