It Might Get Loud

[FunkyDrummer]

http://www.tiff08.ca/images/films/itmightgetloud.jpg

Director Davis Guggenheim, well-known for his Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, deepens our appreciation for going electric by bringing together three virtuosos from different generations: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White of The White Stripes. It Might Get Loud weaves together their stories to reveal how each of them developed a unique sound. (http://www.tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/itmightgetloud)

[donnie_darko]

i love the pointy finger guy!

[Liverspot]

That should be real good, I hope it gets released on disk soon.

[A.J.]

This looks cool.

[ChrisBrown]

No better illustration of how rock has declined since the early seventies. The Edge and Jimmy Page in the same room or compared in any way? come'on. The Edge is the most boring, limited guitarist who completely ripped off his style from Keith Levene. At least Jack White has an interesting take on the blues even if he isn't the most proficient. Neither could come close to holding a candle to JP.

[El Mudo]

I do love that The Edge wears toques....makes him A OK in my book, even if The Edge may be the douchiest rocker name ever

[FunkyDrummer]

From Rolling Stone...

New Film Unites Guitar Gods
The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White join forces in documentary

ANDY GREENE
Posted Oct 02, 2008 9:28 AM

In the middle of the rock documentary It Might Get Loud, Jimmy Page picks up a Les Paul and tears into "Whole Lotta Love" while the Edge and Jack White watch, slack-jawed. "They look just like 13-year-old boys," says director Davis Guggenheim. "They were both like, 'Oh, my God, that's how he did it!' " The movie — which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 5th and will get a theatrical release next year — chronicles the pan-generational trio's lives in music and the relationship that each of them has to the guitar. The high point of the film is a two-day union of the three on an L.A. soundstage, where they swap stories and jam. "It's almost like having three carpenters talk about a radial-arm saw," says White. "It's great to use this mechanical device to learn all about these other ideas that surround it."

It Might Get Loud is the brainchild of Guggenheim, who directed the Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth, and Dark Knight producer Thomas Tull. The pair wanted to make a movie that avoided the Behind the Music clichés of overdoses, infighting and groupies. "No movie I've seen captures what is so transcendent about the guitar," says Tull. "Why is this particular instrument the symbol of rock?" The filmmakers made a short list of musicians to focus on, with Page, the Edge and White at the top. "We wanted players from different eras, with different styles and approaches," says Tull.

Before the summit, all three were interviewed and filmed in their hometowns. The Edge brought a camera crew to his Dublin high school, where U2 first met and played together. In London, Page reminisced about his days as a session player for hire. And White let cameras trail him for an entire day in Nashville as he wrote and recorded a song from start to finish.

When the trio finally meet, they sit down and play. "There's a scene where Edge teaches Jack and Jimmy 'I Will Follow,' " says Guggenheim. "It's very spare and punk, and Page is mystified by it. He's saying to Edge, 'Are you sure about that C?' " On the last day of shooting, the trio surprised the filmmakers with an acoustic rendition of the Band's "The Weight," with the Edge and White swapping vocals. "Thankfully," adds Tull, "we had the cameras on."

[From Issue 1062 — October 2, 2008]

[Chigworthy]

The stage must be reinforced to support all the self-importance.

[TheGameHHH]

this looks bad ass, even in spite of the fact that "The Edge" is in it.

[fezident]

LOVED IT.
Holy shit how I loved this movie.

Each member of the cast really gets their onion peeled. They go into the songwriting... the gear.... the history... and, of course, full demonstrations of their guitar playing prowess. If you're a guitar player on any level... THIS is the movie to see.

Jimmy Page is surprisingly coherent. I was expecting him to be an Ozzy type. Ya know... barely comprehensible. But... he was quite articulate and thoughtful.
The Edge is just so normal and real. It was pleasure to watch his process.
Even Jack White (who came across as a gigantic, pretentious, douchebag blowhard) had moments of like-ability. The reverence is there.

I can't wait for the DVD.

10/10.



I would LOVE for this to become a series of films.
Maybe David Gilmour, Prince, and Tom Morello.
Or Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and Brian May.
etc etc.

[hammersavage]

I'm gonna see it Tuesday. Can't wait

[fezident]

YES!
GO!!

And bring two friends.
Even the end credits are completely satisfying.


Enjoy, budday.

[PapaBear]

what???

[JohnGacysCrawlSpace]

Did they really put Jack White and "guitar god" in the same sentence? Fucking hipsters make me sick.

[Kublakhan61]

Each member of the cast really gets their onion peeled. They go into the songwriting... the gear.... the history... and, of course, full demonstrations of their guitar playing prowess. If you're a guitar player on any level... THIS is the movie to see.

I was underwhelmed by the film - but I think it was the marketing. Many, many reviews spoke about the history of guitar, when in reality it was the history of the three men who play guitar. I knew nothing about the edge before I went in - I laughed out loud when he was playing guitar at the beach, but I did find a bit of respect for him - he's a man who truly appreciates effects. I loved jack white, even though I recognize he is too often obviously reaching for a character touchstone - that guy gets the blues. Jimmy page was the least interesting person for me, the exec producer, who told a pretty straight story that is only relevant because he was in a few legendary bands.



Even the end credits are completely satisfying.


Yes! The ending was the best part .. and I don't mean because it was over. The credits were the GREAT!

Did they really put Jack White and "guitar god" in the same sentence? Fucking hipsters make me sick.

I'm not sure you know what a hipster is?

[fezident]

As a musician.... the subtext of this movie was not lost on me. Their individual personalities very much dictated their playing styles. The Edge checks his Blackberry even while he's doing his specialized modern form of yoga. Jack White on the other hand.... is seen writing down some freelance lyrics with a dull pencil on a loose sheet of paper. Stuff like that really had me leaning forward in my chair. I can not wait for this DVD.

[hammersavage]

It Might Get Loud? It WILL get Oscar, geh geh geh

[JerseyRich]

I think this movie might have the EDGE...

For an OSCAR!

geh geh geh!

[ToiletCrusher]

Jack White will be complimented by the Red Carpet at the Oscars... geh geh geh

[JerseyRich]

"Page"ing Jimmy...Mr. Jimmy...Please proceed right to Los Angeles...FOR AN OSCAR!

Geh geh geh!

[JerseyRich]

See it.

[EliSnow]

See it.

Well, if Nigel says to see it, I'm going to see it.

[A.J.]

It Might Get Loud opened yesterday in Shirlington so I bailed from work early to catch the 3:00 showing.

WOW -- what a great film!!! I went in mostly to see Jimmy's parts but I came away with new-found respect for both The Edge and Jack White. I always liked U2, yet I thought that The Edge was a little too effects-laden in his style. But hearing him explain why he does it, and how it's integral to his vision, I get it now. I don't love Jack White, but I don't hate him either, and now I get where he's coming from too. He's truly a roots-guy.

Yeah, Jack seemed a bit douchy before the meeting and The Edge and Jimmy are so radically different in style that I thought they'd have nothing to talk about, but the mutual respect became more and more apparent as the movie went on. For example, you could start to see it: when they all started jamming on "I Will Follow". Each of them played the chordings differently and IT STILL WORKED. It even made the song sound edgier (pun intended)

The guitar geek in me was a little disappointed at Jimmy's segments simply for the fact that he didn't talk more about the various gear he used over the years (Telecaster with The Yardbirds and on Zeppelin I, the '59 Les Paul he got from Joe Walsh and the modifications he made to the pickups, the B-string bender, backwards echo, octave dividers, Roland guitar synths) or his use of alternative/open tunings. However, I could watch another hour of him just showing off that record collection as well as all of his guitars. His house was like a fucking museum!

Some of my favorite parts were:

Jimmy walking around Headley Grange where they recorded tracks for several albums but mostly Zeppelin IV and The Edge going back to his old school and standing on the spot where U2 first played. I thought these were really poignant moments, especially the old footage of Zeppelin playing out on the lawn with the Rolling Stones' mobile recording truck and Jimmy explaining how they did the miking and recording process.

The Edge showing off the riff to "Elevation" with and without effects. I laughed when he said "hey guys, here's my new riff" without the heavy sound.

The jam on "In My Time of Dying". Holy fucking shit -- that was so badass!!

The end credits jam on "The Weight". I can't believe Jimmy missed the chords because the bridge is the same chords as Zeppelin's "In The Light"!

GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

[fezident]

Bass players get no love.
ATTENTION:
Paul
Sting
Flea


Let's do this thing.