Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Firstly, I am not a hardcore Rush fan.They are a great band and I always marveled at their sheer musicianship.

This doc covers the early years with their struggles on the club circuit, getting signed, early tours etc. The things you would expect from a Rock Doc that is covered in other reviews here.

What I liked so much about this were the people. Geddy is interesting and articulate and has that nice ability to tell a story ( a bit like Alice Cooper can.) Alex who is funny and well, pretty normal. And of course the intensely private Neal who has been a Demigod in drumming circles for decades who is intelligent, and surprisingly engaging for a guy with a surly reputation.

In addition to that, you could feel on the screen what great friends these guys were and was especially punctuated towards the end of the film when they were discussing Neils tragedies. To me personally this had two stories, one about a band called Rush and the other story about three great friends overcoming the odds over the years. The other interesting thing is their manager seems to have been with them the whole time which says a lot.

Billy Corgen offered the most celebrity insight, and I found his observations really good.

I liked some of commentary by Geddy about bands they had toured with like Kiss, they are not the type to put people down because they are superior musicians.

I have never given anything a 10, but this was really good. My wife even liked it and she was not familiar with them at all.

I just wish it was a bit longer.

In general, documentaries, even those exploring the careers of high profile bands, are not renowned for being particularly fun or interesting to watch for those not already enraptured by the subject matter, providing interesting supplementary informational tidbits for established fans, but unlikely to draw in anyone else. Bearing this in mind, it takes a pretty exceptional music documentary to feel like a concert, cultural history lesson, lively standalone film and hangout session with the band in question all at once, yet directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen manage to pull off such a daunting task with Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage with exultant ease.

Canadian rockers Rush, despite copious success and a tenaciously loyal band of fans (several interviews have concert-goers amusing admitting to it being their one-hundredth Rush show), have always had difficulty courting mainstream critical or commercial success, the "superstar band never to be fully acknowledged as superstars", and Beyond the Lighted Stage delves into the interesting interplay between fanaticism and indifference, managing to shed light upon the mainstream's elusive distaste for the band (too quirky? too nerdy? too many long songs? not firmly mainstream or firmly progressive enough to be easily categorized? not "hummable" enough?) while also delving to the heart and essence of the band and illuminating why the appeal really should have caught on. Furthermore, the film is particularly credible as being the rare documentary to match up to its subject matter cinematically with uncommonly masterful structure and composition. Perfectly paced, Beyond the Lighted Stage swiftly doles out its tidbits of band biography and the cultural reaction to them as if exhilarating plot twists rather than drab, necessary context, lending the film as lively and propulsive a tone as any good Rush song, of which the soundtrack offers enough to prove a comprehensive musical history of the band in itself.

More importantly, through comprehensive interviews with the naturally giving musical trifecta as well as those associated with them (interviews with the mothers of all three rockers are adorable) or simply admirers (with particularly effective use of Gene Simmons - "I couldn't understand how a band so good would go back to their hotel rooms without taking up the chance to get laid... those crazy Canadians" - and Jack Black - "Just when you thought the bottle of rocket-sauce that is Rush had run out, they just keep pumping out the rocket-sauce"), the film offers a genuine human, emotional anchor behind the music. As told by wacky but wise bassist/singer Geddy Lee, deadpan twinkling guitarist Alex Lifeson and the less outgoing, perfectionist yet perpetually chuckling drummer Neil Peart, what could have been a banal slab of backstory instead surpasses anecdote to become a vivid, kinetic journey. From their inglorious origins (playing high school dances, being too young to play higher profile clubs), struggles with their own musical complexity and refusal to curb to ascribed expectations (when asked to write more songs "designed to be singles", they churned out twenty-one minute long rock odyssey "2112", inspired by the writings of Ayn Rand - subsequently a massive hit), the evolution of their musical form (with an amusing, retrospective debate about the overuse of synths between Lee and Lifeson) and the haunting tragedy of the loss of Peart's daughter and wife, the viewer genuinely feels as if they have risen, struggled and rejoiced alongside Rush, with the trio's "goofy", irreverent sense of humour maintaining the journey remains a consistently offbeat and enjoyable one.

Just as likely to pique the interest of those unfamiliar with Rush as placate the enthusiasm of die-hard fans, Beyond the Lighted Stage proves one of the most satisfyingly effective documentaries in years, as much an extended thesis for the relevance and appeal of Rush (who, at the time, had yet to even be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame) as as comprehensive overview of their backstory. Whether a Rush fan or not, such a kinetic, energetic and vivacious piece of film-making should be considered near essential viewing, even for those who have yet to fly by night alongside the unmistakably unique rock band.

-9/10

I have been a fan of this band since I was 14 years old. I first saw them live at Madison Square Garden in NYY (1981). My two older brothers introduced me to Rush and I have loved them since.

This film / documentary chronicles the band from their very beginnings to today. If you are a Rush fan or if you want to learn about a band from Canada that has influenced so many other bands around the world you need to check out this film.

Check it out just to listen to their music.

A band from Toronto with a song called YYZ, can you ask for anything more!

Having gone through all my adult life enjoying the music from this band, this DVD was an awesome find ! Not so many years ago, you'd have to order and wait a long time for your record to arrive here in Australia, especially from an "underground"(?) band like RUSH. 3-6 months was not an unusual time-frame to receive your RUSH record, and you were thrilled when it arrived, and spellbound by the musicianship it displayed, only then to wonder in awe at how only 3 musicians managed to achieve this unbelievable music. I've seen a few DVD's featuring RUSH in concert, and these only confirmed or enhanced the immense respect I already had for these guys, as they are amazing... This particular movie is like nothing I've ever seen before, as it goes back to the very start with interviews of everyones family members (read parent's !), and leaves you feeling very much like one of the family, especially after these guys already being a big-part of my life for over 30 years. It flows very well from the very early High-school days etc to include current perspectives of each phase of their career as expressed by each band member.I never got bored once at all watching the 2-disc set, and still wanted more after viewing them in succession.It's better to watch it for yourself, but anybody would find this movie very-well-made and very entertaining, with plenty of rare live footage of a pretty good sound quality and picture, especially when one considers that some of it is nearly 40 years old. The talent that these guys had even as teenagers has to be seen to be believed, and leaves me humbled in knowing that after so many years, the band is still an incredible vital life force for great music. Possibly the best part was being able sit down, drink some wine, enjoy a great meal, and have a laugh with some dear friends. You don't know what I'm talking about ? You'll never know if you don't watch it !

It is a very well directed and edited collection. Home movie footage of Alex and Geddy as kids all the way to interviews from the Snakes and Arrows tour put the bands personalities and philosophies to the forefront. Fans will feel like they know these guys. There is much humor with the occasional sobering aside. People who barely know Rush's music will probably get converted. There isn't a lot of technical discussion (equipment, technique). Most people who contribute commentary have worked with them in some capacity. "Celebrity" fans are mostly from the heavy metal camp. The Grace Under Pressure to Roll The Bones era is covered the least (which will make many happy). It was awesome! See it in a theater if given a chance.