Ryan McNeil
Back when this selection was first announced as being part of TIFF ’08, I had one immediate thought: “I’m there!”. For those of you who don’t know me, if there’s anything I love as much as movies, it’s music. And when you cue up songs by U2, The White Stripes, and Led Zeppelin, you are definitely speaking my language. With all of this in mind, I entered The Ryerson tonight with only one question – could this movie possibly live up to the hype.
My friends, this movie lived up to everything I thought it would be…and then turned it up to eleven.
While my personal bias is clearly in play, I should mention that I have been disappointed by TIFF rock docs before (Movies like AMAZING JOURNEY and USA vs JOHN LENNON left me unimpressed). This doc, directed by Oscar winner David Guggenheim (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) celebrates the pure joy and craft of the guitar.
The doc is informative, entertaining, funny, and resulted in the first standing ovation I’ve been witness to this year. It’s filled with individual interviews, archival performances, gorgeous photography, and a seemingly endless soundtrack of rock. However, the movie really becomes worth the price of admission during the lengthy scenes where these three rock gods talk and jam together.
The screening was an event unto itself, but I’ll tell you about that later. I couldn’t possibly recommend this movie any higher. There are two more screenings at TIFF, and while the film will hit theatres in the next six months, no release date has yet been announced.
sounds awesome – would love to hear more details about the premiere and the film, particularly the edge parts … ( my blog / my email )