6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A documentary project on Bruce Springsteen made by the people and for the people.
Starring: Bruce SpringsteenMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 44% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Is there any other artist in the annals of rock ‘n’ roll who has inspired the kind of fan loyalty Bruce Springsteen has? Now, this isn’t merely an issue of ferocity, for surely there have been rabid fans for any number of huge music icons, whether it be Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or, indeed, any of the “superstar by lottery” winners of the increasingly silly television contests. There’s an actual difference in quality (as opposed to quantity, which of course The Boss also inspires) in fans’ love of Springsteen. As ardent as fans of, say, Elvis were (and of course still are), one would hardly ever expect to see them identify with their idol the way that many followers of Bruce do. No, for many, their music idols are just that—idols, faraway Gods and Goddesses who are to be worshipped, never actually touched. But Bruce has always had a visceral connection with his fans—he’s one of the guys, a working class hero who never let superstardom go to his head, who still seems approachable somehow and who may in fact inspire worship but who has a tendency to react to that worship with a kind of “aw, shucks” naturalness. That very earnestness seems to typify many, if not all, of the fans who submitted their self-recorded paeans to The Boss, out of which this fascinating if patently odd documentary is woven. Those who come to Springsteen & I expecting some kind of insight into The Boss’ history and working process will be sorely disappointed. This is much more a sociological document, one that is, in the words of the blurb on the back cover of this Blu-ray, “a film by the fans and for the fans”.
Springsteen & I is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a variety of aspect ratios, as befits the source elements (the majority of the documentary tends to be in 1.78:1 and 1.33:1, though it is not limited solely to those two aspect ratios). There is a huge disparity in video quality here, but this should not be an unexpected phenomenon given the fact that people submitted their homages to Bruce on everything from what looks like actual HD video to low res cell phone video. Interspersed with these testimonials are snippets of Bruce in concert. Some look rather good, like quick bits from the 2012 Hard Rock Calling Concert (which also shows up as a supplement), but some of the archival material which dates back several decades, is noticeably more ragged, obviously sourced from old small millimeter formats or videotape, including some that has degraded pretty dramatically. With all of this taken into consideration, overall the video quality here is true to the source, which should be all that really matters. Some of the contemporary interview sequences (of fans—no interviews of Bruce or band members is included) looks really sharp and well defined. Some of the cell phone video is obviously relatively less well resolved. This therefore may not always offer state of the art "sharp" quality, but it's never less than watchable.
While Springsteen & I offers both a 5.1 as well as 2.0 mix (both DTS-HD Master Audio), there's less of a difference between them than some might be hoping for. This is after all comprised largely of spoken "confessionals", and as such there simply isn't much surround activity there to exploit. The musical snippets open things up at least relatively speaking in the 5.1 mix, but the key word there is snippets—there are only a few seconds of music at a time, with only a couple of tunes getting more than a moment or two in the sun. All of that said, fidelity is excellent, even in the archival material where the attendant video quality is less than desirable.
- Thunder Road
- Because the Night
- Shackled and Drawn
- We Are Alive
- When I Saw Her Standing There
- Twist and Shout
Springsteen & I is really an often unexpectedly moving documentary, one that ably depicts the love The Boss' worldwide horde of fans obviously feels for Bruce. While Bruce is the ostensible subject, he's largely in absentia here, showing up only in brief interstitials of concert footage. This is really all about the fans, and as such, anyone wanting a down and dirty documentary on Springsteen would be best advised to look elsewhere. But for what it is, Springsteen & I is remarkably effective. The closing montage of Bruce singing "Born to Run" over the course of some 40 years (give or take) is a thrilling exercise in nostalgia—and stamina. Highly recommended.
2009
2009
2019
2006
1981
2016
Bruce Springsteen
1977-2009
Deluxe Edition | ~90m Bonus disc
2016
with Bonus Disc
2012
1999
Special Edition | Warner Archive Collection
1970
50th Anniversary
1973
The Rolling Stones
2008
1988
1980
1972
2009
Lennon NYC
2010
2003
1984