Wonderful character development!

Very well executed

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

There are two kinds of Neil Young movies, those done by Jim Jarmusch like Year of the Horse, which is grungy and gritty and looked like it cost 1 dollar to shoot the entire shebang with a few extra cents for edits, and those like Heart of Gold, by Jonathan Demme, where everything is clear and crisp and brightly colored and the music fits the location of Nashville almost as well as Robert Altman's treatment of the city. While Crazy Horse might provide some of the better rocking tunes of Young's career, his album Prairie Wind is like a near perfect compilation of folk songs, light ballads, and other diddies that you can only get from someone trying to one-up a work like Harvest. Combined together, Demme and Young deliver the goods.Now, this isn't to say it'll be for everyone; certainly you'll have to probably already like Prairie Wind (of which the concert was filmed pretty much as its debut for an audience), and there may be one or two tunes (i.e. It's a Dream) that are way too sentimental even for die-hard Neil fans. But this being said, if you already dig the record, then it's about as precious a gift as one can ask for. And for those who might find some flaws in the album itself, at the least the musicianship in the band is incredible, and it all leads up to some classic Young tracks (i.e. title of the movie, Old Man, Needle and Damage Done, Cortez the Killer), and Demme films it like it's meant to be a golden cornfield or other. It's also fascinating to see Young divulge some really autobiographical stuff (i.e. dad's death, daughter, lovers, etc), when one sees how personal someone gets on the flip-side of the Bob Dylan coin to the audience.It might not be perfect- some of the early interviews are superfluous, but at it's best, you'll understand why Young is so appealing as an artist, and how his brand of inspired folk is enduring, powerful, and awe-inspiring. And it's Demme to boot.

the first snow flakes, the last days of summer, so pure and so clear,all this love in song, for all of us to hear, i just wanted to write the first two lines, but anal IMDb have rules for submision,so i will ramble on for a wee bit, did you know that Neil Young sometimes takes his train set on tour,and i mean train set, one that fits in a semi trailer, and of coarse Neil's bus along with willies and bob's are just about the last word in "on the road again" style, and why not? these wandering minstral's deserve it, cheers for now and good luck ya'll. sorry two more lines required, old man take a look at my life ime a lot like you,i need someone to love me the the whole day through

Neil Young has always been one of my favorite singers.In my opinion,in America he is second only to Bob Dylan.I have loved "Rust never sleeps" his self-made (Shakey!) second film;the first one "journey thru the past" is unfortunately a throwaway.The atmosphere of "Heart of Gold" is in direct contrast to that of "Rust" .Neil and his friends (feat Emmylou Harris always as fresh as a daisy)are playing in Nashville and of course ,they turn the country on.The music you are going to hear is magnificent country-folk-rock.The first part of the concert is devoted to the "Prairie Wind" album and all the live versions are superior to the studio cuts ,which is as well,for I do not think this album was that much great in the first place (as a country album,I found it inferior to "Comes a Time" or even "Old ways" ).On stage ,these songs are given a new life and they are brilliant.The second part ,a true delight from start to finish ,focuses on Young's country albums "Harvest" "Comes a Time" and "Harvest Moon".And they are all tremendous;"Old king" which was undistinguished as a studio track is exciting and quite infectious."Comes a Time" and the Canadian hymn "Four strong winds " by Ian Tyson (I urge the users to buy an Ian and Sylvia compilation;they should not be forgotten)are given majestic treatments.The atmosphere is happy but Neil Young tells his audience that people his age begin to lose their dear ones ;even if he sings it ,he is not a child anymore ,and his movie is dedicated to his late father .It's not surprising if the film ends with "the old laughing lady" (who leaves nothing at all) ,a song Neil recorded on his very first solo album,which the artist performs solo .Old man,we are a lot like you were.And like you,we will die alone.

Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006) **** (out of 4) Over the past couple months I've been getting into Neil Young's solo work a lot more. A couple years ago I was able to see CSN&Y in concert and Young's performance really stuck out to me so I wasn't to view a documentary and picked this one since the reviews had been great for it. This film was shot at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium and from what I've read the concert took place a couple days before Young was having brain surgery and several fans seem to think this was a goodbye concert in case he didn't make it. The first nine songs are all from Young's 'Prairie Wind' album, which I've never listened to so hearing them in this concert was my first time. I really thought the songs were very good, although they were certainly depressing and you can see some pain in Young's eyes as he is singing them. The second part of the film is when we get some of the classic songs including 'Old Man', 'I Am a Child', 'Heart of Gold' and a downright terrific 'Harvest Moon'. There's some brief interview footage at the start of the film but the rest of the movie is Young doing his thing and he delivers a terrific show. There are countless times where Young stops and tells some stories, which are all very funny including one dealing with his daughter. Demme does a brilliant job at not trying to make the film too flashy. He takes the music and moves the camera to capture that mood. Emmylou Harris is also on hand playing guitar and background vocals.