Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ‎– Déjà Vu (2008)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely Fantastic

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Once again, Neil Young, a Canadian, sums up the mood of the U.S. (post 9/11 and post 2003 Iraq invasion) perfectly. I felt uneasy watching this film. The footage of CSNY is wonderful---the elusive Crosby, the clumsy but still vital Stills, the optimist Nash, the rabble-rousing Young. The footage from Iraq is shocking. But the most troubling in the film is the Atlanta segment. After nearly eight years of an absolute failure of an administration, one which invaded a nation that never attacked us (how many 9/11 terrorists were from Iraq, again???), I find it shocking that so many people back this President and Vice President, No Questions Asked. Neil Young directs the film (under a pseudonym) and includes footage of Atlanta "fans", angered by the political direction of the concert, demonstrating their disdain towards CSNY in colorful ways (finger gestures and many four letter words). My question to them is WHY would they even see the concert in the first place? Did they ever bother to listen to the lyrics of "Ohio," "For What it's Worth" and "Carry On?" Young could have easily excised that footage out, but he includes it, which leads me to ask if Toby Keith made a documentary, and had opposing views were captured on film, would he include that in the final product? My guess is no—the right point-of-view is the "RIGHT" point-of-view, and no matter how many lies and cover ups are exposed in the Bush administration, these people will stick with them, like Hitler and Goebbels in the bunker. But I digress—this film, like "No End in Sight," "Why We Fight" and "The Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing" before it, is vital viewing for any real American patriot. Thomas Jefferson said that the first act of a true patriot is to question its leaders. And it's safe to say, Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers would be turning over in their graves if they saw how Bush and company have destroyed our country. Thank you Neil Young.

If you are seeing it get away for a few hours you do and you don't. CSNY is still one of the best bands ever. It's always wonderful to see a great rock film. It's horrible to hear the same pathetic, ignorant war mongers rant about an illegal invasion making them safe. Stephen Stills helped so much with the last elections. I hope the film does the same this election. After seeing bush win the last two elections I have little hope but I will vote. When the DVD comes out it will make a great addition for those who collect concert films. I went to France a couple days after the war broke out. Paul McCartney had an entire audience there singing "All We Are Saying Is Give Peace a Chance." So I expect the film to do really well in France also. They can't take away free speech even if they can listen to our phone calls! So what listen all away. This is a great movie and we do not want this war.

I was at one of these shows in August 2006, and it was THE best rock & roll concert I've attended in my life, out of many.This is especially high praise for CSNY, because while I've always liked them, there are many artists about whom I've been much more passionate.The politics were right out front, which was fine with me, given my agreement with them. The on-stage video clips (and other staging devices) detailing the costs of the war in "blood and treasure" were terrific in their depressing way.The quality of the music was utterly stunning. I've heard bits of CSN/CSNY live before, and wasn't expecting much. Tight playing, good arrangements, GUITARS IN TUNE (!), and wonderful singing. Also, TREMENDOUS variety of material from the group's, and its members', solo careers. As advertised, the show featured every song from Young's then-new album, "Living With War". The album itself was marred by a grotesquely awkward combination of hard rock instrumentation with CHOIR vocals. This production was so bad that I couldn't tell if the songs were any good!HOWEVER, the point here is that the "Living With War" songs were absolutely fantastic, when adapted for performance by CSNY. The supporting musicians were all Neil Young veterans, and I had the distinct impression that he was serving as ringleader of the entire operation. However, all four of C, S, N and Y were featured equally, to great effect.I love Neil, I love the guts they showed in really busting chops about the war back in 2006, before it was quite so clear what a fantastic blunder this has been, and I'm ready for whatever political content appears in the film.Let's just hope the incredible music is not underrepresented.I'm bound and determined to see this thing, hopefully in a theatre, and ultimately, I'll own a copy on DVD.

In 2006, rock 'n roll icons Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young played a "Freedom of Speech" tour to protest the war in Iraq. The band that wrote Ohio, one of the most famous protest songs of the Vietnam era, decided that the country needed a wake-up call, some of the same spirit of protest and activism that once shook national policy and changed our nation forever. CSNY Déjà Vu is a documentary based on this tour.Being a rock star must be the ideal profession because you get all the girls when you're young and somehow you're never too old. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young were an average of 62 years of age on the tour, but still audiences gave them license to "get down" on the stage, and generally applauded wildly with love and admiration. But don't expect the typical fawning fans of a concert movie. This is all about the tour, about why they hit the road, what they believe, and how fans, concertgoers and the American public reacted.Writer and ringleader Neil Young deserves tremendous credit for being candid and revealing. He quotes the glowing press reports of course, but also the negative ones and even the stinging mockery. He also shows both sides of the audience reaction, with the most antagonistic occurring in the southern (red) states, where many fans walked out of the concerts in disgust, coming for the music without realizing they were in for incessant politicizing, including a song entitled "Let's Impeach the President." And he even shows Stephen Stills falling off the stage, looking every bit like the fat old man that he has become. (Only Graham Nash really looks good. David Crosby looks like your uncle. And Neil Young just looks a little craggy, until he takes his hat off. Then he looks like his age as well.) It is fun and nostalgic to see the old footage interspersed, and to follow the band as they meet people, and introduce those that affected or were affected by the experience. CSNY Deja Vu is not a great movie by any means. There's not enough music to make it a concert film, and not enough action to pick up the slack. But there is nevertheless something admirable, even touching, about their breed of 60's style activism, their belief that people are dying needlessly, and their genuine heartfelt desire to make a difference. As they repeatedly demonstrated, they have profound respect for the servicemen overseas, but don't see continuing the war as the best answer. Agree or not, it strikes me as the sincerest form of patriotism.Sundance Moment Someone in the Q&A said that he had lost a brother in Iraq, and told Neil Young that "you have no idea what you're talking about." It was a tense moment in the very liberal Sundance crowd. I'm guessing that Young has dealt with this kind of thing dozens of times on the tour, and he chose to handle it by, essentially, backing down. "I think you're right," he said. "We're just trying to get people to talk about it." Well, that might be an easy answer, but I'm not sure it's honest. A song like "Let's Impeach the President" is something more than an invitation for dialogue, it's a political statement of the strongest kind. I respect the band's sincerity, but was disappointed they were something less than forthright when challenged.