Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Love We Make Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 22, 2011

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Bradley Kaplan, Albert Maysles and Ian Markiewicz's "The Love We Make" (2011) arrives on Blu- ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment. Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc. In English, with optional English, French, Spanish, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

On the streets of New York City

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Paul McCartney was in New York City, sitting on a plane bound for England. He never left because all airports closed - two planes had struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center and another had crashed in Pennsylvania.

The events that followed inspired McCartney to perform a small concert to honor the firefighters of New York City. Harvey Weinstein, a good friend of McCartney, heard about the concert and suggested something different - that McCartney headlines a bigger concert for New York City, which VH1 was working on putting together.

McCartney immediately agreed. The concert was to be staged at Madison Square Garden, where the likes of Jay-Z, The Who, Elton John, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Mick Jagger, amongst others would perform together. In addition to the musicians many actors, athletes and prominent politicians were invited to attend the event.

Directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter) - who together with his brother, David Maysles, accompanied The Beatles during their famous stop in New York City in 1964, and later on had the unique footage he shot used for the famous documentaries What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. (1964) and The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit (1994) - The Love We Make chronicles the preparations for the concert McCartney headlined in 2011. The film features footage from McCartney’s casual walks around New York City during which he is seen talking to ordinary people who witnessed the September 11 attacks, as well as footage from his meetings with various celebrities, such as Howard Stern, Pat O’Brien, Dan Rather, and Barbara Walters. There is also plenty of raw footage from various rehearsals, where McCartney and his musicians are seen experimenting with different arrangements, solos, etc. At the end of the film there are also clips from the actual concert.

What makes The Love We Make fascinating to behold, however, are the casual comments McCartney makes in between the rehearsals and official interviews. He explains how many years ago his father, a war veteran. taught him to deal with pain and loss, why it never felt right to have The Beatles reunite, how he felt immediately after the U.S. was attacked. Some of these comments are very touching and also thought-provoking because they show that even the biggest stars struggled with the same polarizing emotions ordinary Americans did in the days and months after the tragedy.

Despite the numerous references to the September 11 attacks, the film is anything but depressing. It is respectful, energizing and in fact quite entertaining. The footage from McCartney’s interview with Stern, for instance, is absolutely hilarious (somewhat predictably, the shock jock asks if McCartney ever had sex with a black woman). There is also an excellent behind-the-scenes segment in which McCartney is seen conversing with a very enthusiastic President Bill Clinton, who remarks that, “They can say whatever they want to about the ‘60s generation. We did a good job of hanging around.”

The entire film is shot in black and white, only some of the clips from the interviews and the concert at the end of the film are in color.

Note: Earlier this year, The Love We Make was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Love We Make Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bradley Kaplan, Albert Maysles and Ian Markiewicz's The Love We Make arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The original footage shot by Albert Maysles looks excellent. Detail and clarity are very pleasing while contrast levels are stable. The most impressive sequences are the ones where Paul McCartney is seen conversing with various musicians and politicians, and especially the close-ups. The footage from the streets of New York City, however, is also pleasing. There are some image fluctuations during the archival interviews (for example, the Howard Stern show segment), but this should not be surprising as these clips have originated from various sources. The variety of blacks, grays, and whites are also stable. Lastly, there are no purely transfer related anomalies to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

The Love We Make Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0 and English Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Eagle Rock Entertainment have provided optional English, French, Spanish, and German subtitles for the main feature.

The Love We Make is primarily a dialog driven feature. Naturally, there isn't a sizable gap in quality between the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and the English LPCM 2.0 track. Even during the rehearsals the two tracks have very similar dynamic ranges. The dialog is also equally crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no sync issues or audio dropouts to report in this review.

The Love We Make Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplemental features included on this Blu-ray disc.

The Love We Make Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The tragic events of September 11, 2001, resonated with a lot of people around the world. They also had a tremendous impact on Paul McCartney, certainly one of the most talented musicians and performers ever. The Love We Make is a poignant documentary film about the famous Beatle's desire to honor the fallen heroes of September 11. RECOMMENDED.