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Movies / Upcoming / CSNY Déjà Vu
CSNY Déjà Vu

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CSNY Déjà Vu (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 37

Fresh: 24

Rotten:13

Average Rating: 6.1/10

Consensus: Half concert doc, half political exposition, CSNY: DeJa Vu straddles the old and new slant on politics in music with diligence and not a little self-promotion.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release: Jul 25, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $32,910

Synopsis: If you grew up, as I did, with your dorm room full of albums by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and antiwar activities as part of your daily agenda, you may approach the Freedom of Speech Tour with preconceptions about its motivations and... If you grew up, as I did, with your dorm room full of albums by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and antiwar activities as part of your daily agenda, you may approach the Freedom of Speech Tour with preconceptions about its motivations and content based on the band you remember. Although the chronicle of that tour, CSNY Déjà Vu, is indeed a look back at the politics and anti–Vietnam War sentiment, its real value lies in its rejection of simple nostalgia and its ability to focus on the present day. As both a portrait of a band and an examination of artistic process, CSNY Déjà Vu is filmmaking that is self-centered, yet fresh and critical. Today's generation must be as tired of hearing about the '60s as we were of an earlier era, and this depiction of the tour is anything but preaching to the converted. Part performance, part commentary, and very much a call for activism, CSNY Déjà Vu is relevant because we ignore the lessons of history at our peril. Featuring music from Neil Young's controversial Living with War CD, this evocative and edgy film documents reactions from fans to a band that has remained committed to issues of politics and art for more than four decades. Since history seems to repeat itself, perhaps our artists best illustrate what we need to remember. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stephen Colbert

Starring: David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stephen Colbert

Director: Bernard Shakey

Director: Bernard Shakey
Screenwriter: Mike Cerre, Neil Young
Producer: Neil Young
Studio: Roadside Attractions

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Reviews for CSNY Déjà Vu

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

The combination of music with the performers' dedication makes this more moving than a concert souvenir, though they are almost upstaged by touching moments with veterans.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
11/27/08
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Screen International
Ratings Image

What saves CSNY/Deja Vu from its self-importance is the surprisingly lively, timely and timeless music.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/12/08
Stan Hall
Oregonian
Ratings Image

It is a good, strong documentary.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
08/04/08
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Neil Young, though he be the writer of some of the finest, most trenchant, angriest political songs of the last fifty years, has no skill at marshaling arguments in a cinematic context.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
07/31/08
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Ratings Image

The problem isn't what it's communicating. It's the awkward structure and tendency toward redundancy. The film's a hodgepodge of songs, old footage and stories of the Iraq War that just doesn't come together with any sense of narrative cohesiveness.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
07/29/08
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com
Ratings Image

One can't help finding it funny that the most poorly positioned elements in the film are musical ones, yet the uniquely raw and under-produced sound of the band does find itself a comfortable home in this raw and under-produced doc.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/25/08
Sara Schieron
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image

Many come to the shows unprepared for the heavy sermonizing. Others call for it. The documentary seems equally divisive.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/25/08
Aidin Vaziri
San Francisco Chronicle
Ratings Image

Come to think of it, maybe the reason the movie spends so much time patting the band on the back is because it is obvious movie audiences aren't likely to.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
07/25/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Ratings Image

CSNY Déjà Vu doesn’t break any new documentary ground, but it does exactly what it sets out to do: Preserve a live event and make it available to a broader audience.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/25/08
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image

CSNY Déjà Vu has some delicious moments, but you never quite shake the feeling that it's documenting a tempest in a teapot.

comment Comment
07/25/08
Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The band's harmonies have crumbled and their new songs sound like paint being chipped off an aluminum shed with a garden rake. Their hits would sound better on the next eight-track you see at a yard sale.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/25/08
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Ratings Image

Young, who directed the movie, compares today's climate with the Vietnam era, and doesn't bother hiding his disappointment in the present.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/25/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Ratings Image

Recent and archival interview, news, war and music footage, which often juxtapose the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts, round out this unflinching, well-constructed picture.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
07/25/08
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

It will doubtlessly end up preaching to the choir -- Bush backers beware -- but that choir should enjoy it.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
07/25/08
Tom Long
Detroit News
Ratings Image

The movie makes you glad that CSNY is still out there rocking in the free world. It makes you doubly glad they're not leading it.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/25/08
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Ratings Image

Might have packed a stronger punch with more commitment to both the music and the message.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/25/08
Ted Fry
Seattle Times
Ratings Image

The film avoids discussing politics directly, and instead discusses the right to discuss politics.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/25/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

...a mix of music and politics, outrage and respect, past and present that is both thoroughly entertaining and reflective.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
07/25/08
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Ratings Image

Wears its heart squarely on its sleeve for all to see and takes no prisoners in stating its political mind.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
07/25/08
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for CSNY Déjà Vu

September 29, 2008: CSNY fires up this rousing rockumentary, the camera's rough cut tendencies not withstanding. In other words, call me stuff like geriatric and bloated - as malice-minded talking head reporters do - but whatever you do, don't diss my peace activism. Opens in new window
More...

September 21, 2008: NeilYoung.com: CSNY fires up this rousing rockumentary, the camera's rough cut tendencies aside. In other words, call me stuff like geriatric and bloated - as malice-minded talking head reporters do - but whatever you do, don't diss my peace activism. Opens in new window
More...

July 24, 2008: Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under "Disappointing"
This week at the movies, we learn that the truth is out there (The X-Files: I Want to Believe, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and that step-sibling rivalry can be... More...

June 29, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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Related Forums for CSNY Déjà Vu

New concert film review: 'CSNY Deja Vu' with Neil Young, David Crosby
by: lovelacy 7/29
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