Documentary filmmaker David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) has prepared a daring expos’eacute; on three guitar gods.
It Might Get Loud, which was released at the Angelika Theater on Friday, follows Jack White (The White Stripes), The Edge (U2) and the almighty Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), as they recount their experiences with music.
For opponents of U2, the fact that The Edge is being labeled as one of the best guitarists of all time, alongside White and Page, is an insult to the dead legends of guitar such as Jimmy Hendrix. However, it seems Guggenheim is focusing on the modern era of rock music. With U2’s strong following, The Edge is slightly capable of being a part of that category.
In a Houston Chronicle article published Sept. 3, White said he liked the proposition of Guggenheim’s documentary because it didn’t follow a definite ideal.
‘It could have been some bad Guitar Center instructional video or something,’ White said.
‘Or it could have gone one by one through all the Zeppelin albums, the U2 albums, etc. But we wouldn’t get any depth about how these people are attacking the instrument.’
Even though the footage archives three popular guitarists, the film’s existence has become precarious to a few.
‘It Might Get Loud expects magic, but nothing happens,’ Mick Lasalle, a film critic for the Houston Chronicle, wrote in the article.
Even though Lasalle said each musician has a right to be labeled as a guitar god, he believes there is social awkwardness between the three. The inequality between the musicians and the realization that they have different views and musical foundations highlights that they have absolutely nothing in common.
Precarious or not, Guggenheim tries to broaden the horizon of music and focus on a fresh look into the people who have challenged the limitations of the music scene.
Wire-walking flick soars with critics
Man on Wire, a 2008 documentary, pleased critics for the 2009 Academy Awards. The film followed Philippe Petit, a French wire walker in 1974, as he walked on a wire connecting the rooftops of the World Trade Center towers.
This is the first documentary to show the Twin Towers for what they used to be before the Sept. 11 terrorists attack.
Though the film is a year old and follows a journey that took place over three decades ago, it has become a pivotal phenomenon for most critics.
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