GREENDALE
A Neil Young Film
Directed by Bernard Shakey
Year of production :
2003
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Language: English
In essence, Greendale is a tale of
collective awakening told through ten
interlinking songs performed by Young and his
longtime amigos Crazy Horse, who never appear in
the film, but Neil’s distinctive voice is heard
singing the story as well as the dialogue of his
lip-synching actors.
It opens on the front porch of the Green family
farmhouse, where Grandpa and cousin Jed are
reading the morning paper and chatting, as Young
begins to reveal his Greendale - "a little love
and affection in everything you do – makes the
world a better place.” As the story unfolds, a
policeman is gunned down and Jed is taken to the
jailhouse. A family and a town grieve. Grandpa
fatally confronts the media’s intrusive onslaught
in times of human misery.
Coming Up 3The old man’s granddaughter, Sun
Green, moved by Grandpa’s idealism, becomes an
activist on the day of his passing – first taking
on the energy conglomerate Powerco, then heading
off to Alaska to apply her passion to help save
the wilderness. The film ends with an inspired,
kick-ass performance of a rockin’ humanist anthem
that urges us towards the vision: “Save the
planet for another day… Be the river as it moves
along… Be the Rain.”
In his review of the concert, Greg Kot of the
Chicago Tribune notes that Greendale is “…stuffed
with ideas, in many ways a summation of
everything Young has stood for in his fascinating
career: the nurturing strength of family, respect
for elders, the sacredness of nature and youth,
the corrupt invasiveness of political and
economic institutions, and the power of a really
loud guitar to cut through all the distraction.
Technical Specifications:
• Encoding: All Regions
• Format: Color, Widescreen, DTS Surround Sound
• Aspect Ratio(s): 1.85:1
• Audio Encoding: DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1,
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Rated: NR
• Studio: Sanctuary
• DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Run Time: 86
DVD Features:
• Available Audio Tracks: English (DTS), English
(Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0
Surround)
• Region 0 (NTSC format)
• Making of Greendale
• Family tree
• Characters
• Extra performance
