Ragnarök
| Ragnarök | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jonas Åkerlund |
| Produced by |
Alesha Bill Pohlad Susan Applegate Angela Becker Shelli Jury |
| Starring | Alesha |
| Narrated by | Alesha |
| Music by | Alesha |
| Cinematography | Eric Broms |
| Edited by | Jonas Åkerlund |
| Production companies |
Holy Trinity Entertainment MTV Films Paramount Pictures River Road Entertainment |
| Distributed by | MTV |
| Release dates | June 1, 2010 (United States) |
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million |
| Box office | $261,183,588 |
Ragnarök (meaning "final destiny of the gods") is a 2010 documentary film focused on the life of British recording artist Alesha. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the documentary follows Alesha from November 2009 to the opening night of her joint tour with Putanovska, The Reckoning. The documentary premiered at Cannes Film Festival on 12 May 2010 to rave reviews from contemporary film critics. Ragnarök received a worldwide release on 1 June 2010, becoming the most successful music documentary of all time. Intended to accompany Alesha's retirement from music, the film was released alongside a greatest hits compilation Last Judgment, an autobiography Líf and other projects (Alesha, however, returned to the spotlight a mere six months later).
Plot[edit | edit source]
The film reportedly begins with footage of the 17th Urapopstar Awards, showing segments of Alesha performing, presenting, and winning four prestigious awards. The mood comes crashing down with news footage covering Shell Ruin's reported death, which occured on the night of the awards ceremony. During the first scenes in the film, Alesha has kept herself locked in her home until close friends Putanovska and Ryan Dawson persuade her otherwise. The film follows Alesha through the promotion of singles "Good Mourning" and "Heavens Above Me" and the creation of her greatest hits album Last Judgment. The documentary culminates on the opening night of Alesha and Putanovska's joint headlining tour The Reckoning.
Critical reception[edit | edit source]
Entertainment Weekly called the documentary "bittersweet - euphoric as Alesha's legendary career is recalled, but sad in the sense that it's coming to a close." Renowned film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, claiming that "nothing is sacred and little is covered." Ebert called the film "one of the best, most candid and telling documentaries I have seen."
Commercial response[edit | edit source]
Ragnarök became the most successful music documentary of all time, earning $299 million worldwide.
See also[edit | edit source]
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