In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50

synopsis

What began as a documentary about guitarist Robert Fripp's notorious prog rock band King Crimson mutated and evolved into something very different than a standard rock documentary - an exploration of music, time, cults, mortality, and the transcendent power of art to change lives. But with jokes. In the Court of the Crimson King is a dark, comic film for anyone who wonders whether it is worth sacrificing everything for just a single moment of transcendence. Director Toby Amies follows the current band on a world tour and also seeks out ex members who provide hilarious, moving and sometimes bitter insight into what it's like to play in the world's most demanding rock band watched over by the vigilant eye of Fripp, once described by Bill Bruford as “a cross between Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi and the Marquis De Sade”.