Year of the Horse

Year of the Horse (1997)

** (out of 4)

I can respect what Jim Jarmusch was going for. I mean, it's clear that the ugliness of this film was done on purpose but just because you respect someone for trying something different doesn't mean you have to be entertained by it. This documentary, the director's only to date, takes a look at Neil Young and Crazy Horse's 1996 tour with interviews with those involved as they discuss the history of the group. This includes a rather rocky road in the 1970s and various re-gatherings leading up to the '96 tour. Right from the start in big bold letters we're told about the 8mm, 16mm and various other formats used to create this film but whatever they were going for must have gotten lost in the mix because the end result is a pretty ugly film to look at and listen to. I understand the visuals of the film were probably meant to capture the mood and spirit of the music but by filming this way they've also delivered some rather ugly audio. I've heard a lot of people get upset over the selection of songs but as I've grown as a Young fan I've realized that he does what he wants and that includes releasing something with not too many hits. I didn't mind the song selection as the performances were quite good but sadly I thought the actual audio quality didn't do them justice. There was an interesting take on "Tonight's the Night" and a clever mix between an old and new performance of "Like a Hurricane" that was very good. With that said, the ugliness of the film also has some pretty boring interviews where Young and the band just keep talking and talking and quite often it's about a rather uninteresting subject. There's no question that Young die hards will want to check this out but others should probably avoid it.

Neil Young and his favorite back-up band Crazy Horse are filmed during his 1996 tour. Splendid concert footage(filmed in various formats to acompany the ragged music) is mixed with honest backstage footage from 1996, 1986 and 1976. The result is one the 90's best Rock'n' Roll pictures in a LONG time. Anyone interested in Rock should check out the distorted piece.

I DO like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, yet I felt Neil's simplistic guitar solos took up more screen-time than I would have liked. That is my only reservation. Jarmusch' good-natured approach and sympathetic questions makes this watchable and revealing. Neil's father obviously has great respect for his son. And Frank Sampedro's cynical retorts were very funny! More to the point - "Like a hurricane" still sounds like a rock classic.

Granted, non-fans of Neil Young will not like this film, but as one of his biggest fans (I have over 35 CDs of his music, solo and with CSN, Buffalo Springfield and others), I loved this film. Many people were put off by the grain of the Super 8 sequences, but I think that visual scheme ADDS to the mood and feel of his music.

I also liked the varied song list. Not only does he play songs from his most recent album of the time (Broken Arrow, an OK, but not great album) but he revisits his classics (Tonight's the Night, Barstool Blues, Like A Hurricane). It's a great sampler.

I also liked the weird humor that Young and Crazy Horse infuse into the documentary sequences. Many people were understandably turned off by this (including my mother and she LIKES Neil's music!)but I thought of it as in the Frank Zappa-vein of bizarre personal humor that only a handful of people fully get.

NOTE: If you buy this film, purchase the Canadian import version. It is presented in widescreen format (1.77:1 not 1.66:1 as listed in technical specs) The USA Films release is panned and scanned and believe me Jarmusch makes the most of the frame, no matter how small it is)It costs more, but believe me, it's worth the extra money!

This film is a great documentary, i was not a fan of Neil young but was won over by this kooky depiction of Young's band crazy horse, Great music interesting people, the real life subjects of this movie resemble Jarmusch's loveable offbeat fictional charicters. A good Friday night film watch it