Product Details

• Actors: Angels & Airwaves
• Directors: Mark Eaton
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Rocket Science
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Run Time: 79 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00197X1U4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,933 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Red Distribution Release Date: 09/27/2011 Run time: 72 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars After all they hype and wait...., June 17, 2008

By 

A. M. Lewis "Blueberry Ale" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Angels and Airwaves: Start the Machine (DVD)

Three and a half stars

I have to admit that this documentary is something of a disappointment. Let me backtrack a second. There seems to be three types of music fans over the last three years. Those who love and worship Angels and Airwaves, those who absolutely hate Angels and Airwaves, and those who don't know who the hell Angels and Airwaves are. Unfortunately, it appears that most of the population in the world fits into the third, but I undoubtedly, undeniably and proudly fall into the first. Whisper and I-Empire are two of my favorite albums of all time and are in constant rotation on my i-pod and cd player. I regularly check forums, fan sites and Mod-Life to see what the band is up to. You can only imagine than that I was seriously looking forward to this documentary which has been talked about for for so long to finally come out. Today was that day, and I was first in line (ok, so there was no line) to pick it up (after failing to find it at three other stores first). I'm not sure what I was looking for in this film, but it was much more than what I got. Start the Machine is hardly more than any other "making of the album" special on VH1 or "Classic Albums" DVD that has been released in the past few years. The band is followed from the breakup of Blink (very briefly covered) and through the hype and eventual release of their debut album, We Don't Need To Whisper. The thing is, during the filming... nothing really seems to happen. Perhaps the aspect of this film that fans were looking forward to most (obviously aside from some Blink stuff), was Tom's reaction to the way he hyped the record and his addiction to painkillers. While this stuff is pretty interesting, we don't get to hear too much from the other band members on it. David tries to have an intervention with an overly annoying and incredibly interruptive Delonge, and Tom himself reflects on that time and how it affected him, but really it's nothing we haven't read in one of the million AVA interviews that have been done in the last year. The Ryan Sinn exit is brushed over pretty quickly and Matt is barely introduced to the audience. Unless your a superfan, there is nothing intriguing about this piece of film at all (whereas even a non-fan would find The Pink Floyd Story to be quite engaging). As far as the extras, the live songs are all from the San Diego show back in 06' that have been widely available on I-Tunes and P2P sites. The short films are all on YouTube and pretty much on any AVA fan site.

All of that being said, the absolute highlight of the DVD is the commentary that the band does over the entire film. Matt is hilarious and you get to hear that side of Tom that makes you remember why you first started to love him. The guys are obviously good friends and all seem to be great dudes. They make fun of each other (in good fun) throughout much of the film and to be honest it is far more entertaining than the actual documentary. It's the reason I'm giving this the rating its getting.

Anyway, bottom line is, if you're a fan you should pick this up... without expecting too much. If you're not a fan, this isn't for you. And if you're trying to get someone into AVA (a constant goal and battle of mine), this is not the best approach. Adios.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's finally here and....???, June 18, 2008

By 

Robert Urry (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Angels and Airwaves: Start the Machine (DVD)

After all the hype and wait for the Angels & Airwaves DVD "Start the Machine" it's finally arrived and depending what you're looking for this is either a pleasant surprise or a disappointment.

This DVD is basically a look at Angels & Airwaves as they created the "We Don't Need To Whisper" album. And for this purpose the DVD delivers great insight. You get a great look at the inner working of the band within the studio experience. You get to see what Tom Delonge was thinking and where he wanted the Band and the Music to go. I think if you're a musican or a producer, this DVD will be very interesting to you.

If you are looking for something more along the lines of "Behind the Music: Motley Crue" then this DVD is not for you. While there is some discussion about the Blink 182 breakup, Drug use and other outside factors this DVD does not deliver these all that thoroughly or in great detail.

The Special Features aside from the interview with Tom Delonge where he speaks about the Blink 182 break up which provides some interesting insight but only lasts 5-10 minutes, are not anything overly interesting and you've probably seen them before online.

All in all this DVD does a great job of giving you a birds eye view of the recording of the album, but it lacks some of the back story elements that could have made it great. I give it a 4 out 5, and strongly recommend it if you're a musican or producer and interested in taking a look into the studio while a band strives to start something new and exciting or if you are just a Angels & Airwaves fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Epic, July 14, 2008

By 

Danny (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angels and Airwaves: Start the Machine (DVD)

I honestly don't know where the negative reviews are coming from. I thought this DVD was amazing! It goes into the dissolution of blink-182, Tom's addiction to prescription drugs, and the point to their music overall. It's awesome to see the songs being constructed as the DVD goes on. They explain all sorts of little things that are really cool. Gives you more of an insight into the band and the first album. And the live performances are like, breathtaking. They are so epic.

The special features are pretty cool. One is just more from the studio, where you basically see them putting together "The War" piece by piece, which is fun to watch. Another is a more detailed explanation of blink's breakup. Then there's an inspiring performance of "Distraction" live. The rest are music videos/short films for the songs. The last piece is just seeing some of the reviews, which last for about 30 seconds to a minute.

The commentary is just kinda funny. Tom is the only one taking it seriously, so he's trying to hold a serious commentary while his bandmates are just messing around. I highly recommend this film for any of their fans. It is awesome.