Chris Smith’s film about the New Wave greats will arrive on the streamer in August after earning rave reviews at Sundance last year
The Devo documentary that earned rave reviews at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival will finally get a wide release on Netflix later this summer.
It was revealed that the streaming service had acquired the film — succinctly titled Devo — last month, and now a release date has been set for Aug. 19. Directed by Chris Smith, Devo tracks the formation, rise, creative evolution, and cultural impact of the post-punk/New Wave/geek rock greats. It features a plethora of rare archival footage, as well as interviews with Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and more.
In a review of the film following its Sundance premiere, Rolling Stone film critic David Fear wrote, “Devo lets you know that it’s the definitive portrait of an art project by mimicking its subject’s Dada-meets-deadpan-humor aesthetic.”
The films arrival on Netflix is part of an array of celebrations planned for this year as Devo mark 50-plus years together (the band formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973). For instance, Devo just launched a new bi-weekly YouTube series called Devolutionary Times, which will find them sharing newly restored Devo videos and films.
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The videos will be released chronologically, starting this week with “The Truth About De-Evolution,” a nine-minute short film directed by Chuck Statler released in 1976. It features performances of “Secret Agent Man” and “Jocko Homo.”
Devo are also set to hit the road later this year, with the band announcing a co-headlining tour with the B-52s. The Cosmic De-Evolution Tour will kick off Sept. 24 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto and wrap Nov. 2 at the Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion in Houston.
