Band memberAlan Wilder is credited with coming up with the album's title; the performance was the 101st and final performance of the tour (and coincidentally also the number of afamous highway in the area). The film was directed and produced byD. A. Pennebaker.
The band's original concept for the film was going to be about how Depeche Mode "fitted into" the 1980s. After discussions with an "experienced director", they came to the conclusion that the (unnamed) choice was going to do something "too glossy" and that they wanted to present something more nuanced and interesting. At this point, they reached out to renowned documentary filmmakerD. A. Pennebaker.[8] He accepted, but discarded their initial concept, feeling that it was "impossible to examine in an entertainingly cinematic fashion".[8]
Ultimately, the film focused on what Depeche Mode considered to be their strongest selling point—their live performance—as well as capturing the spirit of their fan base.[9] Notably, the film prominently features a group of young fans travelling across America as winners of a "be-in-a-Depeche Mode-movie-contest", which culminates at the band's landmark concert at theRose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.[9]
The film features performances at the Rose Bowl concert, interspersed with snippets of the band, the "bus kids" and live performances recorded throughout the tour. The 2003 DVD reissue included more concert footage, but as Pennebaker was "shooting a documentary, not a concert film", a complete video record of the Rose Bowl concert does not exist.[10]
Pennebaker used hisdirect cinema approach, which he described as "letting the camera run as unobtrusively as possible, thereby encouraging events to unfold on their own. [...] You edit more and the film changes every three days, but [the band] were very nice and patient about it."[8]
Pennebaker admitted there was a similarity between Depeche Mode and some of the other artists he'd filmed before (Bob Dylan andDavid Bowie): "I found the audience very rapt; they were there forthat band. Not any band would do. I got the feeling that maybe there was no other band they'd ever go out for again in that assemblage, and it made me take that audience fairly seriously."[8]
Due to the prominence of the "bus kids" in the film, it is widely considered to be the impetus for the "reality" craze that swept MTV in the following years, includingThe Real World andRoad Rules.[8][11][12][13]
In various interviews, DVD commentaries and on their own website, both Pennebaker and collaborator Chris Hegedus have cited101 as "their favourite" and "the one that was the most fun to make" out of all their films to date.[10][14]
In 2003, Mute Records reissued101 as a hybridSuper Audio CD (SACD). In essence, the two-disc set contained101 in three formats—multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD andPCM stereo (CD audio). The multi-channel audio was presented in 5.1 and gave a better representation of the live experience. The SACD was not released in North America.
Due to pressing errors, however, the first run of the set was marred by a mis-encoded multi-channel SACD layer that skipped and was unlistenable on the first disc. The stereo SACD and CD audio layers were unaffected.
As a bonus hidden track, the multi-channel layer also included the full version of "Pimpf".
In 2003, the film was released as a two-disc DVD with the feature film on the first disc, including a new commentary track with Pennebaker, Hegedus and the band. The second disc contained all-new interviews withDave Gahan,Martin Gore, andAndy Fletcher, with each interviewed about the solo projects they were working on at the time:Paper Monsters (Gahan),Counterfeit² (Gore) andClient (Fletcher). All three interviews were conducted separately by Pennebaker and Hegedus. Interviews withDaniel Miller, band manager Jonathan Kessler, and three of the "bus kids" were also included. Special bonus features included isolated video footage of the Rose Bowl concert, including previously unreleased footage.
Alan Wilder left the band in 1995, and declined to be involved with the re-release.
In 2021, the film was released on Blu-ray with upgraded image quality based on 4k scans of the original film, along with previously unreleased footage. A limited-edition box set was also released that includes a book, poster, and other special content.[15]
101 – The Movie (includes optional audio commentary with filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, and bandmembers Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^"Classifiche".Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved2 June 2022.Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Depeche Mode" in the "Artista" field, type "101" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
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