Comment of the Moment: CSNY/Deja Vu Film

The Comment of the Moment is on The Politics of Music or the Music of Politics? and the CSNY/Deja Vu film by Simpson:

I was one of those unfortunate to have a theatrical showing of "CSNY: Deja Vu" anywhere near where I live...however I jumped with joy when my brother found it On-Demand on our digital cable. Since the DVD won't be out for a few months I instantly ran to the dollar store and bought a blank VHS tape to record it.

I just finished watching it about 10 minutes ago and I must say it was a really great documentary. Not too many docs I see really pull me in (and I'm not just saying this 'cause Neil is my favorite artist or 'cause I saw CSNY at Pittsburgh on this tour in '06) but because it was actually very well made. I had been looking forward to this film for 22 months and it was worth the wait.

Although I wanted a concert film more than a documentary...the final film actually hit me harder than the concert itself. I vividly remember that emotional feeling I got while the pictures of all the dead soldiers scrolled across the screen during "Find The Cost Of Freedom" and the film honestly captured that brutal feeling with the mother of the dead son during the concert. Watching the film, I began to choke up and tears filled my eyes.

My uncle just passed away the other day too and I was at the funeral all morning and to be completely honest, I didn't tear up until I saw my cousins having to talk about him at the church and how much his death affected them more than me. My grandma always said you shouldn't cry when someone dies because they're in a better place and their suffering is over (and it may seem selfish to some)...so I seem to only cry when I see how a death affects someone other than myself. So when I saw that mother watching the images of the fallen soldiers on the screen and break down into tears I got really choked up. My uncle lived his full life and his time to go was at age 66...but nearly all of those soldiers still had their full lives ahead of them and they were cut short. While I may agree or disagree with CSNY is irrelevant...to die so young, with so much left to give, in the grand scheme of things, is not right. So that scene struck me hard.

Also, I bought the "LWW" album and it's "Raw" version when they came out, and while it wasn't my favorite Neil Young album, I liked the message and thought the songs were pretty good...made even better during the CSNY tour...but to me they were just songs and it didn't hit me as hard as the film did. The film made me completely understand the connection between the songs and the war (which I obviously knew before) but the film gave me a more emotional look at the songs and now I think I appreciate them even more. I think the "Shock And Awe" scene with Josh Hisle was the other most emotional scene in the film. I got choked up during that part too...when they showed him watching the concert.

So while I loved the movie and will be getting it on DVD...I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a full live CSNY concert from the tour. I have bootlegs, but they're not the same.

And I was hoping that version of "Rockin' In The Free World" from the CSNY '06 tour that Neil posted on his site during the 4th of July weekend was going to finish off the movie...but it wasn't even in the film! But I'd be happy at least if it's included on the DVD as a bonus feature. Keeping my toes crossed for that one.

Well...I think this has gone on a little long and don't believe anyone will have even read this far...but if you did then I appreciate you and Thrasher for taking your time to see what I had to say.

Will be checking on here later on to see what everyone else thought about the film!

Peace!

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