Springsteen and I Archives

Maybe you just can’t wait until Tuesday’s screening of Springsteen and I, or maybe the E Street doc is not showing near you. Well, if you are suffering from a Springsteen movie jones, we have the cure.

The Boss has lent his talents – and in one case, his actual person – to bunches of films. Most of them are even worth seeing.

6) Light of Day (1987)

In concert, Springsteen has recalled the tale that led him to pen the song Light of Day, which Joan Jett sings for the film of the same name. Filmmaker Paul Schrader had sent him a screenplay entitled Born in the USA – a title Bruce stole outright for this other little song he’d been working on. In return, Springsteen wrote the rocking number that may be the only non-ridiculous thing about Schrader’s film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MISxcKlvMsg

5) Limbo (1999)

John Sayles’s weird romance turned noir turned adventure/thriller will keep you guessing. I suppose it’s only fair, then, that you may not immediately link the film’s song Lift Me Up to Springsteen. Singing in an unusual (for that time in his career, anyway) falsetto, Springsteen’s lyrics underscore the characters’ beleaguered search for redemption.

4) The Wrestler (2008)

Mickey Rourke’s succinct and frighteningly honest characterization of a performer with a shelf life found a lovely, lyrical mirror in Springsteen’s song of the same name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1LnUCQ7dDg

3) Dead Man Walking (1995)

Springsteen garnered an Oscar nomination for his positively devastating song to accompany this positively devastating film. Beautiful, brutal and tragic – like the film – Springsteen’s lyrics put you in the conscience of a man on death row.

2) Philadelphia (1993)

Springsteen’s spare, haunting tune describes a conscience wrestling with shame, abandonment, redemption, and resignation. Underscoring the humanity in Jonathan Demme’s flawed but powerful film, Streets of Philadelphia won Springsteen an Oscar.

1) High Fidelity (2000)

Springsteen’s The River joins a slew of kick ass songs on the soundtrack, but High Fidelity boasts something the rest of these flicks do not. Bruce himself shows up, guitar in hand, to offer advice to the romantically misguided Rob Gordon (John Cusack).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DIm_47xPU

by George Wolf

Look, I admit it. Asking me to review a Bruce Springsteen documentary sounds about as fair and balanced as Sean Hannity giving his thoughts on The Sarah Palin Story. I’m a Springsteen devotee, no doubt about it, but Springsteen and I will not only thrill fans such as myself, but also give the uninitiated a glimpse into what drives the Cult of the Boss.

From Executive Producer Ridley Scott, the film doesn’t focus as much on Bruuuuuce as it does his legendary fan base. Utilizing the same approach that drove Scott’s Life in a Day (2011), and Japan in a Day (2012), Springsteen and I is a story told by everyday people.

Bruce fans all over the world were encouraged to submit their own videos, describing how his music has affected them, the place it holds in their lives and, well, anything else they felt moved to share.

Director Baillie Walsh assembles the best of the bunch, mixing in Springsteen performances from the archives, and in many cases, video evidence from moments when the lucky ones rubbed elbows with The Boss.

You can’t help but smile when you hear stories of the man who went to a Bruce show dressed in full-on Elvis, or the women who made an “I’ll be your Courtney Cox” sign, and then watch as Bruce invites them to share his stage.

It’s an entertaining approach, and one that also allows for more heartfelt submissions, such as the man who suddenly bursts into tears when describing how the music has changed him, or the couple who, despite never having been to a Springsteen show, feel part of the fan community simply by dancing to Bruce music at home.

Of course, Springsteen isn’t everyone’s favorite(?), and one women’s fandom is hilariously described by her husband. After years of tagging along to Bruce’s marathon performances, the man pleads for Bruce to “make his concerts shorter!”

Springsteen and I is a thoroughly enjoyable take on the power of music, and much like a Springsteen show, offers a lengthy encore. Stay put after the credits roll for some great concert footage and a backstage peek at a special Bruce meet and greet session.

Lucky bastards.

Springsteen and I will show again in Columbus, and all over the world, July 30th at 7:30pm. The local showing will again be at Lennox. Outside Columbus, check here for a showing at the same time.