Shut Up & Sing

2006

Biography / Documentary / Music

5
IMDb Rating 7.6/10 10 5053 5.1K

usa president country music right wing politics feminism freedom of speech

Plot summary

Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment

Director

Barbara Kopple Photo
Barbara Kopple

Top cast

John McCain Photo
John McCain as Self
Anderson Cooper Photo
Anderson Cooper as Self
Bill Maher Photo
Bill Maher as Self
George W. Bush Photo
George W. Bush as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
843.6 MB
958*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 1
1.69 GB
1438*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by postmanwhoalwaysringstwice 9 / 10

here's to the first amendment!!!

In mid-March 2003 the most successful female band, the Dixie Chicks, were giving a concert in England on the eve of the Iraq War. Inspired by the displeasure she felt for President Bush's swift actions toward war, lead singer Natalie Maines made an off-hand remark that would soon create a backlash against the group few could have predicted."Shut Up & Sing" follows the Chicks into that British venue, through the harrowing period following the event, and into the studio as they found a semblance of catharsis about the place their lives and careers have come to since that time. During the nearly four years that have passed since that incident more and more have flocked to the position initially held by Maines back in 2003, so the film can now soberly be seen by more people as a representation of how divisive and heartless people can be. This is a film waving the flag of the first amendment all the way, and the damaging effects it had on a notably female country band that supposedly waved the wrong side of it.Beyond the possibly polarizing politics presented in the film, "Shut Up & Sing" stands strong as a backstage pass for fans as the controversy storyline is exquisitely counterbalanced by the studio sessions of the Chicks working on their follow up to "Home". There's a deeply felt sentiment and emotional connection offered to their new music that bodes so well with the normal lives they live on-screen.
Reviewed by EUyeshima 7 / 10

The Dixie Chicks Ride a Media Firestorm in an Intriguing Backstage Documentary

The galvanizing effect of one offhand statement from singer Natalie Maines on a London concert stage in 2003 turned the Dixie Chicks, the highly popular crossover country-pop trio, into a corn-belt pariah and a lightning rod for anti-Bush sentiments. Veteran documentarian Barbara Kopple, along with co-director Cecilia Peck (daughter of Gregory), cover the incident in question with minimum fuss in this 2006 film, but what they do quite well is show how much effort it has taken the group to ride the firestorm and get their career back on track with the music. Kopple and Peck spent three years with the band, and the resulting sense of intimacy makes this one of the better backstage-type documentaries.The film's chief takeaway is that the sisterhood between Maines and bandmates Emily Robison and Martie Maguire is genuine. As they ride the torrent of death threats, hate mail, boycotts and plummeting record sales and canceled tour stops, they never appear at serious odds with each other. There is one honest scene where Maguire suggests that she and her sister separate themselves from the remark to minimize the impact, but they all eventually realize there is more strength to be had in staying together through it. Much of the intractable bond has to do with each woman's efforts at balancing work and family, and a lot of credit seems due to their longtime manager Simon Renshaw.Unsurprisingly, Maines come across as the sharp-tongued, unapologetic contrarian of the group, a fountain of impulsive outbursts, but her instincts often prove right as they find triumph with their last album produced by the indefatigable, comeback-savvy Rick Rubin, who looks and acts a bit like Brian Wilson during his acid-saturated days. The mob mentality that builds against the group provide the most visceral scenes in the movie, although given the trio's abundant talent and the fact that most of the protests were concentrated in the country radio market, one can't help but feel there is something of a tempest in a teapot about the whole story. Credited to no less than seven cameramen, the cinematography is vivid, and the print condition on the 2007 DVD is pristine. The only extra is the theatrical trailer.
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