Neil Young: Heart of Gold

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Acclaimed director Jonathan Demme turns his cameras on musician Neil Young in this intimate two-night concert. Nashville, Tenn.'s landmark Ryman Auditorium provides superb acoustics for a soul-baring set from Young's album "Prairie Wind," with the legendary singer-songwriter also performing reworked versions of some classics. Joining Young onstage are his wife, Pegi, Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith and others.
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Netflix Rating: 3.4
NYT Critics' Pick: Filled with country memories, bluesy regret and familiar and piercing sentiment, Jonathan Demme's concert film sounds like quintessential Neil Young, which, depending on your home catalog, will be either an enormous turn-on or turn-off. Read the review
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics: The best moments in the film are when Ellen Kuras's camera just sits there taking in the whole stage, the whole gorgeous ecosystem. full review

David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It doesn't penetrate his craggy mystique, or make us hear his music in a new way. Instead, it's the same old choir song. full review

Evelyn McDonnell, Miami Herald

This Prairie Wind concert is one long sweet twang of wistful not-quite-regret. full review

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

When it comes to pop-music icons, Neil Young is the full package. full review

Larry Rodgers, Arizona Republic

Some defiant rockers are forever young. This one is in name only. full review

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Neil Young: Heart of Gold is one of the best live concert films ever made. If you like Neil Young, that is. full review

Tom Long, Detroit News

It does what the best movies of any genre do: turn the produced and scripted into something sincere and honest. full review

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

One of the new year's most satisfying films. full review

Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Like its troubadour, Heart of Gold is smart and generous with its seeming simplicity. full review

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Few artists are so adept at addressing the past and embracing the future all at once. And few recent films have so gracefully captured a musician at a specific point in his time. full review

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

Neil Young: Heart of Gold, director Jonathan Demme's lovingly shot document of Young's August 2005 performances at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, has to rank among the most heartfelt concert films ever made. full review

Bob Townsend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I couldn't help but wish that as long as Young was making a new film with a top-tier director at the helm, he would have provided more insight into his life, as Martin Scorsese's recent TV documentary did for Bob Dylan.

Brad Kava, San Jose Mercury News

Heart of Gold is the work of an egalitarian lover of music. Demme uses the camera as a divining rod, pointing at the man with the guitar. full review

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

It's movie and music bliss.

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Heart of Gold -- filmed in much the same manner [as Stop Making Sense], with pristine sound and a notable lack of audience shots -- is a deeper and infinitely more touching piece of work. full review

Ty Burr, Boston Globe

All in all, a visual and musical feast. full review

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Director Demme is smart and sensitive enough to sit back and listen to the music without attention-getting intrusions. full review

Desson Thomson, Washington Post

It will be hard for any Young devotee not to succumb to the music, as Demme turns the movie theater into a concert hall. full review

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

A love letter to the consistency, and the familiarity, of that voice. full review

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

A film that is both a celebration and a wistful look back. full review

Peter Howell, Toronto Star