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Movies / On DVD / Tom Dowd and the Language of Music
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

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Tom Dowd and the Language of Music (2004)

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89 %
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Reviews Counted: 28

Fresh: 25

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 7.4/10

Rated: Unrated

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release: Aug 13, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: In the annals of pop music, there's probably no one other than legendary impresario John Hammond whose ubiquitousness compares with that of engineer/producer Tom Dowd. From the 1950s on, Dowd was both a tireless technological innovator... In the annals of pop music, there's probably no one other than legendary impresario John Hammond whose ubiquitousness compares with that of engineer/producer Tom Dowd. From the 1950s on, Dowd was both a tireless technological innovator and a uniquely musical engineer and producer. A key figure at the Atlantic and Stax labels, among others, Dowd was intimately involved with the recording of the giants of jazz (Dizzy Gillespie, Ornette Coleman), soul (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin), and rock (Cream, Allman Brothers, Derek & the Dominos). TOM DOWD & THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC is a lively profile of this artistic and technical mastermind, punctuated by gripping performance footage of the countless top-shelf artists on Dowd's resume, as well as interviews with some of those musicians, and with the charming, effervescent Dowd himself. Besides being a skilled musician (at one point we see him playing some impressive jazz piano), Dowd was uniquely qualified for his work on the technical side, with his background as an army engineer. Not only did Dowd oversee the making of groundbreaking albums like Derek & the Dominos' LAYLA and Otis Redding's OTIS BLUE, he helped design and test the atomic bomb in the infamous Manhattan Project. Clearly this is a man with a story to tell, and this film tells it in a visually and contextually arresting format, focusing on Dowd's long list of achievements as well as his natural gift for communication and camaraderie. [More]

Starring: Tom Dowd, Tito Puente, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton

Starring: Tom Dowd, Tito Puente, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Allman Brothers, Les Paul, Mike Stoller, Aretha Franklin

Director: Mark Moormann

Director: Mark Moormann
Producer: Mark Moormann, Scott L. Gordon, Mark Hunt
Studio: Palm Pictures

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Release:

Aug 13, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 0
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Scenes - 1. Extended Interviews
  • 2. Deleted Scenes
  • Behind the Scenes - "Making of" Studio Shoot
  • Trailers

Interactive Features:

  • Hidden Features

DVD-ROM:

  • Weblinks

Reviews for Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

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Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
08/14/07
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
N/R

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Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/26/05
Dan Devine
PopMatters
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The film's high points are to be found in tremendous archival footage.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
12/17/04
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
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This highly enjoyable documentary makes sure that Dowd's contribution to the music business will not be forgotten.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/15/04
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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If nothing else, you'll earn a new appreciation for the way music is produced.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/14/04
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/16/04
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
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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.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/13/04
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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Affable and hugely entertaining.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
08/13/04
Ted Fry
Seattle Times
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A fitting epitaph for a giant few people outside the industry knew but whose work everybody heard.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
08/13/04
Joel Selvin
San Francisco Chronicle
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Visually appealing.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
08/13/04
Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
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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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
08/13/04
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine
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As a probing look at a really nice-guy genius in the studio world, it succeeds admirably.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/13/04
Steve Morse
Boston Globe
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Deserves credit, not only for choosing a wonderful and deserving subject for a film, but for doing him proud.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/13/04
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
08/13/04
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
Ratings Image

A loving portrait of 50 years of pop music and a man who by all accounts was a musical genius.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/13/04
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
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Shows firsthand the appreciation and warmth from the musicians who worked with him.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/13/04
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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How quaint: the idea of an artist who makes other artists better.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
08/13/04
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
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It fails ... to deliver a balanced portrait of the man's life and work.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
08/12/04
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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If you care about the popular music of the last 50 years, this is a documentary you'll want to see.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/12/04
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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