The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel

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The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel

2026

1h 33m

Music

Documentary

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12 Reviews

90%

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50+ Ratings

Gritty, formative years of the Los Angeles band and the influence of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988. It features interviews with bandmates Flea and Anthony Kiedis who discuss the band's early evolution.

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Craig Mathieson

The Age (Australia)

Apr 7

3/5

The formative years – we’re talking the 1980s – of a band now in its institutional twilight provides a portrait of creativity that comes with palpable energy and tragic loss.

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

Mar 19

2.5/4

Like most music docs, 'The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Our Brother Hillel’ will work best for fans of its subject.

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Daniel Fienberg

The Hollywood Reporter

Mar 16

A highly entertaining, full of ridiculously fun early footage of the band and its predecessors, and deeply emotional, with Flea succeeding in making me tear up on multiple occasions.

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Hannah Brown

Jerusalem Post

Jun 2

It’s a sad story but a moving one, because the affection they still feel for Slovak is palpable.

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Stephen Silver

Living Life Fearless

Mar 31

This doesn’t feel like most music documentaries, as it’s not overly sanitized, nor does it seem like Part 1 of a multipart Chili Peppers career retrospective.

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Jennifer Green

Common Sense Media

Mar 31

4/5

This is a sensitive piece of filmmaking with insights into the band's origins as well as how its members today, once head-banging punk rockers, now feel about their lives and legacies.

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Jason H

@RT50328122 May 4

This documentary is essentially the band members talking about how great Hillel Slovak was, and how sad they are about his overdose. Honestly, it comes off as rather whiny.

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Indiana S

@JayStates Apr 24

My new favourite music documentary. I was fascinated from beginning to end, and as mentioned by others, Flea had me tearing up.

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TheMovieSearch R

@TheMovieSearch Apr 10

The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel is a solid and emotionally heavy documentary that pulls you into the early days of the band while honoring Hillel Slovak’s legacy. It does a great job building nostalgia and showing how the Red Hot Chili Peppers came up, but it also does not shy away from the darker realities of their journey. The film dives into the drug use, chaos, and struggles that defined their early years, and at times it becomes genuinely gut-wrenching to watch. What works well is the balance between storytelling and structure. It does not overwhelm you with constant interviews, instead mixing in archival footage and narrative so it remains engaging and easy to follow. You stay invested without feeling lost or bored. However, it may not make you a bigger fan. Instead, it leaves you with a deeper understanding and a bit of sadness about what they endured. Overall, it is a well-made, honest documentary that captures the cost their journey.

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Shane K

@RT64204319 Apr 6

I loved it. Fan of the Chilis since ‘89, so it resonated with me and brought back lots of great memories. Quite deep and heavy in the last 30 minutes for sure.

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Whit M.

@whitface Mar 31

Sharp, compassionate, rocking. A beautiful documentary.

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Sal D

@JustTheLaw Mar 30

What makes documentary so good is the gritty reality of the contributors. It is a raw, authentic look at three friends/brothers in arms. No sunglasses, no jagged edits. I did not know of Hillel Slovak as a guitarist before this film, but he obviously left him imprint on the people he left behind in ways I can only hope to have touched so deeply.

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Ben Feldman

Director

Flea

Self

Anthony Kiedis

Self

Chad Smith

Self

Dave Navarro

Self

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Self

The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Gritty, formative years of the Los Angeles band and the influence of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988. It features interviews with bandmates Flea and Anthony Kiedis who discuss the band's early evolution.

Director: Ben Feldman
Producer: Marc D'Agostino
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Submarine Entertainment, Netflix
Genre: Music, Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 20, 2026
Runtime: 1h 33m

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