Rating: Summary: Not bad, Not great Review: Radiohead is one of my top ten favorite bands. When I saw this video, I was kind of let down because I would have really liked to see the live songs all the way through. However, I can see why Grant Gee chose not to put the entire songs in the film. There are many clips and much cinematography which definitely sets the mood for the OK Computer tour, but the film leaves you with an odd feeling of what it really meant. I don't like that, but I think that that is the feeling Grant Gee was trying to make in this movie. It is certainly not a bad movie, but I expected more from it. If you like Radiohead, I would recommend seeing it. If you don't like Radiohead, don't bother.
Rating: Summary: "And that's what being an adult is..." Review: Grant Gee's film is powerful and original because it strays from stale generic forms of documentary and storytelling and attempts to represent radiohead, and more specifically OK COMPUTER, on its own terms. Through Gee's lens the band becomes more human by exposing their pain and weakness. When digesting OK COMPUTER audibly, you get the sense of a band detached from the modern world, a group of artists whom have removed themselves from life and are creating art in some sort of monastic state. MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY insists that Radiohead is entrenched in modernity, just like the rest of us. It allows the experience of OK COMPUTER to be more intimate and accessible. The album and the documentary are historical relics of our postmodern age.
Rating: Summary: Snazzy, but empty. Review: The documentary LOOKS cool, and it creates a mood that goes very well with radiohead's music. But 90 minutes of that is way too long. After it's all over, you realize that the film has failed to deliver a single coherent bit of information about the band. You don't really get a good insider's view -- and you certainly don't get to know any of the band members, see much of the creative process of songwriting, or hear the members' true thoughts about their work. It's a disappointment, and a missed chance on the part of Gee. So buy this video if you need it to complete your collection, but don't expect to learn anything from it, either about the band or about music-making in general.
Rating: Summary: Radiohead Video Brilliant Review: This was much more than I expected. It's a brilliant video - haunting. I've been a fan for years and this video gave me more insight into the band than anything else I've ever read or seen and at the same time, I'm left guessing. Highly recommended. The most memorable moment - the making of "No Surprises."
Rating: Summary: Trippy look into a tour that is definately out of this world Review: The cool thing is the editing. They were able to make a lot of that little JVC mini-DV camera look a bit like film. It may come across a bit too depressing, but it shows the mad genius of Radiohead. I would have liked to have seen more live stuff of KARMA POLICE and AIRBAG. The editing (mostly just making mini-DV look like film) is inspiring to a digital filmmaker.
Rating: Summary: Whew, what an onslaught of audio-visual Review: This is a very interesting look at life on the road with Radiohead. If there ever was a movie that captures the total essence of OK Computer, this is it folks. No sex, drugs, rock'n'roll for these guys, just constant press attention (badgering), work, performing, and traveling. "Transport motorways and tramlines, starting and then stopping, taking off and landing, the emptiest of feelings" from their song "Let Down" seems pretty pertinent to this movie. I really got a kick out of that ditz who didn't like Radiohead during the "No Surprises" video bit. Obviously, too dumb or un-informed to understand the brilliance of Radiohead. This video requires MULTIPLE viewings and then some to get the full affect. BUY IT!
Rating: Summary: Fascinating! Review: Even though the live performances were all edited down to short clips (well, they couldn't play all of them through to the end, it would last hours!) I found this video very interesting. You see these five guys who just enjoy playing their music and are caught totally off guard by the success of their album and the sudden frenzy of the fans and the media. Thom Yorke never asked to be God but it seems that is what he has become to a lot of disillusioned people.
Rating: Summary: The Art of the Rockumentary is Alive and Well Review: Brilliant film. As easy as it would be to simply put a bunch of miscellaneous concert footage together which eager Radiohead would have bought regardless, Gee has made a film that is less about Radiohead than about modern consumerism, spirtuality, and ethics and the demanding effect these create upon our cultural icons. Gee's beautifully post-modernist style goes hand in hand with both Radiohead's music and Stanley Donwood's artwork (great job on the box by the way). Great film, great music, great previews of some new songs which may be on the new album. Definately a rocumentary to be placed in the ranks of "Don't Look Back", "Gimme Shelter" or "Monterey Pop". If you're a Radiohead fan, a film maker, or just an inquisive, self-aware consumer, buy this film.
Rating: Summary: Fitter, happier, more paranoid. Review: I know a good movie when it manages to massage itself into my brain for at least a few hours after it is over. Meeting People is Easy, part cinema verite and part expressionism, is such a mind melt it feels as if you have been abused by the same technology Radiohead crusades against. After viewing the film nothing was the same for awhile. People were plastic and the atmosphere empty. This is not a documentary "promoting" Radiohead. This is an extension of Radiohead the music; desperate and hopeful, aggresive and anxiety ridden. And of course, beautful. However it is enjoyable as a mental and emotional exercise, not as entertainment.
Rating: Summary: This video is truly a waste of time and money Review: First I am a huge Radiohead fan. This video was a huge dissapointment. At no point in the video do you see the band play a single song live from beginning to end. Hard to believe really as I thought the video was about the band's recent tour. Sure you see some fragments but if you want to see and hear Radiohead live then you'd do better to go and see them rather than buy this self-indulgent piece of hogwash. In fact the video is basically a sophomoric arty attempt by some no name film maker to try and make a hip video. There are endless shots of cars driving at night complete with camera shake to give that cool blurry effect. There are loads of fragments of interviews with reporters "OK Thom, how do you feel about OK Computer winning alternative album of the year in (insert country name here)". There are loads of shots of the band being photographed. There are loads of shots of Thom Yorke sitting around depressed about all the money he's making. There are loads of shots of people on escalators, in shopping malls, airports etc (all with that funky camera shake thing going). I could go on and on - the video certainly did. But the bottom line is this is not a video about Radiohead, they are merely a distraction in it - basically it feels like a second year film school project done by someone who should have been an accountant.
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