Product Details

• Actors: National
• Directors: Vincent Moon
• Format: DVD, EP, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Beggars Banquet
• DVD Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0016MJ2TG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,535 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Companion to Boxer., May 18, 2008

By 

Marcos F. Hernandez "mhmunin" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skin a Night & The Virginia Ep (2pc) (W/CD) (DVD)

Vincent Moon's impressionistic take on the making of Boxer is less a documentary about the National than it is an intimate look into the process of making music. Anybody familiar with the techniques Moon uses in his "Concerts A Emporter" series will be glad to see his natural gifts on display here. While Moon's relationship with the band does help us get to know the individuals better, his main purpose is to provide remarkable insights into the relationships these guys have with their songs. Emphasizing the music as the main character, Moon reveals the immensity of experiences that can be found within a few notes magically strung together.

Providing further insight into the creative process, The Virginia EP collects nearly all of the b-sides and demos (a rare extended version of "Brainy" is missing), as well as select live recordings from this fruitful period for the National. Songs like "Santa Clara", "Tall Saint", and "Forever After Days" show that even the tossed-aside material from Boxer is staggering. Meanwhile, the lighthearted "Blank Slate" and "Slow Show" demo illustrate the ways in which the songs change, grow, and find identities of their own. The EP tells a story of creative exploration parallel to "A Skin, A Night" that reveals even more about the band and their journey from studio to stage.

"A Skin, A Night/The Virginia EP" is a perfect companion to the intricately detailed beauty of Boxer that I would highly recommend to any fan of the National.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding addition to the "Boxer" album, May 26, 2008

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skin a Night & The Virginia Ep (2pc) (W/CD) (DVD)

Let me state upfront that I am coming to this, having only the "Alligator" and "Boxer" albums from these guys. I have come to love those albums ("Boxer" was in my "best albums of 2007" list), and when I saw this, I had to just get it.

As to the "A Skin, A Night" DVD (62 min.) (I rate it 3.5 stars), please be aware that this is not a documentary, or a concert DVD, but instead a deeply subjectve FILM by Vincent Moon. It brings mostly behind the scenes looks of the band working on the "Boxer" album, interspersed with comments from the band how they got started and how long a road it has been to finding success (only with the "Alligator" album did they climb out of debt from earlier ventures, comments one of the guys). This being a film, I don't expect I'll be watching this again and again, as you wouldn't most movies. But it stands well on its own, a subjective mood reflection on the National.

As to "The Virginia EP" (12 tracks, 49 min.) (I rate it 4.5 stars), it brings a collection of B-sides, demos and live tracks, and it is fantastic. The initial three tracks are awesome: "You've Done It Again, Virginia", "Santa Clara" and especially "Blank Slate" are all tracks that would've fitted nicely onto "Boxer". The demos are surpisingly well-fleshed out for being demos, and my favorites are "Forever After Days" and "Slow Down". As to the live tracks, "Fake Empire" and "About Today" are fantastic, and I can't help but notice they were recorded at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels (in November, 2007), where I saw many a show in my early years before moving to the US.

I've had the good fortune to catch these guys live a number of times now (most recently at the Langerado Festival in South Florida in March of this year) and they are electric live. If you have a chance to see them in concert, don't hesitate! Meanwhile, I guess this release is a "tie-over" between "Boxer" and their next album, but a true treasure for the fans. I can't wait to see where the National goes from here.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you love crazy camera work and empty NYC scenes, buy this, May 31, 2008

By 

A. K. Marlett (Golden Valley, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skin a Night & The Virginia Ep (2pc) (W/CD) (DVD)

If you love The National, you should buy it too...but only for the EP. The DVD is absolutely terrible and a waste of an hour.

Vincent Moon is trying desperately to make The National a legend. It's almost like he's hoping either the lead singer will die early or the band will become really famous eventually, and he can claim dibs on their first documentary. Moon does the right thing in bringing the music to the forefront, but it hurts the interviews, which I could barely hear or understand. Tons of time is wasted on meaningless scenes of NYC or nearly empty rooms. They hyper saturated color is annoying to watch. No one is as dramatic as Moon makes The National out to be. It's absolutely dreadful as a rock doc, a film, and a document of recording one of the great albums of 2007.

Moon should have watched "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" to learn how to make a movie about making a great album.