You can not take your attention away from this once it starts, it just rolls on and on from one predicament to another. The insight of a very hard working relationship with in the band The Who. Personalities, indulgences, the ideas and heart beat with in the band. Lambert and Kit had never managed a band before and the band where right at the beginnings of being a band. This film shows how it all merged and went along. The creativity, the action, the road to total out of control of money, drink and drugs, in amongst trying to be business men, plus a rock opera thrown in and travelling all over the World. Winning and losing, the make ups and the breakdowns. Kit and Lambert where a driving force at one time but the chaos that developed between Moon, Townshend, Entwhistle and Daltery became unrepairable as the over indulgences and money just got bigger and bigger., until things had to change for good.

I was very disappointed in this film. I may not be a Who fanatic, but I am a big Who fan, and "Who's Next" is my favorite all-time record album. So I thought I'd really enjoy this movie and learn more about The Who.I may have learned a few more things, but the film was a bore. I almost fell asleep around the 40 minute mark, so I turned it off, and finished it the next day, but it didn't get much better.I think part of the problem is that it's kind of a Who film, but not really. Lambert and Stamp are definitely the focus of this film, and when their life intersects with The Who (which is a significant part of their lives), then they'll talk about The Who. But even then, we hear Chris Stamp droning on and on and on about things, Barney Barnes droning on and on about things, etc. As others noted, this could have easily been cut down to 60 minutes, and might have been more enjoyable.And since this is about Kit Lambert's life, why didn't the director tell us how he died? I had to look it up after I saw the movie! Maybe the director wanted to show Lambert in a positive light, but since he's one of the stars of the movie, it was a glaring omission, and obviously an intentional one.Finally, as noted by Richardburkhard in his April, 2015 IMDb review, I would say there are almost definitely fake reviews that were submitted. Slobbering ratings of 10 for a movie where the person has reviewed no other films is kind of the giveaway. Don't be fooled by them.

"Lambert & Stamp" (2014 release; 117 min.) is a documentary about Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, 2 Brits best known for managing the Who for about a decade (mid-60s to mid-70s). As the documentary opens and after a few words from Pete Townsend, we are introduced to Chris Stamp, who starts telling stories of how t all began, him and Lambert in the early 60s trying to make the jump from assistant director to director. One day, they decide to shoot a movie, cinema verite-style, about an unknown band that they would manage. After looking for months for the right band, Lambert comes across a packed club full of Mods, dancing to an unknown band call the High Numbers. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.There are several factors why this is such an entertaining documentary: for one, it's a great story, I mean you can't make this stuff up! Then we are blessed to have the interviews with Chris Stamp, who turns out to be a master story teller (other interviewees include Pete Townsend, Roger and Heather Daltrey, and many others). Then we have the incredible luck that these guys were trying to shoot a movie, and hence we have all this incredible footage from the earliest days of the High Numbers/the Who (1964-65), and that alone is worth the price of admission for this documentary. There is tons of other worthwhile archive footage, such as the 1967 French TV footage, where we see Lambert give an interview in perfect French. We reach the "Tommy"-era about 75 min. into the movie, and I was afraid that things were going to become less interesting after that, but as it turns out, that's where the fireworks are about to start... As a casual fan of the Who but an ardent fan of rock music and its history, I found this documentary absolutely worth seeing. The only negative comment that I have is that for some strange reason, the sound mix in the theater was such that at times the background music (usually of the Who) played too loudly and as a result I had trouble understanding the interviewee at times. Very strange."Lambert & Stamp" opened last weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I finally had a chance to see it today, which is the last day of its one-week run here. The early evening screening where I saw this at was surprisingly well attended. Probably other movie or music fans who noticed it would not longer be playing. If you are a fan of the Who or of rock music history, you will not want to miss this. "Lambert & Stamp" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

We've seen our number of music documentaries over the years. We've even seen quite a big number of music documentaries concerning the iconic band 'The Who'. Showcasing their music, films, and bandmates, I thought there was nothing left to tell about 'The Who', but I was wrong. This documentary by James D. Cooper and expertly edited by Christopher Tellefsen, tells a story from a different point of view on 'The Who', specifically from Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, hence the title 'Lambert & Stamp'. It's an excellent and intriguing story of two men from very different backgrounds who were responsible for 'The Who'.Flush with tons of amazing archival footage of the band, the concerts, the behind the scenes, and new interviews with the remaining members of the band and close cohorts and family, 'Lambert & Stamp' is a fun and informative two hours. Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp were so involved and influential to the success of 'The Who', they are considered by Daltrey and Townshend as the "5th and 6th" members of the band. The one unfortunate thing about this documentary is that a few people have died, who were no here to give their side of the story. Most importantly, Kit Lambert, who died back in 1981 was not on hand to talk about the rise of 'The Who'. Neither was John Entwistle or Keith Moon, who have been dead for a number of years now. And even though Chris Stamp died only a couple of years ago, this documentary was shot before his death, thus we receive his very powerful and energetic account of memories and stories throughout the entire film.From time to time, Townshend and Daltrey discuss what they went through during the early years. But the story of 'The Who' is a unique one, because nobody wanted or even thought this band would be as big and influential as it was today. In fact, we find out that Kit Lambert (a posh and very wealthy son of a classical composer in high society) and Chris Stamp (a son of a tug boat captain who was known for fighting around town) met each other while working on a studio lot for film. Lambert and Stamp's passion were both in filmmaking and thought that if they could find a band, they could make a documentary about them, which would be their stepping stone to making bigger feature movies.They found a group of guys who thought playing music was fun, but not a long term thing. So from being called the 'High Numbers' to 'The Who', things definitely changed, as the young British kids took to the different style of music 'The Who' was creating like a duck to water. It even gave Lambert and Stamp to talk about live on television the changing times in a political and social setting, all the while promoting 'The Who'. We also find out that Lambert and Stamp pretty much operated on no money up until 'Tommy' was released, and it's great to hear the band members discuss what was like during this time. Of course there were some dark times too, which led to some professional breakups and even drug related deaths.But it's with the recent interviews with Chris Stamp that keeps things jovial and full of life, as he discusses intimate and fun adventures throughout his young life, running this band. They even talk about how they signed Jimi Hendrix to a record label when in fact they had no record label. It was all quite funny. Cooper and Tellefsen have conjured up and fast paced and fun-as-hell documentary about one of the best bands to ever play a live show anywhere. This is one documentary you don't want to miss out on.