Customer Reviews

The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This video is an adventure. It's the second White Stripes live DVD, following the concert-only Under Blackpool Lights. This DVD, however, is more of a documentary with live shows thrown in, rather than a concert DVD.

For those unfamiliar with the Stripes, they are a Detroit-based duo of Jack and Meg White (whom Jack presents as brother/sister though they were actually married AND divorced before their second album was released). Jack loves novelties and is obsessed with the number 3, and the band's motif of red, white, and black. If you are a fan of most types of rock, you will love them (or at least some of their assorted songs, there's at least one for everyone). I watched this with my parents (my mom loves Elvis and my dad is a Zeppelin fan), and immediately afterward they wanted me to add the White Stripes to their computers/iPods.

The movie follows the band as they tour each Canadian province and play shows, not only in concert halls, but in parks, on boats, on buses, in schools, and with native Canadians. It gives you a look into the day-to-day of Jack and Meg, and what their ambitions for the band and themselves are as far as the tour goes; Jack also gives great insight into what direction he follows and what creative process he uses for the band. Meg even talks, and they talk about why she never talks, to some laughs for those of us who know Meg as a shy, rarely-interviewed introvert. Interspersed as well are the novelty concerts that are paired with each major show, which show really not the novelty of each show but of Jack and Meg themselves, two oddballs with an idea that a band can be creative within the confines of an idea and a motif, and to explore this motif to its limit.

Now, on to the concerts themselves: blown away. Jack's live shows are heartfelt performances, and he plays to each different audience as if it were a group of his closest friends, knowing exactly what songs to play, including the fa- favorite B-Side cover version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," which always seems so passionate (even though it's told from the point of view of a woman). Each song is a concert-ready version of its album counterpart, generally not played the same way ("Fell In Love With A Girl" uses chords strummed individually with little distortion, as opposed to the ever-popular studio version), and you can see that they work to make each show special. They play without a set list, and so it's more of a jam session of your favorite White Stripes songs. When Jack plays the B-Side Black Jack Davey in a park with Meg on the tambourine, giving very little or no notice that they were playing there, it conjures images of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. It's those small town where maybe they've never even heard anything the Stripes have done, only in name do they know them, maybe a rumor of their tour of Canada, but you can tell the people know something special is happening, and in each town a crowd gathers that is very substantial for how small the town itself is.

By the end of the tour, you can see why they canceled their U.S. tour: they seem very weary and stressed out. And when the video ends with Meg crying as Jack plays piano and sings "White Moon", you can tell they've been stretched thin, but it seems like they loved the journey, and you will, too.

Being a fan of The White Stripes, I expected this documentary to be outstanding already. But while watching it, I can only describe it as an epic rock-doc. Emmett Malloy brings that power of Jack and Meg at an all time high, with concert footage, interviews, traveling, and a deeper look into what makes The White Stripes a true savior of garage rock. It also makes Canada look seventeen times better too!

To start with, I'm a fan of The White Stripes. I loved the music on this movie. It was great from beginning to end. If you're looking for a concert movie about The White Stripes, don't get this. Get "Under Blackpool Lights." It is a much more entertaining concert experience, and there aren't the holes in music that this film necissarily must have.

Nothing is deliberately said about the two bandmates that wasn't already known by many. There are a lot of interesting undertones, but nothing about them is ever confirmed. Meg breaking down in tears at the end of the movie is moving, but it's nearly impossible to determine what she was crying about. There are a lot of pieces of the movie like this. It can be frustrating for the interested viewer, but it does help maintain the mystique that The White Stripes have built around themselves and their band. That's probably the way they wanted it. It left me wondering though. Maybe they wanted that too.

Listen up those of you in the "business". THIS is how you are supposed to make a concert film/music documentary!! Listen, it is VERY simple. You actually PLAY some songs without cutting back to the interviews! You can do that when the song is OVER!! You also actually show the artists performing without cutting around like some chimpanzee was working the editing machine! We don't need to have endless cuts every TWO seconds to convey maximum "action". Let us actually SEE what is going on man! I can't remember the last time a quality show like this came out, so glad it did! OK, This band, WOW, what can you say? I don't have enough words to describe how incredible they are. The level of art is so high, the quality of their music is just fantastic! IF you like rock and roll, you MUST check them out, thank God for the White Stripes. cheers.

I am a big fan of the White Stripes. I ordered the box set that had this video in it and it is amazing. I'll limit this review to the blu-ray though.

The White Stripes did a tour of every province in Canada in 2007 and this is the behind the scenes look at it. You get to see Jack and Meg do shows in bowling alleys, on the back of a small boat, on a bus, and many other random places they chose to do shows last second. It also has footage of the bigger shows they did on the tour including the 10th anniversary show in Nova Scotia.

The concert footage is fantastic and sound is good considering some of the environments they were working in. But, where this video really shines is the behind the scenes footage. Jack and Meg are interviewed and there are many scenes of them just taking it easy and having fun together. It's really nice to see two artists who are very private interact with one another.

I highly recommend this for any Stripes fan.

I would have to sat this is one of the best documentaries of a rock and roll group out there. You learn not only what drives Jack White's muse but learn that the "White Stripes" really care about their fans. A true artist gives back to their fans the best they have to offer. The White Stripes do just that. We see how close Jack and Meg White are as a musical team. They play country, folk, pop, blues and rock and roll. The range of Jack's talent was more than I realized. He plays acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, piano and organ. Meg plays drums and piano and even sings. They play free concerts in each of the towns in Canada on their tour. In pool halls, bowling alleys,on boats and town centers. They prove by their example that rock and roll can heal and uplift people's everyday lives. This is a five star disc if I ever saw one.

Filmed and recorded in 2007, this might be the last great gasp of a rock band most people will never see live. It is a very charming journey through the provinces of Canada, bringing the White Stripes music to large and small places alike. You can see the joy in the audience's faces. Above all, the music is pure genius. God knows if they'll ever go on the road again. Who knows if rock and roll will ever produce something this good again.

As others have noted, this is more of a watch-it-once kind of movie. Jack White says it himself in the movie, the chances of the same thing being beautiful more than once are extremely slim. What really annoyed me is that I spent the extra few dollars on Blu-Ray only to find all the concert footage being intentionally noisy/grainy. Only the sit-down interviews were truly in HD, and that is a total of about 4 minutes of film. However we did benefit greatly from the DTS audio on the BD; we got goosebumps during more than one wailing guitar solo blasting through our 5.1 system. I will most likely sell this back to Amazon and buy It Might Get Loud [Blu-ray] instead.

I was glued to the screen from beginning to end and then had to watch this two more times the same week that I bought it. Excellent film quality, great artistry, and wonderful insights into the workings of the band.

If you love the White Stripes you will love this movie, everything that's awesome about the band is on this disk, the spontaneity and passion of their shows, the power of their music, Jacks interesting views on life and music, subtle pre meditated comical things like the placement of background objects. I really enjoyed watching it. It beautifully captures what their live shows are all about. Someone who doesn't get them and what they are all about could argue that they sound a little sloppy in places or his voice is occasionally off, she's not a great drummer Etc but if you get what they are all about all of those things just add to how awesome they are and why their live shows are so passionate and amazing to watch. In summary if you love them you will love this, if you love music and passionate performances, you will love this, if you're a Jack White hater who doesn't get the white stripes or what they are about, look elsewhere, this movie will not be good for you.