Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169262 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-05-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

GREAT MOVIE, BUT......
I'm surprised that none of the other reviews have mentioned the visual
quality of this DVD. The movie itself is fine, very interesting, and a
great souvenir of a time when country artists were a lot more distinctive
and original than the cookie-cutter, overcommercialized stuff that passes
for "country music" now. BUT, this DVD is made from a very old print.
It's very scratchy and full of speckles, etc. You can always tell when
a new reel begins because that's when the quality goes down. The sound
is fine, but this is by far the worst-looking full price DVD I own.
However, if you are a fan of the artists featured, you'll love it anyway.

One of the best of the era
Starting in the late 50's, there was a string of country music movies made, perhaps in reaction to the successful string of B rock and roll movies from about the same time. Most of them featured some sort of plot involving rubes getting themselves into all kinds of trouble. But these movies were not just the wacky hi-jinx of hilarious hillbillies; they were the wacky hi-jinx of hilarious hillbillies who had famous country music stars as friends. In other words, the flimsy plots and fading movie stars were just an excuse to showcase a slew of country music stars of the time. Many of the performances were lip-synched, although some were recorded live. The Nashville Sound, which was recorded in 1969, was different. Perhaps influenced by the Pennebaker documentaries of the time, this film had no flimsy plot or corny gags. Instead, it was a serious look at Nashville and the reigning country stars of the day. It's well filmed, thorough, and fascinating to watch. Much of it was filmed at the Grand Ole Opry, but you also get priceless footage such as Loretta Lynn performing for a lunch crowd of radio and record company people, Bashful Brother Oswald singing a chorus of Mountain Dew outside of Ernest Tubb's Record Shop, a rehearsal by the new-to-town Mother Earth (featuring Tracy Nelson), a performance outside Shelby Singleton's house, a recording session featuring Doug Kershaw and a young, beardless Charlie Daniels, and lots more. There is also lots of great footage of Nashville itself. All the performances are outstanding, and the film does a terrific job of capturing the essence of country music at the time-- performers, fans, and industry people. I was waiting a long time for this to come out on DVD!

Enjoyed the show, but the commercials are raunchy
I purchased this video for my father for his birthday. He is a big country music fan and I thought he would enjoy this blast from the past. My mother phoned me after they watched it to tell me how much they enjoyed it. However, she said that she was glad the grandkids weren't there when they played it, as there were some advertisements before the show that were RAUNCHY. She said that you wouldn't even want to fast forward through them with the kids present because of the visual content. Shame on the producer of this video for even putting that stuff on there! Buyer beware--if you're going to watch with the kids, bypass the commercials but be sure to cue it up before the kids enter the room.