It Might Get Loud [Blu-ray]

If you are a fairly serious guitar player and/or a fan of Page, White and/of Edge, you would probably really enjoy this. I don't play the instrument so it was a little geeky for me. But somewhat biographical of the three ax men, so fans should appreciate it on that level as well.

Brilliant. Still not going to put Jack White in the same category with Jimmy Page, and The Edge is really an electro wizard more than a pure guitarist, but this is really fun and interesting.

"It Might Get Loud" does the work of several documentaries. On its surface it's a staged meeting between three iconic guitarists from three distinct eras. But it's also three biographies in miniature of three individuals who were shaped by, and helped to shape, the music that we know as rock and roll. For purists there are tantalizing glimpses of musical inspiration, obscure and otherwise, and for those who simply love the look and sound of rock, there's enough detail about the guitar to delight anyone who's ever picked up a six string.The match-up between Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White is by no means an even one, nor is it meant to be. Page, with his legendary status as session man, Yardbird, and mystical guitarist of Led Zeppelin, comes across as the most enviable of the three. He's got the riffs, the money, the fame and the aura of infallibility. Even in his advancing years his English gentleman's demeanor is still suffused with a youthful spirit. So when Page launches into his signature phrase from "Whole Lotta Love," you can see how incredibly simple the structure is -- and how only Page can pull it off with the right feeling. But the film's brilliance lies in the way it shifts from one musician to the next. The Edge and White are clearly checking out Page's moves even as they betray their admiration (the look on their faces says it all). But soon the focus is on the Edge's restless, chiming sound from "Sunday Bloody Sunday," or "Where the Streets Have No Name," and you remember that in an era younger than Page's, another set of hands was shaping the sound of emotion and lyricism. The film goes beyond a potentially dry rendition of "let's jam together for the camera" to explore the places these three musicians came from. I liked that fact that, for the most part, the reminiscences are vivid and short. There's just enough historical detail to make it interesting, and just enough music (both archival and performed for the film) to keep you riveted.As comparisons go, some may question why Jack White was included with the geniuses behind Led Zeppelin and U2. White's biographical sequences are contrivances (like his trek through rural Tennessee, speaking to his nine-year-old self in the back seat of a car) but they perhaps sum up what is both fantastical and challenging about becoming a guitar hero: the allure of playing to audiences, writing songs, and devoting oneself to music squared with the possibility of failure, hardship and a life of uncertainty and obscurity. Looking backwards at the success of these men, it's interesting to note where opportunity could have been missed: if Page had gone on with his session playing for another month, if the Edge hadn't met up with his future bandmates, if White hadn't heard his first blues song. So, whether one is a White Stripes fan or not, his contribution to the film must be seen as the work-in-progress, the young man with something to prove (and something to learn from the older guys). For all of White's private truculence, he clearly appreciates his time with the other men, and it's evident that all three share a love of the guitar.The look of the film is gorgeous in many ways. The opening credits promise a ballsy, no-nonsense look at rock and roll's glitter and cool. The instruments paraded and played will make amateurs smile. The ordinary places where things "happened" (Headley Grange, where Zeppelin recorded several albums; the lonely scenery of Dublin where the Edge rehearsed with a fledgling U2; the Detroit streets where Jack White pounded out his first tunes) are to fans of rock what the Pyramids and the deserts of Africa are to archaeologists. This is where it all began. (See also Abbey Road in London...)film, it's the truncated three-man jam of "The Weight," the Band number that the guitarists feel their way through. The closing credits roll on early in the song, stealing some of the musical connection that was building. "It Might Get Loud" has no real discernible peaks -- it's not a concert film, or even a dramatic story -- but it does have a pace and a logic that makes sense given the three men who star in it. Viewers may engage in musical criticisms about who should have been included (Why not Clapton, or Gilmour, Townshend or either Beck? Why not Mark Knopfler versus Dickey Betts?) but that is part of the fun of it all, like baseball fantasy picks. This is a rare and very worthwhile look at music history.

Great show with 3 legends. What's not to like? Highly recommended.

When I heard this documentary was out, I was itching to see it and then I got delayed. I started getting worried but I checked the theater and they still had it running once a day. HURRAY I wouldn't miss it and was going that day. THE GUITAR GENIUSES WERE PLAYING & I WAS SEEING THEM! And let me tell you, it was everything I expected and MORE!I am a longtime U2 fan and WHO ISN'T a Led Zeppelin fan?? Jack White is kind of new to me, but the film is going for past, present and future generations of rock guitar expertise and that is exactly what is achieved. As another reviewer expressed, it is quite a thing to see the faces of Edge & White marveling at what Page is talking about, playing etc. He IS the GOD up there in the trio, who can make the guitar do things no one else I've ever heard yet do since Page has run his fingers across guitar strings. NO ONE. There are many, many truly talented guitar players out there who I would include in a list WITH Page, but Page set the bar HIGH ENOUGH for all these other players to try and reach for; he made them want to be THAT GOOD. And a small handful ARE that good. BECAUSE of Page.Now I've heard people diss Edge, saying he wasn't much a guitar player etc. Well, I'm a HUGE HUGE U2 fan and so I ALREADY know what Edge can do and how he does it. He creates multiple guitar parts for one song; he hears it all in his head, uses several guitars in one song, and blends all the parts together to combine an AMAZINGLY masterful blend of guitar parts to express himself in JUST ONE SONG! He, like a symphony writer, hears all the parts of what he wants to write and with his guitars and MASSIVE pedal board, creates magnificent sounds that are TRULY UNIQUE and unmatchable by anyone else in rock today. AND ONE MORE THING: Edge CAN DO A ROCKIN' MAD GUITAR SOLO ANYTIME HE WANTS TO.......his skills are mad crazy.Jack White - that opening sequence of him making that scant guitar is something else........truly poetic and his scenes are proof of what is yet to come and of how much he has already done. I wasn't as familiar with his work as I was with the other but I knew who the White Stripes were and WOW are they great. Dude is most righteously talented and for a young man, has a keen interest and understanding of the blues. That usually takes years to possess/acquire. But he already has it. He has proven he can spread his talent across many different bands, but I think it would befit him to settle down and suit up with one and let it rock. He did look truly awe-inspired in watching Page & Edge (not just patronizing - he seemed genuine) and looked to be soaking it all up. These guys have made it to the BIG SHOW!! And I am sure that is where Jack would surely like to be at some point. He has time to experiment now; but to be a master, you have to get your sound and rock it out like there's no tomorrow. I am sure he will.Like the others, I did not want this to end. Seeing them all play together was LIKE A DREAM. And do it on slide......oh wow, what a moment. Hearing Edge tell them all, "no it's a B Minor" (again to all the Edge nay-sayers, the dude knows music) as they are jamming together, I mean, this is a "never going to happen again" moment and it was a "goose bump" moment watching as they all sit together with instruments in hand, taking turns or playing together, eyes riveted on one another. I can tell they all had fun making this - there was JOY in there eyes and in their music. There was JOY IN ME.If you love these guys, if you love guitars, if you love rock music - GET THIS!!!

I am a guitar player. I have been aware of this documentary since its release. Finally got around to watching it. Simply put, I loved it. One knock I heard about it was that the Edge didn't belong. BS. The Edge is a special player in his own right. His tones and style of play have been mimicked and borrowed since the 80s. Jack White shows that with all his commercial success that he is a true warrior of the instrument. And if I have to explain anything when it comes to Page's input to the world of guitar playing then we really got problems. It was a great choice of contrasting styles from three influential players in the field. I'd like to see another documentary with three more players with equally contrasting styles. But as it is , this one is great.

Purchased for a Gift...They Loved It!!

I've been a guitarist for more than forty years, and I still love electric guitars. Also, I was nuts about Led Zep in my youth, so I snapped up this documentary.As I had expected, the parts featuring Jimmy Page are great. I loved his enthusiasm for Link Wray in this film, and every time he played guitar (and the mandolin at one point), I was glued to him. It was great to see the inside of Headley Grange, too, and hear his anecdotes. When he and Edge and Jack White convened and chattered, and played guitar, you could tell that the latter two felt that they were in the presence of The Master. I liked watching their eyes light up when he launched into Whole Lotta Love. "It's Jimmy Page, right in front of me! And he's playing That Riff!"I haven't heard much of anything that Jack White has done, and watching him play with the Raconteurs and his elder sister, in this film, hasn't inspired me to dig further. His frantic style just makes me want to take him to one side and say, "Jack, mate, calm the heck down." I must say, though, that anyone who likes Son House and the blues in general is all right with me, and obviously this intense style is what he does. I've certainly heard worse.I've never liked The Edge, nor his overrated band. At least he's honest about his inability and the fact that he hides behind effects pedals. The completely inexpressive way in which he plays slide during the jam session merely confirms to me that he's really never learnt how to _play_ guitar, and has been content with the fact that he got to a certain point in the 70s and stopped. I still enjoy learning new things on on the instrument, so this is bewildering to me. All I will say for him is that he gets great tone.As with Jimmy Page at Headley Grange, it's interesting to see the backgrounds of the other two guitarists, at Edge's old school in Ireland and in Jack White's old stomping ground in Detroit - in an upholstery establishment! I never moved the bed out of my bedroom to make room for amps, so the fact that he did impressed me. This is a man who dedicated himself to music.It Might Get Loud is an enjoyable documentary, especially as I didn't pay too much for the DVD, and I'll enjoy watching it from time to time.

As a Jimmy Page fan for well over 40 years, I thought it was time to take the plunge and get this. I'll be honest here - I've never been a fan of The White Stripes, and don't really like a lot of U2's output either, so I'd been put off getting this. How wrong I was!!! I hadn't realised just how technically brilliant The Edge is. Same goes for Jack White, especially when he plays the blues. Both are erudite and passionate about music and the guitar, and also very funny guys. Obviously, for me Page was the main interest and I wasn't let down in any way. There are fascinating solo pieces of all 3 talking about their backgrounds, great group chats, and some amazing archive footage of Page as a fresh-faced schoolboy being interviewed on black and white TV!Stand out moment for me? Jimmy starts to play "In My Time Of Dying" on slide guitar, and The Edge and Jack join in - just outstanding!Brilliant piece of film making about 3 generations of guitarists. I genually wanted it to go on and on for hours.

Nice concept, getting three guitarists to chat together about their work and techniques. As a plank spanker myself I enjoyed it immensely, particularly the part where Jimmy Page shows the other two how he devised the opening riff to 'Whole Lotta Love'. Jack and The Edge's jaws fell on the floor and you could see in their eyes the same thought: "Jeez, Jimmy is the real deal and I'm just a hobbyist...bugger." I would agree - they couldn't hold a candle to Jimmy, even though it has to be said his chops are a little rusty these days. (Jimmy: don't just admire Jeff Beck from afar now that his playing soars to even higher levels of gobsmackness; do what he's doing, get out there and gig constantly and all the old magic will return PDQ). Note to The Edge: try bending a string now and then, it won't hurt and it will open up a whole new vista for you!

I sort of found this item for sale, whilst looking for something else. On the whole I did enjoy this DVD as it offered a historical insight into three musicians. The DVD shows the rise of each individual musician, and their associated musical acts through archive material, but I have to admit that whilst The Edge and Jimmy page were very familiar to me, in respect to Jack White, I had only heard of in name and not music. If you are a fan of guitar players or any of the named musicians, this will definitely appeal. From my point of view, I've watched the DVD twice and now confined it to storage. The studio footage, I think is supposed to come across as spontaneous, but its far from it, and the direction isn't nothing to rave about.

In it's own right it's not a bad little film, but it would have made a much better one hour TV documentry, than a feature length movie.It's definitely one for guitar heads. If you're an average fan of rock music, then like me, you may find that this drags on a little too long. Archive footage of the three characters 'at work' is a little scant despite what the blurb eludes to. If by the time you read this, the sell thru price of this is so reduced, it's little more that the rental of a copy, then you may find it worth the price, on the other hand it's bound to turn up on a TV channel near you soon.