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Product Description Bittersweet Motel takes a look at the iconoclastic musicians of Phish, one of rock and roll's most successful touring bands, a group Rolling Stone Magazine has called "the most important band of the '90s." This 80-minute documentary tracks the band over the course of a year--on and off stages across the United States, Europe and at home in Vermont. The film wraps with an extensive section devoted to one of Phish's grand festivals, "The Great Went," where 70,000 fans descend on the tiny village of Limestone, Maine, for a spectacular multi-day musical event. Director Todd Phillips, best known for his groundbreaking films, Sundance Award winner Frat House and the blockbuster comedy Road Trip, reveals the amazing phenomenon of the band--their music, loyal fans and spectacular live shows. Phillips presents a compelling film that every music fan will find fascinating. .com Phishheads may be hard-pressed to define what they love about their idols, the Vermont-based jam band Phish, but they know it when they see it--and hear it. And Bittersweet Motel, the 2000 documentary by Todd Phillips, serves up exactly what they want: generous dollops of the band's free-form, jazz-laced music and by-the-numbers backstage glimpses of the musicians relaxing during rehearsals, between sets, and after hours. The 84-minute film follows a year in the life of the band, from the happening called the Great Went in Maine in August 1997 through the band's 1998 European tour (but inexplicably, the film begins with Europe and ends with the Great Went). Along the way, viewers are treated to long snatches of band favorites like "Wilson" and "Down with Disease." Affable singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio is the focus of most of the nonmusical scenes, trying to explain the band's cult appeal, or griping about lunk-headed critics who are all too dismissive of the band's often-stellar virtuosity. It's clear that wearing the mantle of the Grateful Dead--especially since the 1995 death of Jerry Garcia--is a mixed blessing for Anastasio, who bristles in one interview about Dead comparisons. Phillips, who directed the fascinating but discredited documentary Frat House and the Tom Green vulgarfest Road Trip, does have an eye for the absurdly comic, especially evident in the few scenes he features of stoner Phishheads, who follow the band from show to show. Bittersweet Motel may not earn the band any new converts, but fans will find more than enough to satisfy those long dry spells between tours. --Anne Hurley P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Set Contains: The DVD offers Dolby 5.1 or DTS sound and eight deleted scenes, including some songs, that are inconsequential to the film but are musts for fans. There is also an interview with Phillips, but instead of a filmed chat, it's presented as several screens of written Q&A--very hard to follow on the DVD screen (it's easier to read on the movie's official Web site, www.bittersweetmotel.com). See more
B**
Ya know, DONUTS!
I used to own this on VHS when it was first released. It’s just a great today as it was 20 some odd years ago. The intimacy of the movie is to me, what’s so captivating. I C was actually lucky enough to be acquainted with Trey for a number of years when I lived in Vermont. He’s a genuinely good hearted human being and has absolutely no ego none of them do and that shines through in this film as well. So buy yourself a copy turn up the volume and enjoy the sights and sounds of Phish!
A**E
Excellent but....
The overall quality of this movie is excellent. I was there in person for almost all of the US concert footage and the movie does a good job of capturing what you would see at a live show with one big exception, the film in extremly "Trey-Centric." The majority of the concert footage and Q+A is focus on Trey. The film should mirror the orginal idea of the band which was to have equal airplay for all four members. Perhaps the movie should be entitled "Trey." Besides the fact that it is Trey-centric, I think the film is excellent, the sound is good, the behind the scenes looks give a little sense of how the Phish machine is run and you get a good sense of the personalities of the members. I really liked how the film didn't focus on the Phans. The media tends to cocentrate of the wacky Phan-base instead of music, I guess Phish allowed the documentary with the notion that it would center around the music. Overall, the film is great but there is one minor detail that should be mentioned, the DVD menu system for this DVD is extremly poor. The interface is buggy and the animations are terrible.
M**S
Great LP set for any audiophile
This was an amazing gift! Got this for my Phish loving GF. She could not stop listening to it over and over. The sound is great! The one of a kind clear/black LP discs are unique per pressing and makes for one of a kind of gift per set. Couldn’t be happier.
M**F
A backstage look at the real Phish
An essential Phish film that includes concert footage as well as interviews and solo playing all within a very casual framework that shows the real Phish.
P**T
Perfect
Arrived in good condition, disc played well.
M**S
Great Memory
This movie is a great keepsake for all those who are phish fans and attended The Great Went. I am in the movie; my little piece of fame! Great to watch and remember the good ole days before kids when it was all about "ME"
I**Y
One of my favorite documentaries ever.
Great glimpse into the phish world. Good choices for music snippets without going into too much jam for the non-phish fan. Great introduction to demonstrate what phish is all about.
H**T
Flawed movie about a great band
My problem here is that the filmmaker tried to make 3 films and didn't do any of them very well, though when I got the DVD the movie was better than I remembered from the theater. I thought that the concert footage was great, but since he almost never gives us a complete song, the tension and release that is behind many Phish jams (as well as entire sets) was missing. He could have done a Phish interview movie, but it became increasingly Trey-centric as the rest of the band lost interest in being followed around and filmed. Or he could have done a film about the "scene" and the fans, which he scratched the surface of. I agree with the other reviewers who said that Phillips appeared to focus on some rather shallow fans. It would have been interesting if he would have interviewed some of the tapers -- people who feed a worldwide network of collectors with remarkably high-quality recordings, and their own special subspecies. By trying to do all three things at the same time none of them were very good. I liked the exras, with more or less full length versions of several songs.
E**K
PHISH ist eine musikalische Offenbarung und diese DVD erzählt einiges aus der Geschichte dieser Band!
Diese DVD war schon einmal in meinem Besitz, leider verschenkte ich sie damals und war dann immer wieder an den horrenten Preisen bei amazon.de gescheitert. Nun hat alles gestimmt und sie steht wieder in meiner kompletten PHISH-DVD Sammlung.Als Einstieg für zukünftige Fans eignet sich diese Doku DVD besonders. Man erfährt viel über Hinter- und Beweggründe der Band, einiges von ihren kuriosen Sommer Events. Die wohl einizge Europ-Tour dieser Band wurde auch festgehalten. Der Sound ist super. In den Extras einige komplette Songs. Die deutschen Untertitel sehr wohltuhend, da mein englisch leider nicht perfekt ist. In den USA wurde dieser Film damals in den Kinos gezeigt, hier in D wäre so was unvorstellbar, denn die Musik dieser Band hat die künstlerische Freiheit verinnerlicht. Schubladen ausgeschlossen. Wer erst mal die Fährte von PHISH aufgenommen hat wird diese zeitlebens nicht mehr verlassen, diese Musik geht ganz tief rein. Noch ein Tipp, wer schnuppern möchte, bei YouTube gibt es jede Menge kompletter Konzerte in super Bild und Tonqualität. Dort immer nach Pro Shot schauen. Erstaunlich, dass man in Deutschland immer noch allein darsteht mit Phish. Kaum jemand kennt diese Band. In den Staaten sind die kompletten Touren meist nach kurzer Zeit ausverkauft. Tausende pilgern durchs Land. Das Schärfste sind ihre Sommer Events. 1 Festival, 2 Tage, 1 Band, 6 Konzerte > 80 bis 100.000 Zuschauer. Peace!
R**R
Deutsche Untertitel und deutsche Hüllentext - Super!
Selbstredend dass diese DVD ein MUSS für jeden PHISH-head ist!Diese DVD-Edition hat meines Wissens nach als einzige deutsche Untertitel und eine komplett deutschsprachige Hülle, find ich super, jede Menge Extras und ganze Videos als Bonus
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