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
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Beggars Banquet
• DVD Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0016MJ2TG
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,954 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is a documentary about The National by French filmmaker Vincent Moon, who followed the group during the creation of their acclaimed 2007 release, "Boxer." It's an insightful and beautiful glimpse into the band's creative process. The DVD is packaged with a separate disc, "The Virginia EP", which contains twelve tracks of demos, a cover, live versions, a radio session, and b-sides. Look for them on tour with REM and Modest Mouse in May. Coachella confirmed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This really was a waste of my time, May 29, 2008

By	Denise H (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

I really love The National which is why i sat through this video. This disjointed amature film is irredeemable. Seriously this is what I imagine art school hell is like. At the very end of it I thought we would get to see the national perform "about today" which is 80% true. Vincent Price decided to start filming them on stage, then decides to take an illuminating walk to backstage where the real grit is happening i.e. the caterers are cleaning up. A REAL CINEMA VERITE. Look at the cover artwork for this dvd. NOW IMAGINE IT FOR ONE HOUR AND A HALF. Hynotic? Interesting? Gritty? Compelling? the answer is no. At some point I watched it on doublespeed which was not that different than single speed.This film makes matt berringer out to be a sad proto-alcoholic. I am pretty sure that's his wife in the background who helped him write two songs off of boxer but she isn't mentioned. I mean I'm sure writing and creating an album is kind of dull, this film makes the process unwatchable. You learn nothing from this film. The beginning of this film starts out with matt complaining that the director has a lot of "power" over his subjects, which I am pretty sure any reality television star tells his director but then it's edited out of any Real Wives of Orange County because that point is probably too TRITE for even them.

12 of 12 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)

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.

7 of 7 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 (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.