Neil Young - Greendale (2004)

Critic Reviews

• Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

  Overall, it's a pretty irritating movie. But as I watched it, almost in spite of myself, I kept getting caught up in Young's music.

• Chris Riemenschneider, Minneapolis Star Tribune

  It's dreadfully boring.

• Tom Moon, Philadelphia Inquirer

  Young might have been thinking high-concept, but on the screen, Greendale devolves into overwrought 'save the planet for another day' screeds and Sunday-school homilies.

• Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

  You're better off listening to the album than watching this almost unwatchable movie.

• Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

  Smacks of self-indulgence and misplaced ideals.

• Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

  An avant home movie posing as an anthem by an artist whose message gets grainier the closer you look.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  Its strength lies in its rawness, innocence and lack of polish, as it gets the concerned singer's message out loud and clear to those who are believers.

• Alan Dale, Blogcritics.org

  [Neil Young's] dotardly video companion to his album of the same name.

• Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com

  Everyone knows rock stars shouldn't make movies, but that goes double for old, drug-addled ones like Neil Young.

• , Orlando Weekly

  If Young's music or essential intrigue -- at any stage of his rich, 30-plus years of unpredictable expression -- have ever entertained your imagination, Greendale will likely yield a fun field trip into the mystery of his evergreen mind.

• Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City

  Anyone except Young devotees may find this one a yawn-inducing experience.

• Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune

  Little more than a video vanity project, as fuzzy as Young's guitar chords but not nearly as moving.

• Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

  At a time when the visuals in so many movies drown out weak storytelling and flailing dialogue, Neil Young's made an oddity: Greendale is a film better heard than seen.

• Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion

  An egomaniacal misfire...a foolproof defense against both CD and VHS/DVD piracy.

Read all 14 critic reviews