Ride, Rise, Roar is a documentary film chronicling the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour conducted by David Byrne in 2008–2009. The film includes concert footage, footage of the planning and rehearsals for the tour, and exclusive interviews with Byrne, Eno, and the supporting musicians and dancers.[1]
Production
Curtis initially proposed documenting the tour with no clear objective for the film and decided to focus on the collaboration between Byrne and his tour mates as well as the unique challenge of combining popular music with modern dance.[2] Byrne wanted the film to display what it takes to put on a concert.[3]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 78% based on reviews from 9 critics.[11] Most positive reviews were restrained: for instance, The Quietus called the film "handsome albeit conventional";[12] writing for The Guardian, Andrew Pulver noted that it was a "pretty straightforward concert movie" and gave the film three out of five stars, but criticized Curtis' direction for using bland shots.[13] A negative review from The Stranger's Christopher Frizzelle advised potential viewers to "run in the other direction" due to the poor choreography and dull interviews.[14]The Independent's Anthony Quinn found the choreography unacceptable as well as Byrne's arrangement and song selection.[15] Other reviews—such as Empire's Phil de Semlyen—preferred the emphasis on dance and found the choreography enjoyable.[16] A complaint of several reviewers[17] was the lack of uninterrupted musical performances, with interview clips cutting short the live footage.[18]
Comparisons with the 1984 Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense were inevitable[19]—The Seattle Times even dubbed this a "sequel"[20]—and reviews universally found the former film to be stronger.[16] For instance, View London considers Ride, Rise, Roar entertaining, but "not on the level of classica rockumentaries", whereas Stop Making Sense is "generally reckoned to be one of the best concert movies ever made."[21]Time Out Chicago's assessment of Hillman Curtis acknowledges the "challenging position" that he was in by being compared to Jonathan Demme's direction, but sums up the review by calling the film "a very satisfying experience."[22]
