Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing (Full Screen Edition)

This documentary captures the female country-&-western group the Dixie Chicks in performance around the U.S. and London between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003 singer Natalie Maines ignited a maelstrom of controversy and red-state rage when she declared--from a London stage on the eve of the Iraqi conflict--that she was ashamed President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. When a rabidly right-wing group picked up on it the band found themselves in the center of controversy regarding the nature of patriotism freedom of speech feminism and the split between pro- and antiwar Americans. Filmmaker Barbara Kopple brings us the fly-on-the-wall view of the next three years: we find Haines and sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire in dressing rooms on stage and in recording studios bonding with each other their families producer Rick Rubin and their supportive manager Simon Renshaw. Through the crises they keep their sense of humor and sisterhood not backing down from their liberal stance and turning the backlash into a triumph. They also make some great music and the film includes plenty of riveting intense footage of the band in performance onstage and in the studio. Among the faces appearing in archival footage are President Bush Bill Maher and rabidly right-wing country star Toby Keith.Format: DVD AUDIO Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 796019799294 Manufacturer No: 79929

Shut Up & Sing finds two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (American Dream) and co-director Cecilia Peck following the lives and career developments of the Dixie Chicks in the wake of singer Natalie Maines’ denunciation of the Iraq war and President Bush in 2003. The film returns to the pivotal moment in which Maines, speaking to a London audience, raised opposition to America's invasion of Iraq, resulting in a backlash in America. The Chicks, as one sees, have had little peace of mind since then, banned from country music stations, picketed at concerts, and targeted by death threats. Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison respond to the extensive and sometimes scary criticism they've faced, though their latest music, including a song called "Not Ready to Make Nice," also speaks for itself. Kopple and Peck spend a lot of time with the band on a human level as well, in homes and dressing rooms and recording studios. The collective--and quite touching--portrait is of three women who wish only the best for one another and back each other's decisions all the way. This is essential viewing for fans of the gifted Kopple as well as the always-against-the-odds Dixie Chicks. --Tom Keogh