Cool & Crazy on the
Road (concert documentary)
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: D Program: B-
A few years ago, a documentary was issued called Cool
& Crazy (2001) and was such a favorite that a new program was made
later that year in New York. In a twist
of fate no one expected, the 9/11 massacre occurred and the traditional
Norwegian choir was faced with a very different audience than they expected, in
a situation no one expected.
When the first one came out, it was of how wonderful,
charming and talented these men (supposedly) were. If the music did not appeal to you, it was an unpleasant
sit. Director Knut Erik Jensen returns
to shoot this sequel, but a new concert experience buoyed by the success of
their art house film quickly degenerates into an American bashing fest!
Yes, all the sudden, its open season on the U.S. and how
evil we are and how 9/11 was inevitable.
Sometimes, I agree with what I hear, such as U.S. media being overly
slanted since Vietnam. That’s
fair. However, all involved go on
diatribes about what an awful, mad, power-hungry country we are. If they are that unhappy, they did not have
to stay. No one forced them. They certainly are friendly to those who are
helping sell their film, and in effect, these DVDs. The director and editors go all out to edit this into a
propaganda film that demonstrates their detest of the U.S. By comparison, Michael Moore’s Bowling
for Columbine might be abrasive and even inaccurate (and now somewhat dated
already), but at least it has a political angle. Anyone expecting to revisit those “sweet old men” may be in for a
huge shock!
The 1.78 X 1 image was shot on videotape and looks far
better than the strange look of the first Cool & Crazy DVD. The review copy I had years ago before the
advent of this site was anamorphically enhanced and did not decode properly on
my particular machine. Though I was
accused of not knowing how to set my TV correctly by a fan of the film that was
suckered into the “sweet old men” syndrome, this ignorant individual never
personally consulted me and misinformation about that DVD has been prevalent
ever since. Another critic will be
covering that DVD elsewhere on this site, but its picture definition either way
is not as good as this DVD. This new
program is also anamorphically enhanced and is not bad. There are still some PAL problems with
slight ghosting and detail trouble, but it works well enough.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo plays in Pro Logic surround,
decoding nicely for the music.
Otherwise, this is a primarily dialogue-driven work and decoding places
interviews into the center channel. Too
bad it did not go through the front three speakers at least, because that would
have made the discussions more accessible.
The few extras include a photo gallery, trailer gallery, and brief
biography of director Jensen.
Again, I do not mind anyone having an opinion, but I find
it almost sinister that the producers would pervert expectation and act
holier-than-thou about their and the singers place in the world versus “those
Americans”. As you know, ignorance is
bliss and living in the clouds as both programs literally want its audience to
surrender themselves to is as Fascist as anything they could ever accuse the U.S.
of.
- Nicholas Sheffo
