Year of the Horse

If you're a Neil Young fan, you will love this movie. The music is outstanding, almost mind-altering in it's depth and beauty. Yes, I call it beautiful even though it's raw and riotous, even though it's crude and vulgar, even though it sometimes feels like the harrowing of hell, it's beautiful music. Young's music is incomparable and his live performance shows you what an artist looks like when he's under the influence of his muse. He gives a succinct insight into his vision of true rock music: it never gets comfortable, it never gets tame, it never gets easy. Neil Young is in a class with Bob Dylan and Keith Jarrett: artists completely dedicated to their work. I highly recommend this movie. Jarmusch does an incredible job of combining 3 decades worth of footage into this 1996 tour. The interview with Jim Jarmusch and Young is very interesting: two artists talking about what they do.

I DO like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, yet I felt Neil's simplistic guitar solos took up more screen-time than I would have liked. That is my only reservation. Jarmusch' good-natured approach and sympathetic questions makes this watchable and revealing. Neil's father obviously has great respect for his son. And Frank Sampedro's cynical retorts were very funny! More to the point - "Like a hurricane" still sounds like a rock classic.

I wouldn't say that Year of the Horse, director Jim Jarmusch's only documentary, is one of the all-time great rock-docs (i.e. Woodstock, Last Waltz, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii), but it does have many good things going for it, not the least of which the performances. Although some of the interview footage goes into some lulls and conventions (i.e. 'deep' explanations of how the band works, the fights, the self-conscious attitude of being in a film trying to capture 25 years in 2 hours), it's not as boring as I would've expected from the interviews. Some people have said this is like a Spinal Tap film that takes itself too seriously, and I can see where that criticism could stand. However, Jarmusch has a lot of pride in his experimental style, shooting only with 16mm & 8mm, mostly grainy or home-video style. The results are something of a very personal view into Young and his Crazy Horse people, some of whom seem to be more 'there' than others. A couple of segments though, like when Jarmusch reads from the bible to Young, or vintage footage of Scottish views on the band/shenanigans with the band in a hotel room, are quite entertaining on their own.

But for those looking for just the music instead of the interviews or talk, the film may or may not meet your expectations, depending on how much of a Neil Young fan &/or Neil Young & Crazy Horse fan you are. If you're of the latter, it's probably a must-see, with songs like "F***in' up", "Slips Away", "Tonight's the Night", and a couple of songs I've just plain never heard of before seeing the film. There's also the finale, with a half retro Young and present-day (1996 present day) performance of "Like a Hurricane", which will probably be the highlight for those who only are familiar with the hits of Neil Young, or for anyone. The best thing that I can say about the performances, as a little more than a casual observer/listener to Young/Crazy Horse's music, is that there is always this uncommon energy between all the players in the band. Even if what they're singing is loud or distorted or "grunge", they are having fun on stage, and the camaraderie is an enjoyable part of the performances. Jarmusch's style with these scenes ranges from wild and cool, to a step or two away from being a little pretentious or, worse, MTV style editing. Most of the time though, his vision works for the material, and in the end what we get is more of a glimpse at what Young & Crazy Horse are all about- a pure form of rock & roll, harder than the solo Young stuff if not as hard as the rockers of today, and its definitely not of the 'corporate' product pool. B+

Granted, non-fans of Neil Young will not like this film, but as one of his biggest fans (I have over 35 CDs of his music, solo and with CSN, Buffalo Springfield and others), I loved this film. Many people were put off by the grain of the Super 8 sequences, but I think that visual scheme ADDS to the mood and feel of his music.

I also liked the varied song list. Not only does he play songs from his most recent album of the time (Broken Arrow, an OK, but not great album) but he revisits his classics (Tonight's the Night, Barstool Blues, Like A Hurricane). It's a great sampler.

I also liked the weird humor that Young and Crazy Horse infuse into the documentary sequences. Many people were understandably turned off by this (including my mother and she LIKES Neil's music!)but I thought of it as in the Frank Zappa-vein of bizarre personal humor that only a handful of people fully get.

NOTE: If you buy this film, purchase the Canadian import version. It is presented in widescreen format (1.77:1 not 1.66:1 as listed in technical specs) The USA Films release is panned and scanned and believe me Jarmusch makes the most of the frame, no matter how small it is)It costs more, but believe me, it's worth the extra money!

Unless you're a Neil Young die-hard, you're likely to find Year of the Horse unbearable. What's especially shocking is that it comes from a talented director like Jarmusch, who is known for intelligent, thought-provoking pictures. Evidently, his feature film making ability doesn't translate into the documentary realm. Year of the Horse is one of 1997's ugliest dogs. It's supposed to be a high- energy concert film that captures the intensity and camaraderie of the band members on and off- stage. What it turns out to be, however, is an overlong home movie with bad video and barely- adequate sound.