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Watch the moving trailer for the Kurt Cobain documentary ‘Montage of Heck’

The trailer for the Kurt Cobain documentary "Montage of Heck" has been released.
The trailer for the Kurt Cobain documentary “Montage of Heck” has been released.
(Larry Davis / Los Angeles Times)
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The 2 1/2 minutes of the trailer for HBO’s Kurt Cobain documentary “Montage of Heck” seem to contain a whole lifetime.

The newly released first images from Brett Morgen’s production provide a hyper-intimate look at the inner life of the Nirvana frontman, and a strikingly original take on the music documentary format. Perhaps no rock artist of the last 30 years has been as pored-over as Cobain, but Morgen’s eight-plus years of work on the documentary proves there are still new angles to find.

The trailer -- a mix of home movies, taped interviews and original animation -- first portrays Cobain as an adorable towheaded child, a time in his life rarely (if ever) seen by Nirvana fans. Vivid animation sequences lead up to his turbulent teenagedom, while potent concert and music video footage lay out the incredible stardom that was soon to come.

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The documentary features interviews with most notable figures in the Nirvana universe (save for drummer and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, who taped his interview with Morgen too late to be included in the final release of the film).

All the while, the narrative is spliced through with heartbreakingly tender images of Cobain at home with wife Courtney Love and daughter Frances Bean. Though the entire music world knows of his drug addiction and suicide, these brief moments are reminders that Cobain had a private emotional and familial world largely unseen by fans before now.

Morgen has also said that “Heck” will include a previously undiscovered 12-minute acoustic performance by Cobain.

The documentary is set to air on HBO on May 4. Watch the trailer (currently hosted on Yahoo) here.

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