Neil Young: Heart of Gold

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Neil Young: Heart of Gold

Region 1 DVD Cover
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Produced by Ilona Herzberg
Written by Jace Anderson
Adam Gierasch
Starring Neil Young
Emmylou Harris
Ben Keith
Grant Boatwright
Music by Neil Young
Ian Tyson
Cinematography Ellen Kuras
Editing by Andy Keir
Distributed by Paramount Classics (USA)
United International Pictures (worldwide)
Release date(s) USA February 10, 2006
Running time 103 min.
Country USA
Language English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
Neil Young performing during the Prairie Wind portion of the concert.
Neil Young performing during the Prairie Wind portion of the concert.
Neil Young, center, is flanked by Emmylou Harris, left, and his wife, Pegi Young.
Neil Young, center, is flanked by Emmylou Harris, left, and his wife, Pegi Young.

Neil Young: Heart of Gold is a documentary and concert film by Jonathan Demme, featuring Neil Young. The film was made in the summer of 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was released to theaters on February 10, 2006. The film documents Young's premiere of his songs from his album Prairie Wind at the Ryman Auditorium.

The film opens with interviews with Young and most of his band, which includes Emmylou Harris, Young's wife Pegi Young, steel guitarist Ben Keith, and keyboardist Spooner Oldham. They and the other band members describe the concert and the making of Prairie Wind. The recording of the album and the filming of the concert occurred just before and after Young's surgery to correct a cerebral aneurysm, and just a few months after the death of Young's father Scott Young.

The first half of the concert consists entirely of songs from Prairie Wind, and the second half consists of acoustic songs from throughout Young's career. Young is typically reticent during concerts, but this concert is an exception and Young describes the inspiration behind several of his songs.

Contents

[edit] Songs in the film

The performance captured in Neil Young: Heart of Gold was filmed over two nights on August 18 and 19, 2005 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. In order to increase the length of the concert film, director Jonathan Demme asked Neil Young to supplement the songs from Prairie Wind with an encore set of older songs. Young agreed and selected songs that he had previously recorded in Nashville. The two sets are set apart by a costume change for the musicians and a different backdrop on the stage.

All songs are written by Young, except where otherwise noted.

[edit] Prairie Wind set

  • "The Painter"
  • "No Wonder" – featuring Neil Young's longtime friend Grant Boatwright playing "Old Black", the only use of electric guitar in the concert.
  • "Falling Off the Face of the Earth"
  • "Far From Home" – Young introduces the song by telling a story about his father giving him an Arthur Godfrey ukelele when he was about 7 years old and working on a chicken farm.
  • "It's a Dream"
  • "Prairie Wind"
  • "Here for You"
  • "This Old Guitar" – duet with Emmylou Harris; Young notes that he is playing a guitar (a Martin HD-28) once owned by Hank Williams.
  • "When God Made Me" – features Young playing piano, backed by the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and Spooner Oldham on organ.

[edit] Encore set

  • "I Am a Child"
  • "Harvest Moon"
  • "Heart of Gold"
  • "Old Man"
  • "Needle and the Damage Done"
  • "Old King" – features Young on six-string banjo, accompanied by Emmylou Harris on rhythm guitar and harmony vocals.
  • "Comes a Time" – dedicated to Nicolette Larson who sang on Young's Comes a Time album; features the backing singers and crew lined up across the front of the stage playing acoustic guitars.
  • "Four Strong Winds" – written by Ian Tyson.
  • "One of These Days"
  • "The Old Laughing Lady" – over the closing credits; Young on solo acoustic guitar, alone on stage in a chair, playing to an empty auditorium.

[edit] Special features

  • "He was the King" – A bonus song from Prairie Wind, not included in the film.
  • "Needle and the Damage Done" – 1971 performance from "The Johnny Cash Show".

[edit] Performers

[edit] Reception

The film had a limited release to the general public, but came to popular critical acclaim with an 85% average on Metacritic and a 91% Fresh rating average on Rotten Tomatoes.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Jonathan Demme

Caged Heat • Crazy Mama • Fighting Mad • Handle with Care • Last Embrace • Melvin and Howard • Who Am I This Time? • Swing Shift • Stop Making Sense • Something Wild • Swimming to Cambodia • Haiti: Dreams of Democracy • Married to the Mob • The Silence of the Lambs • Cousin Bobby • Philadelphia • Beloved • Storefront Hitchcock • The Truth About Charlie • The Agronomist • The Manchurian Candidate • Neil Young: Heart of Gold

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