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Poster for Kurt & Courtney

Kurt & Courtney

1998 · 1h 35m · R Documentary, Music
Directed by Nick Broomfield

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Overview

After rocker Kurt Cobain's death, ruled a suicide, a film crew arrives in Seattle to make a documentary. Director Nick Broomfield talks to lots of people. Portraits emerge: a shy, slight Kurt, weary of touring, embarrassed by fame, hooked on heroin; an out-going Courtney, dramatic, controlling, moving from groupie to star.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
62%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Our culture has notoriously short attention spans and memories, but Kurt and Courtney goes a long way toward undoing the meticulous public relations campaign that Love has orchestrated in an effort to whitewash her tarnished image.

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Fresh

The true circumstances of Cobain's death remain cloudy, but one comes away from the film unnerved by the distance travelled.

Daphne Merkin, New Yorker
Fresh

Kurt and Courtney is an entertaining swim through the muck of the rock underworld. But as journalism, it's an utterly sloppy piece of work.

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rotten

We do get a strong sense that Love is a loose cannon with a short fuse. But in a freewheeling documentary about a drug-addled rock-star couple that hardly qualifies as a news flash.

David Bianculli, New York Daily News
Fresh

It would be one mondo bizarro freak show but for the participation of some who clearly cared for the troubled young Cobain.

Michele Greppi, New York Post

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