One has to wonder what terrors Lou Lumenick of the NYP suffered while coincidentally listening to a Neil Young song. His review is so out of whack with all the others, both professional and amateur.

Beautifully directed film, showing the audience the most intimate details of the musicians' interactions against awesome shadows and lighting. It's like being AT the Ryman...right up in the front row. The sound is unbelievable and the music...well, if you're a Neil fan, you'll simply wished he just played more.

The Prairie Wind footage is lovely and who can complain when such a fantastic group of singers and musicians tackles Young classics in the second part on the bare Ryman stage. Takes on even more urgency with the recent death of Neil's dad and his own upcoming brain surgery (though the I'm sure, positive results of the operation are not referred to later in the film). Your heart will flutter a bit when Neil tells you the lineage of the battered acoustic guitar he plays for much of the show.… Expand

This movie took me totally by surprise. I was unprepared for the incredible emotional impact it had on me. It shook me to the core. I had not heard the Prarie Wind songs before. I hadn't kept up with Neil Young's music. I knew I liked Neil Young--but that was a long time ago--I was 18, lost, moved back home, hid in my old childhood bedroom, listiening to Heart of Gold & Old Man over and over. Eventually I was well enough to leave and I never went back. I forgot that time. Seeing him in this beautiful, subtle film, brought it back. And more. I started crying during "It's only a dream." I was crying for recent losses, the kind you have with age, the kind most young people can't understand. Simply because they haven't experienced it yet. I stayed for the 2nd show, to hear that song again and try to understand why it evoked such a response (I don't cry ever at movies). I watched him sing again, the pain and courage in his aged face, his heart breaking in his voice. I really heard the lyrics and I understood. Does anyone else see that Prarie Wind is more than a song about personal losses, aging, death of loved ones, the near-death of the singer himself? Neil Young is mourning the loss of America. This country died on 9/11 and it will never come back. The images--wheat fields, yellow air, a boy fishing, his bicycle nearby, an old man walking down the street. It's gone. This is not nostalgia for the good old days and it's not the death of a Norman Rockwell America. Neil Young is feeling the death of a great country and the sense of place we once had and will never have again. With "no place to stay" even a memory dies. No one will remember what this country once was. There is no nostalgia because no one remembers and that is the most horrible death of all.… Expand

Gave me chills it was so good. I had never heard Neil Young before and this film made me want to run out and buy his album. Demme is truly a genius.

Well done movie. The music, the mix of new and old, is really good. It is nice to have the talking between songs that is clear and easy to understand. The song at the end, while the credit roll is a nice bonus.

neil young has always been a favorite entertainer of mine; but haven't really followed his career for a long time. as my friend, husband and i watched mezmerized, she said this feels like the closest i've been to church in a long time" although she goes every sunday with her young children. we all agreed that "it was all about the music" and i listen to certain cuts each night before going to bed. i want to buy it for my 89 year mother and everyone i love in between that age. the abrupt upstroke on the guitar on "the needle and the damage done" is an example of the thought, feeling and supberb craftsmanship of each song.… Expand

I've been a Neil Young fan since his Buffalo Springfield days and I suppose I must have every album he has ever made or been part of. I bought Prarie WInd about six months ago and it reminded me of Harvest and Harvest Moon only I thought it bette. I bought the DVD being already familiar with the CD and, honestly, I never expected to be surprised by the picture. The picture is a notch above the CD on many levels and in my opinion it perfectly captures the themes of the CD. I suppose some might call the picture overly romantic even schmaltzy. Sadly, there are many cynical people in the world. Whether the picture is as authentic as the director would have us believe is I think rather besides the point. I was not at the Ryman and cannot judge that point; what I can do is watch this picture and attempt to understand what Demme and Young hoped and wanted their live audience to experience...the romance of North American life. I came away from the picture with an even greater appreciation of Neil Young as a performer, musician, and lyricist: The man only gets better with time.… Expand

Back when I was in college, Neil Young was right up there with Bob Dylan, for me and my friends. For many years since, I've not followed his career until seeing this extraordinary film. I felt like I had been simultaneously snapped into 1970, but yet rooted in the here and now. Neil Young is a treasure, and this film will be an indelible example of just how valuable he is.

A real treat, especially if you're a Neil Young fan. But should appeal to anyone with a heart, with a family, with emotions. Demme's treatment of this concert at the legendary Ryman Auditorium is exceptional, and he and Neil have achieved what they were apparently setting out to do: create a wonderfully touching musical dream. The second half of the show in particular is a masterpiece!