An exceptional rockumentary which features riveting political debate and good tunes.
CSNY Déjà Vu (2008)
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:26
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Half concert doc, half political exposition, CSNY: DeJa Vu straddles the old and new slant on politics in music with diligence and not a little self-promotion.
Theatrical Release:18-07-2008
Synopsis: If you grew up, as I did, with your dorm room full of albums by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and antiwar activities as part of your daily agenda, you may approach the Freedom of Speech Tour with... If you grew up, as I did, with your dorm room full of albums by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and antiwar activities as part of your daily agenda, you may approach the Freedom of Speech Tour with preconceptions about its motivations and content based on the band you remember. Although the chronicle of that tour, CSNY Déjà Vu, is indeed a look back at the politics and anti–Vietnam War sentiment, its real value lies in its rejection of simple nostalgia and its ability to focus on the present day. As both a portrait of a band and an examination of artistic process, CSNY Déjà Vu is filmmaking that is self-centered, yet fresh and critical. Today's generation must be as tired of hearing about the '60s as we were of an earlier era, and this depiction of the tour is anything but preaching to the converted. Part performance, part commentary, and very much a call for activism, CSNY Déjà Vu is relevant because we ignore the lessons of history at our peril. Featuring music from Neil Young's controversial Living with War CD, this evocative and edgy film documents reactions from fans to a band that has remained committed to issues of politics and art for more than four decades. Since history seems to repeat itself, perhaps our artists best illustrate what we need to remember. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]
Starring: David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stephen Colbert
Starring: David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stephen Colbert
Director: Bernard Shakey
Director: Bernard Shakey
Screenwriter: Mike Cerre, Neil Young
Producer: Neil Young
Studio: Roadside Attractions
Reviews for CSNY Déjà Vu
This is not a rock tour film for CSNY fans so much as a rambling, occasionally thought-provoking, sometimes moving enquiry into the question of whether the sixties protest music generation has lost its leverage over hearts and minds.
Helmer Bernard Shakey -- a.k.a. Neil Young -- has constructed a chronicle of his old band's Freedom of Speech tour of summer '06 and come up with an aud-friendly, activist musical that seems sure to raise both political ire and major bucks.
The film avoids discussing politics directly, and instead discusses the right to discuss politics.
Neil Young, though he be the writer of some of the finest, most trenchant, angriest political songs of the last fifty years, has no skill at marshaling arguments in a cinematic context.
The movie makes you glad that CSNY is still out there rocking in the free world. It makes you doubly glad they're not leading it.
Wears its heart squarely on its sleeve for all to see and takes no prisoners in stating its political mind.
...a mix of music and politics, outrage and respect, past and present that is both thoroughly entertaining and reflective.
The problem isn't what it's communicating. It's the awkward structure and tendency toward redundancy. The film's a hodgepodge of songs, old footage and stories of the Iraq War that just doesn't come together with any sense of narrative cohesiveness.
Might have packed a stronger punch with more commitment to both the music and the message.
Neil Young rolls the cameras on himself and geriatric bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash as they tenaciously cling to social relevance by generally preaching to the converted during their 2006 antiwar Freedom of Speech tour.
CSNY Déjà Vu has some delicious moments, but you never quite shake the feeling that it's documenting a tempest in a teapot.
Recent and archival interview, news, war and music footage, which often juxtapose the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts, round out this unflinching, well-constructed picture.
As laudable as the idealism may be, the movie sometimes feels like a self-congratulatory victory lap.
What saves CSNY/Deja Vu from its self-importance is the surprisingly lively, timely and timeless music.
Come to think of it, maybe the reason the movie spends so much time patting the band on the back is because it is obvious movie audiences aren't likely to.
A melodious howl of protest against the Iraq War from one of rock's greatest bands.
One of the great strengths of CSNY is how skillfully it deflects criticism of 'four balding hippie millionaires' taking to the stage to criticize American politics; the film is peppered with excerpts from some of the tour's earliest and nastiest critics.
It will doubtlessly end up preaching to the choir -- Bush backers beware -- but that choir should enjoy it.
The combination of music with the performers' dedication makes this more moving than a concert souvenir, though they are almost upstaged by touching moments with veterans.
Latest News for CSNY Déjà Vu
September 29, 2008:
CSNY fires up this rousing rockumentary, the camera's rough cut tendencies not withstanding. In other words, call me stuff like geriatric and bloated - as malice-minded talking head reporters do - but whatever you do, don't diss my peace activism. ![]()
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September 21, 2008:
NeilYoung.com: CSNY fires up this rousing rockumentary, the camera's rough cut tendencies aside. In other words, call me stuff like geriatric and bloated - as malice-minded talking head reporters do - but whatever you do, don't diss my peace activism. ![]()
More...
July 24, 2008:
Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under "Disappointing"
This week at the movies, we learn that the truth is out there (The X-Files: I Want to Believe, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and that step-sibling rivalry can be... More...
June 29, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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