Western Stars

My issue with the movie is that he's taken his artistry and trying to "orchestrate" it and it doesn't work. The songs would be better re-arranged with the E-Street Band rather than a 30-piece orchestra.

The movie tries to tell a story through the narration and lyrics, but it gets lost in the orchestrated arrangements.

Western Stars is an emotional and intimate collection of songs. The songs are all excellent and performed beautifully by Bruce Springsteen himself. It's well paced and Bruce Springsteen and Thom Zimny's direction is incredible as the film is extremely well filmed and visually stunning in parts. Bruce is also an excellent storyteller.

The music, the narration, and the cinematography were all simply gorgeous. Springsteen hit this one out of the park.

I was not a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, until I saw this film! Gorgeous photography, incredible setting in an old barn, fabulous songs, accompanied by beautiful strings & even an accordion! Writing, directing , & performing in this film was labor of love for Springsteen. He bridged his performances with thoughtful insights into what each song meant to him. Well chosen archival video so interesting & fun. The young cute Springsteen has become a handsome man of substance both musically & otherwise. And I loved every minute of it.

Instead of touring his latest album, Bruce Springsteen made this movie of its contents. It was mostly recorded in his century-old barn, with a 30-piece orchestra, some new vocal arrangements by Patti Scialfa, and an audience of a few friends and the horses in the stables below.

Each song is introduced by Bruce, often as a voiceover as various images play, some of which are Bruce's archival photos or home movie clips. The lynchpin song is Western Stars, about an old cowboy still going on, when many of his contemporaries have left their boots (a song likely to be self-referential, given his approaching 70th birthday).

I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival, but not at the premium-priced world premiere, so Bruce had already left, leaving fellow director Thom Zimmy to answer questions. Bruce's directorial contributions included writing and producing the song introductions, and co-selecting the archival material to include. The intros make it feel that this album is a collection of poems set to music. With songs about cars, trains, heartbreak, and love, I wonder if someone will do a full country re-creation of the material. The film ends with a bonus song (that fits the overall theme), which is more upbeat than Moonlight Motel.

Even being only casually acquainted with Bruce's music, I found this film fascinating. It is probably a must-see for actual fans, especially those who have already memorized the lyrics. It is expected to open commercially October 25.