Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Documentary on electric guitar pulls the wrong strings
GIVE him this: documentary director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) had a nifty idea to examine the history of the electric guitar in rock music, centred on a "summit" meeting of practitioners from three distinct eras.
A gentlemanly Jimmy Page represents the '60s and '70s. U2's The Edge cops to exploiting audio technology for the band's library of the '80s, '90s and today. And an upstart Jack White (of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs) represents the most contemporary approach to the instrument, up to and including bleeding all over it in a graphic demonstration of punk esthetic.
MOVIE REVIEW
It Might Get Loud
Featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White
Cinematheque
G
2-1/2 stars out of five
Pity that the summit meeting was apparently a bust. Very little footage of this meeting is actually used, save for a climactic jam session in which the guys collaborate on a rendition of the Band's standard The Weight.
Fortunately, Guggenheim uses lots of more entertaining footage in documenting each of his subjects on their own, including Page waxing rhapsodic over an early recording of Link Wray, and White likewise smitten with an old recording of minimalist blues man Son House.
White is especially cinegenic. It was no accident he was cast as Elvis in the rock 'n' roll parody Walk Hard. The camera loves him.
But he might be better served in his own documentary. (Coming soon: a doc on the White Stripes' Canadian tour, Under Great White Northern Lights.) And Guggenheim might have better served if he weren't so enraptured of rock stars and instead sought out more articulate exemplars of the instrument, such as those versatile session musicians.
I'd be more interested in hearing stories from a Larry Carlton or a George Benson,
Oh, I forgot, they're not as famous as The Edge.
How inconvenient.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 27, 2009 D6
-
WFP Hockey
Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
-
Winnipeg Jets
All things NHL on our Jets landing page
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
-
News Cafe
Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
-
Facebook Fanpage
Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Movies
Poll
Most Popular
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife was dead
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Juror dismissed in second-degree murder trial of Mark Stobbe
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife dead
- Should infants be allowed in the House of Commons?
- No comfort in trade talk: Veteran Thorburn says closely knit club well worth keeping together
- US teen gets life in prison for killing 9-year-old; called the murder "pretty enjoyable"
- Search is on for man seen leaving the scene where two Alberta Mounties were shot
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Three winning tickets sold for Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Tactical squad storms St. Vital house
- Woman sexually assaulted during noon-hour in Exchange District
- Restaurant Dubrovnik may be closed for good
- Do you smoke marijuana?
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- George Clooney's prank could end Pitt's career
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Tina Maze strips down to her sports bra to send out underwear message: 'Not your business'
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Two children, two women die in fire
- Kate Beckinsale's weight fears over Underworld catsuit
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Spain mourns death of Catalan painter, sculptor Antoni Tapies, top contemporary art figure
- Pardon application fee to quadruple later this month despite complaints
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Our 'true champion'
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Original Joe's, Elephant & Castle expanding
- Flood reviews launched
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Northern fishing lodge destroyed by fire
- Police target drivers talking on cellphones, texting
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Paddler Starkell was modern-day voyageur
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Canadian woman 'badly injured' in Mexico, local media report apparent beating
- Winnipeg mother watches as car stolen with child inside
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.