20140513: Documentary Review--Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. Canadian live action feature length film, 2010, NR, 106 minutes, documentary, music.
2. IMDB: 8.4/10.0 from 2,369 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 100% on the meter; 94% liked it from 1,816 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 4.3/5.0 from 89,551 audience ratings.
5. Directed by: Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen.
6. Starring: Rush (Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson), Billy Corgan, Gene Simmons, Jack Black, Les Claypool.


2. Setup and Plot
1. The film takes a three-pronged approach.  First, there are interviews done in contemporary time, with the three principals of Rush, and well-known musicians who admire them, or were influenced by them.  Second, there are interviews with family, handlers, and music industry associates.  Third, there are many archival clips of live performances of Rush.


2. Their growth from getting their first radio play in Cleveland to being well-known was quite engaging; the first hour slipped by quickly, going from nowhere to the album Moving Pictures.  Then the issue of dealing with fame started to come in.  Fan interaction rose strongly.  Alex and Geddy were fine with that, but Neil was more of a private person and avoids interactions.


3. The band's character and their fans' characteristics are compared in lots of detail.  Neil was the principal lyricist, and his special talent seems to be reflecting his deep literacy in terms that just about anyone can understand.  Further, their music tends to be complex, yet still accessible.


4. In the eighties, the group switched producer and instruments toward synthesizers, electronic drumsets, and keyboards.  They trended toward shorter songs with less complexity, less bass, and more keyboard.  Some of their fans drifted away, many others did not.


5. As one of their industry admirers put it, there were different periods of Rush, and that is one of the things that makes them interesting.  Toward the end of the eighties, they switched producers again, and went back into being a 'power trio' again, but in the current context.


6. Around 1997, Neil's daughter died in an accident, and his wife passed from illness not too long after.  He embarked on a long trip on motorcycle (55k miles).  The band shutdown while Neil healed.


7. When Neil returned, there was a period of getting his chops back.  They recorded a new album; they went on the road again.  The band was rejuvenated, and traveled to places where they had ever been before, to large audiences.  In the 21st century, some of their fans from the seventies celebrate them: the makers of South Park and Steven Colbert, for instance.


8. Up to the time the documentary was made, the band was going strong.  As Geddy said at one point, Rush is the world's most popular cult band.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Finely crafted documentary of the legendary Canadian rock group Rush.
2. Five stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 9/10 Nicely done.  The archival footage clips look like the eras they came from, but the current interviews looks sharp and well-produced.


2. Sound: 10/10 Seldom disappoints.  I wish there had been more concert footage, but the exposition was too good to be omitted.


3. Acting: z/10 Not really applicable here.


4. Screenplay: 10/10 Well-organised, well-presented, and rich in the level of information that it presents.