Butthole Surfers documentary The Hole Truth And Nothing Butt reaches number one on Apple TV
Butthole Surfers documentary The Hole Truth And Nothing Butt has reached number one on Apple TV’s documentary movie chart for rentals and purchases in North America.
Released through Sumerian Pictures, the film is now available to rent or buy through Apple TV and Amazon, tracing the Texas agitators’ surreal collision of punk, psychedelia, noise and outright live chaos.
Directed by Tom Stern, the documentary combines archive material with animation, puppetry and reconstructions to examine the band’s notoriously confrontational world. Alongside the group’s own accounts, the film features contributions from Dave Grohl, Flea, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, Steve Albini, Ice-T, John Paul Jones, Donita Sparks, Eric Andre and filmmaker Richard Linklater.
A story built for the screen
Stern’s film focuses on the band’s rise through the 1980s underground, when their touring schedule and unpredictable performances helped establish a devoted following far beyond Texas. The documentary also considers the group’s influence on artists who came after them, from their abrasive sonic experiments to the anything-goes spectacle of their shows.
The band’s name, music and stagecraft regularly collided with mainstream expectations, while their audience grew around a scene that prized misfits, confrontation and absurdity. Their story later crossed into the wider culture through appearances on television, a first Lollapalooza appearance and a major-label record produced by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.
Stern said: “The Butthole Surfers are one of the most mind-blowing stories in rock history. Our goal was to make a film that captured their essence, so the ecstatic reactions of film festival audiences have been deeply gratifying. I’m thrilled Sumerian has joined forces with us to bring this experience to an ever wider audience.”
The Hole Truth And Nothing Butt previously won SXSW’s Best in Texas award, the documentary audience award at the Philadelphia Film Festival, and the grand jury prize for best documentary at the Independent Film Festival Boston.
The film is available now to rent or buy on Apple TV and Amazon.
