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Movies / On DVD / The Singing Revolution
The Singing Revolution

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The Singing Revolution (2007)

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Reviews Counted:35

Fresh:30

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:2007-12

Synopsis: The year 1991 marked a time of change for the Republic of Estonia. This small European nation decided to end the Soviet Union's power over them in a completely radical way: by singing. Though it's... The year 1991 marked a time of change for the Republic of Estonia. This small European nation decided to end the Soviet Union's power over them in a completely radical way: by singing. Though it's tough to imagine the former superpower giving in to simple songs, this documentary chronicles the Estonian people's drive for freedom and their peaceful way of attaining it. [More]

Director: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty

Director: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty
Screenwriter: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty, Mike Majoros
Producer: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty, Bestor Cram, Artur Talvik, Piret Tibbo-Hudgins
Composer: John Kusiak
Studio: Abramorama

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Release:

Feb 3, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Estonia's coveted position between Europe and Russia has lured wave after wave of occupiers. The nation's darkest chapter, though, dawned in 1939 with the arrival of the Soviets. It seemed this time that the Estonian nation might vanish completely; yet the Estonians waited, and fought, and sang - and ultimately, survived.
  • THE SINGING REVOLUTION narrates the remarkable story of this tiny nation's struggle for independence, illuminating how the Estonians kept their identity alive—even under the oppressive weight of the Iron Curtain—through a rich tradition of song. Here, people have joined voices for centuries, and their "Laulupidu"—an immense song festival—offered glimmers of Estonian culture and connectedness in even the bleakest periods, proving to "The Singing People" that their national spirit still smoldered. When the Soviet nation finally began to crumble in the 1980s, the Estonians saw their opportunity: free speech became song, and song became a soaring anthem of independence.
  • Dramatically capturing the spectacular beauty of Estonia and the overwhelming sea of people and sound that brought this nation together, THE SINGING REVOLUTION celebrates a people who revolted with no weapons but their songs, no force but their unstoppable dream.
  • Source: New Video Group, Inc.
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    Reviews for The Singing Revolution

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    One of the most inspirational and powerful documentaries I've ever seen.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/28/09
    Betty Jo Tucker
    Betty Jo Tucker
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    a film that joyfully celebrates the power of the human spirit in all its glory.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    01/23/09
    Keith Breese
    Keith Breese
    Filmcritic.com

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Fortunately, the interview subjects (who include festival performers and current and former Estonian leaders) are very intelligent and well-spoken. Their stories are what really holds out interest here.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    08/08/08
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    If The Singing Revolution were a fictional film it would be dismissed as a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. But it’s all true.

    Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
    08/01/08
    Robert W. Butler
    Robert W. Butler
    Kansas City Star

    Folk songs can be plenty inspirational, but like this movie, they just aren't all that exciting.

    Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
    07/17/08
    Josh Bell
    Josh Bell
    Las Vegas Weekly

    'Nonstop Estonian folk music' might not be a great format for a radio station, but it sure works for The Singing Revolution.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    07/11/08
    Colin Covert
    Colin Covert
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Although filmmakers James and Maureen Castle Tusty haven't figured out how to make historic tidbits come alive, they do know how to make them sing.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    07/11/08
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    Effectively chronicles in a thumbnail sketch the blustery recent political 20th-century history of Estonia.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/07/08
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Full of the kind of collective passion and struggle and yearning for freedom that makes viewers well up with pride at their shared humanity.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/03/08
    Josh Rosenblatt
    Josh Rosenblatt
    Austin Chronicle

    Booster-ish, with only former participants in the struggle and activists interviewed. There's a you-must-feel-good thrust (and an incessant score). Warbles a familiar tune to Estonians, presumably, and doesn't offer enough rich notes for an outsider.

    Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
    07/01/08
    Brian Gibson
    Brian Gibson
    Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

    This fine and surprising documentary asks an even more challenging question: Can music promote nonviolence, prevent bloodshed and successfully overthrow an oppressive regime? Again -- astonishingly -- the answer is 'yes.'

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    06/20/08
    Amy Biancolli
    Amy Biancolli
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The thrill of this documentary is in the remarkable story of the Little Country That Could.

    Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
    05/30/08
    Jonathan F. Richards
    Jonathan F. Richards
    Film.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    As far as the plot goes, widespread lack of familiarity with Estonia's recent history actually works in the film's favor: Suspense born of ignorance lends the unfolding drama the urgency of a political thriller.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    05/22/08
    Jessica Reaves
    Jessica Reaves
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Singing Revolution is the sort of film that should be shown to North American school children or anyone else who takes his freedom for granted.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    04/25/08
    Liz Braun
    Liz Braun
    Jam! Movies

    Patience may not the most exciting movie subject, but The Singing Revolution is, in its deceptively mild way, inspiring.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    04/25/08
    Liam Lacey
    Liam Lacey
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An intriguing, highly recommended film.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
    04/24/08
    Janos Gereben
    Janos Gereben
    Entertainment Insiders

    It's a powerful story of a nation that, almost literally, sang its way to freedom.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/17/08
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    What makes the film unique is its intermittent focus on one of the country's cultural touchstones: a song festival called Laulupidu, and its role in bringing freedom to a repressed but restless people after a half-century.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    04/04/08
    Tom Keogh
    Tom Keogh
    Seattle Times

    The Singing Revolution becomes a tense political thriller that culminates in one of the most significant events of past century: The collapse of the Soviet Union.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    04/03/08
    Bill White
    Bill White
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer
     
     
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