It's interesting, I guess at this point you could say I make fly fishing DVD's yet I
don't own any nor do I have any interest in seeing any fly fishing DVD's out there. Which is odd because I love fly fishing, yet I also love music but I have a crap load of music documantaries...actually can't get enough of them. So figure that one out.

I don't have any  influences as far as documentaries are concerned  but I do have a hero of sorts, his name is Sam Dunn. I first became aware of him when I saw
his feature called Metal: a Headbangers Journey. He followed that up with another film called Iron Maiden: Flight 666 but in my opinion really hit his stride with the Rush documentary.

Now I will admit that I am a Rush freak...big freak. When I was growing up the walls
of my bedroom were sacred territory and I didn't put posters up of just anybody. Aerosmith, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin and Rush were the only ones that made the cut.
The Rush poster was the shit though, this thing dwarfed the others. It was almost six feet tall and a thing of beauty...definately the headliner of the room. I got Permanent Waves when I was in 8th grade and worked my way back from there to the first record and I've been a huge fan ever sense.

I think the real strong point of this film is it's cross over appeal. You don't have to be a Rush fan to enjoy
this documentary. Case in point is the wife, far from a Ruch fan but sat and watched it with me and loved it...enough so, that when the band came through town about a month later she wanted to get tickets.

The documentary traces the band from it's early beginings up to present day and it doesn't shy away from the very tough period for the band from about 1997 to 2005. Drummer Neil Peart's daughter was killed in a car accident and then his wife died less that a year later of cancer.  I can't even begin to imagine going through something like that but it's beautifully handle in the film.

What really blew me away though is an old piece of footage they had of Alex Lifeson at 16 years old sitting around the the kitchen table with his family discussing him dropping out of high school to concentrate full time on the band...who at the time really wasn't a band. In reality this is THE defining moment of his life, he did drop out of school, they did throw everything into the band and 30+ years later...things turned out very well.

How (or who) shot this footage is what I want to know and what a stroke of luck to have it all on film. I mean most of us probably don't even know when in our lives our defining moment happened...let alone have it captured on film or tape. It's crazy to me.

I think you come away from this film with a pretty good understanding of these guys as individuals, as musicians, as a band and about every other facet of their lives. They've had a 30+ year career with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. They have a rabid fan base and continue to get little or no respect from critics.

There is a who's who of musicians that site them as influences, if i'm not mistaken they've sold more records than the Beatles but will still probably never get into the Hall of Fame. It's a shame really.

I would highly suggest, fan or not, to give this film a look. I think i've easily watch it 4 or 5 times since I bought it. It can be had pretty cheap to, i've seen it being sold for as little at $12 at certain retailers.