Neil Young - Heart Of Gold (DTS DVD-Video
set)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B-
Neil Young is one of Rock’s greatest legends and survivors
for so many reasons that maybe a full-length book would begin to explain it
all, but he is an American Original, one of the most important voices in
American music up there with Bob Dylan and has never, ever sold out. Still hanging in there with solid vocals,
seemingly endless creativity, never pulling any punches about his politics and
just amazing love of music, director Jonathan Demme (in his best work in many
years) has filmed a new documentary called Neil Young – Heart Of Gold.
This 2006 release bares the title of one of his greatest
songs, a record that remains a classic and megahit to this day, but it is also
about the man and ironic in that it remains his only Top 30, Top 10 and #1 solo
hit, yet here he is decades later as resilient as ever. Also on his name, he has had far more hit
albums than singles over the years, showing the huge respect, fan base and
pulling power of his name and talent against the conventional Pop hit record
wisdom. He performs Heart Of Gold,
Harvest Moon and many other classics that fill out the majority of the
film’s 103 minutes. Reminding one of The
Last Waltz in look, the music moments are golden ones fans will love
watching over and over again. I wanted
to learn a little more about Young, but Demme chose the music and that is still
more than sufficient.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot by cinematographer
Ellen Kuras, A.S.C., looks good, but not great because it is stylized to have a
slightly dark look and it is still a documentary, but the music stage
performances look good and Emmylou Harris benefits in particular. Interesting work indeed. The sound is here in Dolby Digital 2.0,
Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 mixes, with the DTS being a little better, but neither
being overwhelming. Still, the DTS is
better, with some reservations. Extras
include bonus performances not seen in theaters, six featurettes, a diary
directed by Demme and in a bittersweet moment, Young’s 1971 appearance on The
Johnny Cash Show. Even when the
film does not work, these extras do, making this double set enough of a winner
for everyone.
- Nicholas Sheffo
