It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I have been a huge fan of Neil Young for many years and he is arguably my favourite musician of all-time. Due to this I was highly anticipating viewing his latest concert, Heart of Gold, which is a sporadic treat considering Neil Young is a musician who very infrequently lets himself be visible to the public-eye. So, for me personally, you may consider my opinion biased in this review because I am a dedicated fan of his work and so you might want to take that into consideration when reading this review.The film is kicked-off with a somewhat spontaneous start, briefly interviewing Neil Young and his fellow crew. Then comes the concert, this is where things really get started and by the end you will of (as you do when you listen to a Neil Young album) felt extremely mellowed-out. Ultimately, the concert provides a soothing, revitalising and fresh experience for the viewer. Throughout the 100 minute concert Neil Young performs some of his most famous works, sometimes providing brief back-stories behind his music. Personally, I would have preferred these snippets of information to be more consistent and delved upon because I find Neil Young's story-telling technique relaxing and for the most part, captivating. Neil Young is an artist who to appreciate fully needs to be heard live; he has conquered the live technique and perfectly embodies the natural tones of his music. His lyrical prowess and poetic complexity are what makes his songs so special and appealing. He captures the feeling of a moment in time, holding the image in his mind and then describing it through his music. The fact that most of his songs tell a story makes it all the more thought-provoking and adds the exceedingly personal and poignant tone to his work. Quite simply, Neil Young's music reflects his own life and you can see the mixture of strained and prolonged emotion he pours into his music. There is this real vibe to Neil Young's music, a personality as such. There is a fairly vast selection of songs on offer in the concert, although some of the chosen songs are not ones that appeal to me as Neil Young's supreme works. I was slightly disappointed at finding "Don't Let It Bring You Down" (my all-time favourite song) was left off the playlist. This is one of the few flaws with the film, that and the inconsistency of the information about songs. However even with these "personal preference faults" the film is not spoilt in anyway and nor does it detract the viewer. Although I must express how it was the third act which truly caught me in its grasp as this was when Neil Young's '70s work was really coming into full-swing. This enforced both nostalgia and clarity to the concert as a whole. Director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) succeeds in creating a vision which feels like something both he and Neil Young created together. In a way they both directors in how they combine film and music together. I consider the technical side of Heart of Gold to be extremely prolific and clearly presentable to the viewer, helping to give a vibrant atmosphere to the film as a whole. Elements such as the lighting provide a sincere intensity to Neil Young and his fellow band on the stage, plus the lighting resonates vibrantly off the lens. The combination of close-up, distance-take and ranged photography propel Neil Young's physical appearance an personality to the viewer, also shedding light on the painstaking effort which has been put into creating the music. The quality of the film is excellent too, with both rich sound and picture quality.I highly recommend Neil Young: Heart of Gold due to it being an excellent work of uniting film-art and music-art together. It is quite simply a magical experience of a timeless genius performing with such enigmatic structure, rhythm, timing, experience and most of all the essence of peaceful charm.

"Thrasher" has always been one of my all-time favourite Neil songs. Hence the 'Summary' quotation. 'Course, most of Neil's words are quotable at the best of times.I would offer that, given the annual nature of Red Rocks per se, that the Warner DVD issued 2000 "Red Rocks Live" was an intimation/invitation for what was to come: "Heart of Gold" or, 'HoG'.Regardless of content, I would/will fall over any 'live' presentation of Neil's work. HoG, however, has a nuance, a special feeling if you will, which reflects our/his mortality but, at the same time has a positive 'read' on life. Young doesn't have Randy Newman's cynical take on the 'American Dream': what he offers is that same dream complete with hope. Physically, he's getting craggier: looks more and more like cro-magnon man. BUT, we've been taught that that same 'man' is a genetic 'dead-end'. Neanderthals rule. Did I just say that? Neil Young sits, always, balanced upon a fence which OUR perceptions have created. As a poet and social commentator and, at times, eclectic rocker, his ability to move us, mentally, emotionally and sensually, makes him a 20th Century icon who has moved, almost seamlessly, into the 21st Century. HoG is a wonderful evocation of what it means to never ever be invited into/onto "The Grand Ol' Opry(?)" but to cram a large Nashville audience into another (perhaps better) venue, and there to slay them!Yet, in the middle of some of the best acoustic/country songs ever written, there is a singer/songwriter seemingly uncomfortable with his legacy: "From Hank to Hendrix". There has always been an honesty and integrity to Young's work. Uncomfortable as it at times seems: "Tonight's The Night" or, perhaps, "Trans"; his reasons for recording same are the same reasons that drove him to record "ARC/WELD". Young is always 'pushing the envelope' at the same time that he revisits country and folk music per se. Always, there is a seemingly positive attitude to life: one reflected in the golden light (a la Dutch masters) constantly present in the film. And therein, perhaps, lies a lesson. Mortality waits for all of us. Neil makes it more acceptable.

If you live in the Hartford, CT area...avoid seeing this one at Cinema City in West Hartford. They only have two ineffective speakers at the front. None of the other speakers in the house were working!! This theater sucks big time. I asked for my money back, they refused.Anyway, this project's as good as it gets for concert films. Neil Young was in great form, too. Excellent guest list by the way. A couple of sync issues, but no big deal. Nothing out of the ordinary for music concert oriented films. Camera work and editing is a "10". It flows so well you'll feel like you didn't miss a thing in the editing. Not as jumpy from scene to scene as most offerings in this genre. I'll buy the DVD.

There are certain musician/singers whose voices I never tire of. It's the special quality of their voice and a unique musical style that sets them apart. No one else can sound like them. Van Morrison, Prince, Joe Cocker, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones...and Neil Young. Director Jonathan Demme did a damn good job filming this wonderfully romantic tribute to just such a musician -- especially since it was clearly made on the fly as a just-in-case last rite and pre-mortem memorial before Neil Young's impending brain surgery. I must confess that, in the anonymity of the dark theatre, I wept tears of profound sorrow and bittersweet nostalgia as Neil took us on a meditative journey from his early roots to the present. The cynicism of an earlier time morphed into circumspection, reminding us of passions left behind, or forgotten or tempered through experience. The criticism of this film as a boomer sapfest and a sellout is grossly misguided and small-minded. This is a film about a man reviewing his life as he faces the possibility of his death. It is poignant beyond words, and poignancy is the loveliest of emotions.