Rating: 
Summary: Great work! Solid!
Review: "Instrument" is not a Fugazi biography or "rockumentary," that would be too self-serving-it's about the music of Fugazi. This is just as well since the music is what Fugazi is all about. Although for someone new to Fugazi, "Instrument" would serve as an excellent introduction to the Fugazi low-down. Cohen's usage of mixed-film formats, sound edits, variable synchronization between the two, not to mention the selected the subject matter, comprise a down to earth film which evokes a great understanding of Fugazi's reality, and, more importantly, provides a moving experience. To underscore the aforementioned, in accordance with Fugazi's philosophy of moving onward and not duplicating previous work, none of the music, or versions of, featured in "Instrument" is previously released. A lot of cool demos and live performances provide for a damn good soundtrack. "Instrument" is a must view for any Fugazi fan, or anyone who appreciates great music and respects the makers of it.
Rating:
Summary: Great work! Solid!
Review: "Instrument" is not a Fugazi biography or "rockumentary," that would be too self-serving-it's about the music of Fugazi. This is just as well since the music is what Fugazi is all about. Although for someone new to Fugazi, "Instrument" would serve as an excellent introduction to the Fugazi low-down. Cohen's usage of mixed-film formats, sound edits, variable synchronization between the two, not to mention the selected the subject matter, comprise a down to earth film which evokes a great understanding of Fugazi's reality, and, more importantly, provides a moving experience. To underscore the aforementioned, in accordance with Fugazi's philosophy of moving onward and not duplicating previous work, none of the music, or versions of, featured in "Instrument" is previously released. A lot of cool demos and live performances provide for a damn good soundtrack. "Instrument" is a must view for any Fugazi fan, or anyone who appreciates great music and respects the makers of it.
Rating: 
Summary: beautiful...
Review: A beautifully done film. Being a 'just more than casual' Fugazi fan for about 10 years, the film really sort of de-mystified a band that i've long felt familiar with but never really investigated in-depth. I think musically and lyrically i've always felt a little perplexed and somewhat in awe of what they're saying. The level of intelligence there albums have have always kept my interest - and struck me with a certain 'where do they get this stuff' feeling. This film helps to see where they're coming from more clearly. it may be slow at points but it defiantely keeps me in awe. It also brings any sort of 'rock star status' back down to earth thus, helping me realize as a music fan, what role music plays in my life and alleviating any vague-ness I may have about why i go out and spend my hard earned money on this stuff. On a technical note however, I do think there's something up with the DVD. I returned one thinking it was defective my player couldn't see it. my player also had a hard time seeing the second one I bought - but it did work. However my computer wouldn't see the first or second one i had.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful...
Review: A beautifully done film. Being a 'just more than casual' Fugazi fan for about 10 years, the film really sort of de-mystified a band that i've long felt familiar with but never really investigated in-depth. I think musically and lyrically i've always felt a little perplexed and somewhat in awe of what they're saying. The level of intelligence there albums have have always kept my interest - and struck me with a certain 'where do they get this stuff' feeling. This film helps to see where they're coming from more clearly. it may be slow at points but it defiantely keeps me in awe. It also brings any sort of 'rock star status' back down to earth thus, helping me realize as a music fan, what role music plays in my life and alleviating any vague-ness I may have about why i go out and spend my hard earned money on this stuff. On a technical note however, I do think there's something up with the DVD. I returned one thinking it was defective my player couldn't see it. my player also had a hard time seeing the second one I bought - but it did work. However my computer wouldn't see the first or second one i had.
Rating:
Summary: This video is amazing
Review: Fugazi is amazing, as is this video
Rating:
Summary: How Special Of You, Jem
Review: I love this movie...and I hate this movie. Some of it, particularly the early concert material, thrills me more than just about any rock footage, ever. As a collector of punk/hardcore video (Pistols, Clash, Iggy Pop, Minor Threat, X, Circle Jerks, Big Black, Sonic Youth...) I don't give such praise lightly. Fugazi are equally powerful in the interview segments, where they come off as more intelligent, passionate and witty than on their records. Everything this band is about is represented (in some form or other) in this film, and I'm stunned by Cohen's skill and concision in portraying them so vividly in just two hours. To watch it repeatedly is to fall in love with Fugazi. Somehow these highlights only make my frustration with the film worse. Some stretches are infected with the dreaded "Rattle and Hum" disease: "casual" interviews more boring than disarming, a confusing chronology, and some unspeakably artsy b & w footage of blurry buildings, slow-motion jamming without live sound, and dazed concertgoers. This stuff would be forgivable from a freshman film-school angle if it didn't seem to necessitate butchering some great band performances. Because Fugazi are basically about music, especially live music. And my main objection is that this movie, for all its wit and integrity, gives no sense of what Fugazi were like in concert. No song is shown from beginning to end; they are all interrupted, disemboweled, or shown at varying speeds with average studio jams dubbed over them. Think about it--a stage performance is a pure presentation of thought and emotion that needs no reinterpretation. Quite often you wonder at the arrogance of a film-maker who imposes his artistic vision over that of the band. Or, to be plain, you get bloody pissed when a great song is cut off or drowned out to suit the Auteur's self-indulgence. So, people, if you want to live the genius of the live Fugazi, try to catch them while they're still around. For all its power this film makes me sad, both because a no-bs style would've been much more exciting, and because the Fugazi show I saw in 1988 had little of the dynamite contained in its best moments.
Rating:
Summary: How Special Of You, Jem
Review: I love this movie...and I hate this movie. Some of it, particularly the early concert material, thrills me more than just about any rock footage, ever. As a collector of punk/hardcore video (Pistols, Clash, Iggy Pop, Minor Threat, X, Circle Jerks, Big Black, Sonic Youth...) I don't give such praise lightly. Fugazi are equally powerful in the interview segments, where they come off as more intelligent, passionate and witty than on their records. Everything this band is about is represented (in some form or other) in this film, and I'm stunned by Cohen's skill and concision in portraying them so vividly in just two hours. To watch it repeatedly is to fall in love with Fugazi. Somehow these highlights only make my frustration with the film worse. Some stretches are infected with the dreaded "Rattle and Hum" disease: "casual" interviews more boring than disarming, a confusing chronology, and some unspeakably artsy b & w footage of blurry buildings, slow-motion jamming without live sound, and dazed concertgoers. This stuff would be forgivable from a freshman film-school angle if it didn't seem to necessitate butchering some great band performances. Because Fugazi are basically about music, especially live music. And my main objection is that this movie, for all its wit and integrity, gives no sense of what Fugazi were like in concert. No song is shown from beginning to end; they are all interrupted, disemboweled, or shown at varying speeds with average studio jams dubbed over them. Think about it--a stage performance is a pure presentation of thought and emotion that needs no reinterpretation. Quite often you wonder at the arrogance of a film-maker who imposes his artistic vision over that of the band. Or, to be plain, you get bloody pissed when a great song is cut off or drowned out to suit the Auteur's self-indulgence. So, people, if you want to live the genius of the live Fugazi, try to catch them while they're still around. For all its power this film makes me sad, both because a no-bs style would've been much more exciting, and because the Fugazi show I saw in 1988 had little of the dynamite contained in its best moments.
Rating: 
Summary: format hassles
Review: i wish this was available in a format that would enable me to watch it, having bought the soundtrack six months ago.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting documentary for a landmark band
Review: I'm not going to explain Fugazi to you, if you're reading this you probably already love them. So, on to the DVD. It's a documentary, by Jem Cohen, who collaborated with the band since 1987. You get plenty of live footage, studio stuff, outtakes, touring moments, and a mass of interviews that NAIL exactly what Fugazi is all about. Well, worth this Fugazi fan's money, and well worth yours too. I can't say that about many other bands.
Rating:
Summary: A journey into the mind of a very unique band
Review: I've liked Fugazi for some time now, perhaps several years, but all I knew of them up until I saw this video was the CDs I had and the select interviews I'd been lucky enough to stumble across along the way. Of course, everyone who's into HC or punk knows exactly who Ian Mackaye is, but as for the band as a complete unit operating together, I was all ears. The actual film is very stylishly shot and put together. There's loads of on-stage antics, both comical and musical, straight away proving that the band can be fun, even though their albums can sound a bit serious and sombre at times. There's lots and lots of stock footage of the band giving interviews and small talks about what they're up to both on the stage and off, and there's also lots of really interesting footage of fans giving their views of the band outside the stage doors before and after shows. Now, this to me was especially intersting, because I found out that after just half an hour after the film had started that the band had a very definite view of what they do, so I was keen to hear what the fans thought. Some loved it and were very descriptive as to why they thought the band were so good (revolutionary, alternative and original are words that cropped-up), some just found them as they took them and went along after hearing just one song, and some folks really didn't like them, saying stuff like Ian Mackaye was a rock star and they were just full of it. It makes sense that a band like this can cause such diverse views about them. The thing is about original, and especially alternative artists, is that there is a certain kind of front to their sound that implies either a welcoming gesture of 'Hey, we're here. Hope you like it!', or it can be taken as 'Step aside, we're too cool for you!' I wouldn't personally say that Fugazi give across such an arrogant and self-congratulating stance, but many people obviously do, and I think I know why. For a band like this to stick to their morals and survive unfettered by what they refer to as 'Commercialism' and 'The Music Industry' for so very long, they must take on some form of aggressive stance about themselves. There must be a kind of battle, whether it be seen or subtle, in which they stick to their guns and if need be, preach about them. I don't mind listening to that kind of stuff as long as it's in a non-confrontationl view towards the listener (i.e CD buyer, ticket buyer, etc), which Fugazi do very well. With every interviewer or fan that asks them a question or two about themselves, they always give clear, non-imposing answers. Very clear and almost refreshing. However, because they can give very concise answers to these questions, I can imagine a lot of people finding them to be not very punk or not very HC at all, because if a band like this has a fan base of primarily younger / teenage people, these people may not want to be into a band that holds high ideals over just having fun and being all punk about everything. The great punk debate starts here... It's a bit of a double-edged sword being alternative, because to be a really underground band these days is hard, as since the advent of commerical guitar music at the beginning of the 1990s (names like Nirvana, Chili Peppers, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden spring swiftly to mind), lots of trend-following folk and major record labels have seen a fortune to be made in loud guitars and youthful angst. Because of this, the point of the whole underground movement is, of course, deleted. The underground music scene (of any country, not just the USA), runs healthily on emotional and engergetic bands of course, but it also runs on vast independence and very little desire to become lucrative and profitable. The bands that are easier to find on the average CD store shelves tend to be more financially-orientated, and depend on record company promotion for furthering their careers. Well, Fugazi own their record label, so I suppose it's okay for them, but they keep show prices and record prices low, so that's admirable right away. I'd recommend this film to anyone who's in a band and wants to see success done the hard way, but also surely the most respectable way too.
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