'Springsteen and I' is a lovely documentary about Bruce Springsteen and his fans around the world sharing their stories. Everybody remembers the story of the young woman in the front row invited up onto the stage to Dancing in the Dark. A thrill for any fan.
The documentary was made by Ridley Scott's production company. Ridley Scott directed Russell Crowe, Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand in Robin Hood.
This review of the DVD from The Telegraph in the United Kingdom has some wonderful legal videos attached to the story of fans interacting with their idol around the world from the streets to the concert stage.
The documentary was made by Ridley Scott's production company. Ridley Scott directed Russell Crowe, Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand in Robin Hood.
This review of the DVD from The Telegraph in the United Kingdom has some wonderful legal videos attached to the story of fans interacting with their idol around the world from the streets to the concert stage.
'Springsteen and I. Review A documentary about Bruce Springsteen'by Robby Collin, published in The Telegraph.com.uk on the 12 July, 2013 (No copyright infringement intended).
The documentary Springsteen & I is described as a love letter to Bruce Springsteen from his fans. In fact it’s more like an act of worship: had it not already been taken, a better title might have been Bruce Almighty.
Baillie Walsh’s film is a scrapbook of home video clips in which Springsteen devotees pay tribute to their hero with varying levels of saucer-eyed zeal. The clips were shot and submitted by the fans themselves, and leave you in no doubt that his honest anthems to blue-collar toil have struck a deafening chord.
Most contributors fall into two categories: 'I met Bruce and he changed my life’, and ‘I have never been anywhere near Bruce, but he changed my life anyway’. The former group is more interesting, and includes such rare birds as an Elvis impersonator from Philadelphia whom Springsteen plucked from the front row, dressed in full jumpsuit and cape, to duet with on All Shook Up.
Later, a man from Yorkshire reminisces about being presented with a free upgrade to front row seats at a Madison Square Garden concert by one of Springsteen’s entourage. “I got so excited I bought my wife three glasses of champagne,” he remembers, eyes shining. “At seven dollars a glass.”
Of course Springsteen emerges rose-scented, and he radiates easy charisma in some archive concert footage. Particularly fun are some impromptu musings on cunnilingus: “I figure if you can pronounce it, you can probably do it,” he says between songs, and the audience screeches its approval.
But screeched approval is the film’s default pitch, and Springsteen’s fans seem less interested in talking about what their idol actually stands for than the way he makes them feel all oogly-boogly. For the most part, they could easily be talking about a boy band: you suspect a film called One Direction & I would not look all that different.
Springsteen & I ends with a largely unedited half-hour portion of last year’s Hyde Park concert, followed by a postscript in which some of the contributors meet the Boss backstage. It’s sweet enough, but lets slip the project’s true nature: this isn’t really a film, it’s memorabilia.
