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MOVIES / ON DVD / SHUT UP & SING
Shut Up & Sing

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Shut Up & Sing (2006)

90%
91%
76%
N/A
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N/A
90 %
Reviews Counted: 113 Fresh: 102  Rotten:11 Average Rating: 7.6/10
 
Consensus: Achieves relevance by exploring how politics and celebrities intertwine. Though ostensibly an intimate look at the Dixie Chicks after their 2003 anti-Bush remark, the film achieves broader relevance by exploring how media, politics, and celebrities intertwine. more
 
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Theatrical Release: Oct 27, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $1,072,805
Synopsis:
This documentary captures the female country-&-western group the Dixie Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003, singer Natalie Maines ignited a maelstrom of controversy and red-state outrage when she declared--from a... [More]
This documentary captures the female country-&-western group the Dixie Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003, singer Natalie Maines ignited a maelstrom of controversy and red-state outrage when she declared--from a London stage on the eve of the Iraqi conflict--that she was ashamed that President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. When a rabidly right-wing group picked up on it, the band found themselves in the center of controversy regarding the nature of patriotism, freedom of speech, feminism, and the split between pro- and anti-war Americans. Filmmaker Barbara Kopple brings us the fly-on-the-wall view of the next three years, capturing Haines and sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire in dressing rooms, on stage, and in recording studios, bonding with each other, their families, producer Rick Rubin, and their supportive manager, Simon Renshaw. Through the crises, they keep their sense of humor and sisterhood, not backing down from their liberal stance, and turning the backlash into a triumph. They also make some great music, and the film includes plenty of riveting, intense footage of the band in performance onstage and in the studio. Among the faces appearing in archival footage are President Bush, Bill Maher, and right-wing country star Toby Keith. [Less]

Genre: Education/General Interest

Starring: Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, Martie Maguire, Rick Rubin, George W. Bush

Director: Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
Producer: David Cassidy, Claude Davies, Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 20, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Snap Case
  • Full Frame

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - English
  • Dubbed - French - Optional
  • Subtitled - Spanish - Optional

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

Shut Up and Sing tells the story of three young women whose belief in America is bred in the bone, and it shames their critics.

Full Review | Comment
10/19/07 12:37 PM
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Free speech and its ramifications are at the heart of "Shut Up & Sing," which recognizes that for the celebrity, engaging in a public exchange of ideas and opinions isn't always without its costs. The price can be dire.

Full Review | Comment
09/14/07 08:00 AM
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
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The movie isn't quite the idolatrous you-go-girl portrait one might expect.

Full Review | Comment
07/23/07 06:17 AM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Shut up & Sings shows that it is all about freedom of speech and expression and how we had better not forget it. Freedom of speech, speaking out and having a voice. Yeah! On to the Grammies Dixie Chicks. You go girls!

Full Review | Comment
07/22/07 12:33 AM
Moira Sullivan
Movie Magazine International
Ratings Image

It isn't a disciplined doco, and the fragmentation of the throughline makes for occasional sags in the film, but the filmmakers mean well.

Full Review | Comment
07/20/07 08:52 PM
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Ratings Image

They do make a comeback of course – almost stronger than ever – in this, the best documentary of the year so far. ­Intelligent, honest, heartfelt and fascinating.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 09:22 AM
Stuart McGurk
thelondonpaper
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I came round to them by the end, but it's not a great introduction.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 08:55 AM
Anthony Quinn
Independent
Ratings Image

This a frank, and slightly scary film about one of America's most cherished democratic privileges - freedom of speech - and how you're more than welcome to it as long as you don't say anything controversial. Then you're off the air.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 07:16 AM
Tom Robey
Daily Telegraph
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A gold statue of the Dixie Chicks should be erected in Maines' hometown of Lubbock, Texas.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 06:33 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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It was a throwaway scrap of a comment tossed to an audience baying with appreciation.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 04:59 AM
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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Succeeds as a summation of America's shaky grasp of freedom. And while the footage of the girls at work and play sometimes seems inconsequential, there are moments that are as unexpectedly pleasing as the band's soft country sounds.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 04:41 AM
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film
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A melodic wakeup call; where bluegrass meets grassroots politics.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 04:14 AM
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Exposing almost as much small-mindedness as Borat did, this provides food for thought as well as some darned good ditties.

Full Review | Comment
06/29/07 02:57 AM
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/28/07 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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Truth is stranger than fiction, and often makes a better story, too.

Full Review | Comment
03/20/07 09:07 PM
Karina Montgomery
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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A fascinating and well-executed hybrid: combining musical biopic and political examination to produce something more memorable than either would be on its own.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 07:49 PM
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
02/03/07 04:47 AM
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York
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The best documentary of 2006.

Full Review | Comment
01/19/07 03:54 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

What emerges is something of a cautionary tale for artistsand should spark discussions about exactly what the principles of free speech as guaranteed in the Constitution mean.

Full Review | Comment
01/11/07 04:55 PM
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

[It]offer[s] little more than a portrait of a band struggling to save face and keep their financial position intact.

Full Review | Comment
01/11/07 01:40 PM
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com
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Related Forums

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(2006/Docu)-SHUT UP AND SING - Time for the Dixie Chicks (& Dems) to stand & deliver!
by: Darko, Donnie 2/23/07


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