It Might Get Loud

Director: Davis Guggenheim Davis Guggenheim

Overview

Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim focuses his probing lens on a subject that's decidedly less urgent but no less fascinating with this look at the electric guitar featuring Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's the Edge, and the White Stripes' Jack White. Growing up, all three guitarists realized their rebellion through music: Page was attempting to subvert the sugary-sweet pop music of the 1960s, the Edge was hell-bent on making the guitar solos of the 1970s a distant memory, and White used his screeching strings to buzz out the droning bass machines of the 1980s. Later, Page makes his way to Headley Grange to revisit the birthplace of "Stairway to Heaven," The Edge digs out the original four-track rehearsals for "Where the Streets Have No Name" in Dublin, and White expresses his exuberance for revered bluesman Son House -- all the while displaying their deep love for their instrument of choice by permitting the viewer a rare chance to see them refining as-yet-unreleased material. When the trio comes together for a landmark jam session, their spectacularly diverse styles and instruments become just as apparent as the shared passion that binds them all together.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/22/2009
UPC:	0043396315129
Original Release:	2008
Rating:	PG
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	38,192

Special Features

Deleted scenes; Commentary with director David Guggenheim, producer Lesley Chilcott and producer Thomas Tull; Toronto film festival press conference

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

David Carradine	Actor
Traci Lords	Actor
Michael Wyle	Actor
Curt Ellis	Actor

Technical Credits

Eric Mintz

Davis Guggenheim	Director,Producer
Lesley Chilcott	Producer
Thomas Tull	Producer
Peter Afterman	Producer
Bert Ellis	Executive Producer
Mike Mailis	Executive Producer
Eric Mintz	Screenwriter
Joel Dougherty	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

It Might Get Loud is a slick documentary about three seminal guitarists from successive generations of rock royalty: Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's the Edge, and the White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather's Jack White. The film follows the guitarists individually, in evocative settings like Headley Grange, the studio where "Stairway to Heaven" was written, and the Dublin high school where U2 first played together as teenagers. The three subjects sidestep music-biz gossip and open up about their influences, their approach to songcraft, and their aesthetic goals. Music lovers -- guitar fanatics in particular -- will thrill to some behind-the-scenes tech-talk as the artists explain how they get their respective sounds. These fascinating individual interviews are intercut with impressionistic bits, animation, cool titles, mesmerizing vintage footage of the guitarists and their blues singer heroes, and a round-robin jam featuring all three guitarists learning and playing each other's tunes. The live music segments are at times awkward, as the men eye each other warily and shyly, seemingly unsure of how to interact. But when the music works -- as it does in the trio's impromptu "Whole Lotta Love" -- sparks fly and genuine smiles break out all over. Fortunately, these inspired moments outshine the clumsy on-stage socializing, and viewers are left with the impression that these three very different masters have more in common than previously suspected.