Down from the Mountain (2001)
On May 24, 2000, the historic Ryman Auditorium was booked to offer Nashvillians an evening of sublime beauty. Label executives and soundtrack producers so loved the music of O Brother, Where Art Thou? that they brought it to life as a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen loved it so much that they hired famed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker to record the show for posterity. The concert that unfolded that night was one of the greatest musical moments in the annals of Music City. Performers: John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Chris Thomas King, The Cox Family, Fairfield Four, Union Station, Colin Linden, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Peasall Sisters, Ralph Stanley, David Rawlings, The Whites.
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Reviews
Wow! Such a good movie.
Fantastic!
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
This is a film for music lovers. Here we have some of the most talented performers of folk/bluegrass/blues in America today doing some of the most enduring songs ever written. It is the music that is the star, not the performers or the filmmakers. In fact, I think the filmmakers knew that and deliberately played down the cinematic tricks. What you see (and hear) is what you get. The introductory documentary is more a mosaic than a story. It sets the mood of the entire movie, showing the performers as ordinary folk who might as well be gathering for a neighborhood picnic. The performances are all excellent. Standouts include Ralph Stanley, John Hartford and Alison Krauss. If you have even a passing interest in American Roots music this is a film not to be missed.
For what it is this is pretty good. It has musicians playing and audience enjoying with no film-trickery or SFX. I was a bit disappointed that the song "I'll Fly Away" wasn't shown complete but as a track over the credits.The documentary section could have been way better, perhaps with more history of the songs and musicians for them folks of us who don't know nobetter! The bits about how they learned to sing and play were very interesting and more would have been appreciated.However, as a record of some fine, ole time music it hits the spot nicely.
This is a concert film about musicians enjoying to make music. At last a concert film where a shot can be longer than 30 seconds. No special effects, dazling camera movements or superfast cutting here. But a crew of talented cameramen trying to capture the emotion of a concert by concentrating on the faces of the musicians. Take also notice of the incredible sound quality. The sound engineer took the risk of using only a few high quality microphones and let the musicians do most of the balancing. The clarity and transparency is remarkable.
Concert movie focussing on the `bluegrass' songs of the Coens film `O Brother Where Art Thou?' EmmyLou Harris and other perform in a feast of music that washes over you from start to finish. Sadly it doesn't include the main song that George Clooney lip-synched too. At the Edinburgh film festival, where the movie got its international premiere, legendary music documentary maker D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back) explained that they had tried to get the guy to sing it about six times but he always sang different words; as a `definitive' version had already been released on the `O Brother' soundtrack, they decided, after talking to the Coens, that the number should be dropped from `Down from the Mountain.'