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Summary: age doesn't matter if you have the music in you
Review: this is the best movie that I have ever seen for years! if you want to look to the world from another window and listen great music (ýt doesn'matter if you dont like cuban music)just BUY this dvd! it has everything!
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Summary: Beauty as it pure level
Review: Wonderful pleasure in seeing again at home these magnificents artists from Cuba.
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Summary: A touching look into gorgeous music
Review: Buena Vista (the modern day adaptation) occured by happenstance (as the film shows)...and thank god. Even in Cuba, this genre of music was all but forgotten. It is pure, ornate, romantic, heartful, ernest, and downright beautiful. We also get to meet the wonderful people behind the music and see them live out their dreams and aspirations. This journey is as heart-wrenching as it is uplifting...a must see.
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Summary: See This Movie Now
Review: The passion of the musicians who play in this modern masterpiece will move you unlike any other film that I have ever seen. Guitarist Ry Cooder's search for these masters of Cuban music pays off in a ways no one would have been able to foresee. The stories that each musician tell about growing up in Cuba, and struggling to play the music that they love, give one insight into a world that was extinct. Thanks to this film, that world has been reborn.Apart from this movie's powerful content, one can't help but be amazed at how modern technology has made a movie like this possible. Shot entirely on digital cameras (Sony digiBeta and Handycams) and mixed with all digital technology, this movie has a crispness and clarity that most documentaries have lacked up to this time. The Steadycam features of the digital cameras allow the viewer to see the musicians in the studio and on the stage without shaking and annoying interference. This movie is a milestone for independent filmmakers. Wim Wenders uses these modern tools to give us a look into Cuban neighborhoods, recording studios, and homes that would not have been possible without this modern digital equipment. Even if you don't enjoy the music (and I don't see how anyone could not be moved by this music), you MUST see this movie simply because of its pioneering spirit. Buena Vista Social Club takes us into a new era. This is cinema of the new millennium. It's sensitivity to the subject, unobtrusive style, and technological achievements will all be mimicked by filmmakers to come. Do yourself a favor and see this movie. Your soul will thank you.
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Summary: Bravo!
Review: This is my first time hearing sounds from Cuba and seeing the condition of the country. Yet,great artists were born under the worst conditions. Seeing them on stage in New York as their dreams come true is truely inspirational. I highly recommand this film.
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Summary: Buena Vista Social Club Review
Review: The story of these long forgotten but incredibly talented musicians is both fascinating and touching. They have had so little in their lives, yet have truly lived their lives to the fullest. The music in the film is terrific.
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Summary: A DREAM COMES TRUE
Review: OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION! TAKES YOU BACK IN TIME WHEN PURE REAL MUSIC WAS WRITTEN AND SUNG ! IT IS NOT ONLY A VIDEO OF MUSIC,IT IS A " FILM OF DREAMS". DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE TO THESE GREAT MUSICIANS AT THE TWILIGHT OF THEIR LIVES ! FOR ME ,IT IS A VOYAGE THRU TIME , BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO LIVE PART OF THAT ERA AS A YOUNGSTER. GRACIAS,RAY !
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Summary: Another stellar Wenders Film
Review: It was wonderful to see this film when it was in theaters, and I probably would have bought it anyway, but the wonders of DVD have almost improved upon the original. The Digital video which it was shot in looks much better on DVD than it does transferred to 35mm film in theaters, but the real kicker is Wenders' personal commentary on the separate audio track - wow. Having always been one of my favorite directors, it is a treat to hear all he has to see about this film as he literally talks you through it from his own personal perspective. Its as if he is sitting and watching the film with you. The deep warmth which is present in all his films remains present here, but it is accentuated by the moving comments and insights he offers. I preffered seeing this film on DVD, as opposed to the theater. Thank you Wim.
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Summary: A musical gem
Review: I saw this film three times in the theater. Now I just ordered it from Amazon. I love this film. I give Ry Cooder credit for finding these people. Wim Wenders did a superb job of filming. The players and the music engaged my total interest from start to finish. Unlike some others, I thought Ry stayed pretty much out of the way, and when he was heard, his guitar fitted right in. I feel that it was right for him to play, since he was the one to get this thing going. I own the CD and play it a lot. I also own the CDs made by several of the players, such as Ibrahim Ferrer. My wife and I plan to have people over to watch this video. Many of our friends are professional musicians, and I know they'll love it.
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Summary: Buena Vista Social Club
Review: I could have stayed to watch Buena Vista Social Club all day and all night. The film traces master guitarist Ry Cooder's seemingly endless search for more musical legends to play with, as he takes us to Cuba to meet the masters of "Son" music. The result is a warm, beautiful and touching portrait of the aging "Son" masters emerging from a long hiatus to show us they haven't lost their touch. Cooder has long sought out masters of "roots" music to learn from and play with. This time he found his way into a diamond mine, and the resulting three albums, "Buena Vista Social Club", "Afro-Cuban All-Stars" and "Introducing Ruben Gonzales" could all have won the 1998 Grammy award, as the former actually did. The film follows the aging Son musicians around their native Cuba as they prepare for overseas concerts in both Holland and New York City. The city of Havana shows the effects of aging itself, run down and seedy, but, as with the musicians themselves, there is a spirit of unity and inner strength that overrides the worn down facade. That spirit emerges quickly as you see how deeply the Cubans feel their music. You also see a country that preserves the old and makes it work personified in the "antique" automobiles the Cubans use to get around. Several musicians are featured in the film, but two gain the film's focus, jazz pianist Ruben Gonzales and singer Ibrahim Ferrer, the "Cuban Frank Sinatra". Gonzales no longer has a piano and plays one in a gymnasium reserved for Cuban gymnasts. Ferrer feels the public no longer appreciates his music and is shining shoes to supplement a tiny retirement. Ry Cooder and his son Joachim (sp?), a talented drummer, try to stay as far in the background as possible. Cooder's style is to sit at the feet of the masters to learn and participate. I think the director, Wim Wenders, gives him more face time than he would prefer. No matter, as he is a wonderful musician and facilitator, without whom the original project and the film would not have happened. Wenders weaves the music and the life of the musicians in a pattern that draws the audience into the lives of the musicians, especially Ferrer. I was very familiar with the music from the three albums and that made my experience with them almost personal. I was excited as I saw the rehearsals draw the musicians closer and tighter. They became young again as the music started flowing from them. The culmination of the film is the concert at Carnegie Hall. I was fully engaged by then and I had chills when the Son music was playing and when the audience responded with such enthusiasm. I had tears of pleasure as the music flowed over me. I've recommended this film to many of my friends, and they all have gone out of their way to thank me. I don't think I've seen another film in 1999 that I've liked better. I'll paraphrase what Ry Cooder says to his son in the film, "This is the kind of opportunity that comes once in a lifetime".
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