Meeting People Is Easy

This highly cinematic documentary forces one to rethink the way s/he may think of life as a "rock star". Radiohead's unique stardom is portrayed in a dark and highly neurotic light. The pains of dealing with an incessant press, constant live performances, and travel around the nation bear down on these five men and produce tension that borders on nervous breakdown. When watching this film, the intense style transports this tension to the viewer, making it difficult to watch. But it adds insight to the band that has changed Rock music forever, and lets one understand better exactly what they are doing and going through. Well worth the headache and depression experienced afterwards. Meeting people is truly not easy.

"Meeting people is easy" is a pretty good documentary of Radiohead's OK Computer world tour. It abruptly begins with concerts (bits and pieces), photo shoots, behind the scenes and interviews with the media through Europe, USA, Japan, Australia and ends back the UK where you hear them recording music for their next 2 albums (Kid A and Amnesiac).

Its not really a coherent documentary, with scenes cutting back & forth and some arty stuff chucked in for the sake of it, but this DVD shows the media attention and coverage they received, all because of their highly regarded album OK Computer... they were the in band at the time.

From this the stress and tension builds up throughout the world tour and we clearly see them getting emotionally drained.

You get to hear them playing bits of new and unfinished music which would be later added onto there next 2 albums, but don't just expect live performances (as there is hardly any). They're a band that's not afraid to experiment with their music. Though this DVD is more about their experiences throughout the tour, then that of their music.

Some people might have found this boring but I actually quite enjoyed it. It would've been great to get some full length live performances than that of small snippets (though there is good full length performance at the end) but I found the media's attention towards Radiohead and how it was eating them up, very interesting indeed.

4.5/5

As a long time Radiohead fan, I was very very excited about the release of Grant Gee's documentary. Needless to say it lived up to all my expectations. It showed the band as people, not huge rock stars or snobs or whatever the public might take them for. It was the daily routine of photo shoots, interviews, and touring that helps us realize what hard work is needed to be a success. New song previews were a plus too. An excellent look at an excellent band.

"Meeting People Is Easy" is an amazing, groundbreaking work. This is not merely a concert video, nor is it, consciously, a short film. It is a visually stunning, aurally exciting piece that twists your head around in wonderful ways.

Don't judge "Meeting People Is Easy" based on whether or not you like the Radiohead that you hear on the radio; nothing could be further from relevant when regarding this film. The concert footage, in conjunction with the searing visual pyrotechnics, brings to light the product of a band of rare quality, skill, and creativeness. Each bandmember is given a moment in the spotlight to show off their individual talents, and the process as a whole is, well, breathtaking.

Several people that I know, some Radiohead fans, some not, have attempted to watch the DVD but not been able to finish it. This, almost invariably, comes not from disinterest or disgust, but rather from the overwhelming emotional roller coaster the film progresses along. This can be an exhausting work to take in. If you feel ready to be challenged, however, and, (especially) if you love Radiohead, this DVD is absolutely essential.

I'm not going to tell you that if you don't know who RadioHead are, or if you don't like them, that you should watch this. If I weren't a fan (or if I lived so deep inside a cave I'd never heard of them), I would have gone crazy trying to wrap my head around this movie.

However, since I am a huge fan, I absolutely loved this video. Artfully done, it has more crammed into it than I would have thought possible. The Irony, the Agony, the Frustration, the Fans, the Good Times, the (never-ending) Interviews; and of course the vicarious thrill you get from this rare look into the real back-stage life of a serious rock-n-roll band.

This is not an up-lifting film. It makes you glad you never seriously pursued a career in the popular music industry.