Tom Dowd and the Language of Music (2003)

90% of critics liked it
(29 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(1,288 ratings)

Independent filmmaker Mark Moormann directs the feature-length documentary Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. Shot on color and black-and-white16 mm film stock, the biography is a personal portrait of legendary recording engineer and producer Tom Dowd. The man himself is featured in a series of… More Independent filmmaker Mark Moormann directs the feature-length documentary Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. Shot on color and black-and-white16 mm film stock, the biography is a personal portrait of legendary recording engineer and producer Tom Dowd. The man himself is featured in a series of interviews from 1996 (the year he won a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) until 2002 (the year of his death). Filmed at Criteria Studios in Miami, FL, he is shown both at work behind the soundboards as well as reflecting on his memorable career. Other interview subjects include artists Ray Charles and Eric Clapton; record producers Phil Ramone and Arif Mardin; and surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tom Dowd and the Language of Music premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Mark Moormann, Ahmet Ertegun
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Documentary

In Theaters: Aug 13, 2004 Limited
On DVD: Aug 31, 2004
Studio: Palm Pictures

Critic Reviews

Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle
A fitting epitaph for a giant few people outside the industry knew but whose work everybody heard.
Steve Morse, Boston Globe
As a probing look at a really nice-guy genius in the studio world, it succeeds admirably.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Deserves credit, not only for choosing a wonderful and deserving subject for a film, but for doing him proud.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
A loving portrait of 50 years of pop music and a man who by all accounts was a musical genius.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Shows firsthand the appreciation and warmth from the musicians who worked with him.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
If you care about the popular music of the last 50 years, this is a documentary you'll want to see.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
The film's high points are to be found in tremendous archival footage.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This highly enjoyable documentary makes sure that Dowd's contribution to the music business will not be forgotten.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
If nothing else, you'll earn a new appreciation for the way music is produced.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Mark Moormann's documentary tends to the worshipful, but Dowd, a charmer onscreen, was by all accounts just as appealing in real life, a gentleman and a scholar who loved music, loved musicians and loved making them sound their best.
Ted Fry, Seattle Times
Affable and hugely entertaining.
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald
Visually appealing.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
The film is full of artists' stories and testimonials from both the old and new schools of the music industry. But it is the delightfully charming Dowd that makes the movie. He's a hoot, and a legendary one at that.
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Daily News
A movie that overcomes a somewhat superficial approach and patchwork assembly through the sheer force of its subject. And the music ain't bad, either.