Freebird: The Movie (1996) User Reviews

Fine performances, what there are of them...

[mrwolfie · 7/10 · 16 June 2006]

I remember the days of 1976 (although I was only 13 at the time) and the BBC used to have a people's choice on New Year's Eve, the footage of Lynyrd Skynyrd performing "Freebird" at Knebworth won every year it was one of the choices. Unfortunately, this movie does not include this triumphant, jubilant performance and it is instead replaced by, in comparison, a pedestrian version from an altogether different source. Colour me disappointed.

While the music of Skynyrd is well represented, and for this alone I rate this at 7, the failure to include one of their greatest moments on stage ~ especially when the footage was available (clips of it are shown during the end credits while another song entirely provides the backing) ~ is an atrocious error in judgement.

Enjoy what is there, but remember it could have been so much better.

Guitars, bell bottoms, long hair, and hard rock

[helpless_dancer · 8/10 · 17 February 2002]

Very good rockumentary showing some interviews but mostly footage of various concerts, most in color but some in b&w. All the bands' big hits were performed and I liked the way the camera made use of the close-up lens which allowed the viewer to catch all the action as though sitting in a front row seat. See this if you get a chance, it is hot.

The "Freebird/Tribute Tour" double-movie DVD completes it

[MrBigglesworth999 · 9/10 · 9 January 2004]

The original Freebird was an excellent collection of live performances but did not explain much in the way of the band's history. The new double-movie DVD redresses this by adding the 1987 Tribute Tour movie to Freebird: this second movie describes the early history of the band and its members and also details the present (1987 at least) situation with the surviving and newly-added members. In all, the double movie DVD serves as a reminder of just how great this band was, and to a lesser extent, still is.

"You say you will be alright tomorrow, but tomorrow may not be here for you".

Memories....Anyone?

[thecount24 · 24 February 2004]

I just watched "Freebird...The Movie" I recommend this movie to anyone who grew up in the late 70's. If you did and Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't touch your life in some way or another...check your pulse. I LOVED it, the live footage, the backstage footage, the personal footage all blended together to create a beautiful memorial to a band that hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of their musical power. I know I can speak for all L.S. fans "We Miss You"

Classic

[jww67 · 10/10 · 11 September 2007]

Excellent!!! Triple guitar action at it's best.

When Ronnie died the band died. He's an American gem.

Don't listen to anyone who sez to play the album and get the same effect.

When you start watching them in England opening for the Rolling Stones you can tell that the crowd is only mildly interested. By the end they are rocking and then you hear that they booed the Stones when they came on because the crowd wanted more LS.

WOW!!!!

These guys are the greatest live band of all time.

Ronnie Rocks!

FREEBIRD!!!!!!

A Great Glimpse Of One Of The Rock Era's Greatest Bands

[AudioFileZ · 8/10 · 12 November 2016]

I was in the 9th grade when "Pronounced" came out. It was a shot over the bough. A new harder southern rock that didn't forget earthy country influences at the same time. An hour away from Birmingham, Alabama me, and my friends, listened to progressive rock station WJLN for the manna that top 40 radio ignored. This new band with the funny name of Lynyrd Skynyrd was a kind of manna to my ears. The hooky, and slightly novelty tune, "Gimme Three Steps" caught my ear. But it was Free Bird that seared my brain with it's incendiary final guitar triple assault trio. How could a rock and roll lover not stand up and salute? The entire album was every bit as good I soon learned. Wow! Before this southern rock was titled toward the blues and R&B, now there was a full-tilt rock southern sound. I was in.

Free Bird, The Movie is a worthy remembrance of how great Skynyrd was and that the world, besides me, noticed. While there is so much more that could be said this movie speaks volumes. Without overly analyzing the bands lineage we get a nice cursory history. Keying on live performances, the bulk of which is from the triumphant Knebworth British festival, one can get more than just a glance at how powerful a Skynyrd performance with Ronnie Van Zant & Skynyrd could be. I must admit I was fortunate enough to see Lynyrd Skynyrd at their first proper Birmingham, Alabama concert at Boutwell Auditorium opening for Capricorn Recording Artists Wet Willie. It was something special because their MCA album was breaking early in Birmingham and the band was aware of it. This was when for a short time Wet Willie was a rock and roll unknown juggernaut of a band and Skynyrd blew an otherwise typically great Wet Willie show away. I think this memorial film captures some of that rare alchemy making it a truly special rock and roll documentary.

Many folks have wondered if the later day Skynyrd was anything other than a money grab. I'd be pre-disposed to say yes...But, there was something that literally wouldn't die First, it was the music itself. After that is was the high strangeness of that sis-degrees of separation Skynyrd had tentacles that stretched out even before the first album was released. They had previous and future musicians in their orbit as a result. The sheer strength of this made the latter day Skynyrd more than a tribute band. It was actually connected and not only by surviving members. To get the gist of how this legacy continues I highly recommend watching Free Bird. It's a rare truly triumphant, and satisfying, rock and roll band documentary. Sure it's bittersweet, but ultimately it's uplifting because the music lives on. Against all odds if there is a top ten list of post sixties rock bands Lynyrd Skynyrd is undoubtedly in that ten and this movie is one of our only documents of what it was all about. See it if you love real rock and roll.

cool movie for a great band

[vlad1917 · 10/10 · 26 July 1999]

what i like about this movie is when it ends: it doesn't continue documenting the band after the plane crash. it also contains probably the best performance of 'freebird' i've ever seen...which alone is worth seeing this movie for. even non-fans can appreciate this.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD

[anitaholton-48531 · 10/10 · 22 January 2018]

The original Lynyrd Skynyrd were such an amazing band... until that fateful day in 1977... would have loved the chance to see them play live but i was just a wee girl back then... Love Ronnie Van Zant.. he was such an awesome singer / song writer and the coolest guy ever.... why do all the good ones leave us so soon... they ll still be loved by generations... Fly high Freebird !!!

If you love the band it's worth buying

[norman_mackay · 9/10 · 7 June 2011]

I bought this DVD three years back and the extra footage had an issue (maybe that was a PAL UK issue) but if you love Lynard Skynard tunes it's worth owning.

Don't look at this DVD as a movie but a chance to slightly peak into the world of a band taken before they reached their peak.

There are only 3-4 videos you could class as music videos but this is an era before that genre really existed so don't expected nicely edited music videos.

What I think you will see is the insight in a band that were a phenomenon, the interviews are brief but interesting, The band's music still captivates years later, technically they remain unsurpassed in many respects.

The greatest rock concert video ever!

[radmanart · 10/10 · 26 February 2020]

There is only 2 rock concert DVD's that have ever made me cry and this is one of them. The other one was Zakk Wylde's The European Invasion - Doom Troopin' Live. I do not cry easy. I saw Freebird... The Movie around 2009 for the first time. It was also the first time I had seen Lynyrd Skynyrd in concert. To me it was amazing to see the band like that. Lynyrd Skynyrd was a legend to me growing up in the party hardy days of the 1970's. Listening to Freebird cranked up; in a friends muscle car was as epic as it gets. All my friends would talk about the band and the story's that we told were that of legends. Seeing the personal shot's of Ronnie Van Zant fishing was a heart breaker, if there ever was one. What got me balling was the end. I sat through the entire concert with batted breath filmed in Knebworth, England. The band played incredibly and looked awesome; but being in England it made it very impersonal and bland. I waited and waited and thought; they have not played Freebird yet. At the end they showed them in all their glory in Oakland, California. I think I cried through most of the song. I do not agree with the rebel flag usage of Lynyrd Skynyrd; that has never or will never; take away my love and admiration for this legendary band, ever. One of the; too many to remember story's we would tell each other back in the 1970's, was whether Lynyrd Skynyrd was prejudice. One time I remember a dude exclaimed that Lynyrd Skynyrd was no way prejudice because Ronnie Van Zant dated a black girl. I was very close to the definition of a Freebird in the 1970's; today I can not relate to those lyrics at all. I will always be in awe of that thundering extended minstrel extravaganza; at the end of that epic song, Freebird.

Music=Good, Visuals=Bad

[Masoo · 6/10 · 31 January 2002]

The movie isn't much ... some nice home movie footage, and lots of fine performances by the band (esp. "Freebird," of course), but for whatever reason (original footage or eventual editing) the choice of camera shots is v.frustrating. Whichever guitarist is playing a solo, the camera inevitably shows someone else; even "Freebird" has as many shots of the crowd as it does of the band. I'd give it a six on a scale of ten; play a CD, you'll be just as happy.

Best Live Show Ever

[Haukland · 10/10 · 21 June 1999]

This must be the best live show ever recorded on film. Not only do the music kick a.., but the honesty and passion for music is fantastic. If you haven't already seen the film, you've missed out something big!! This film you've got to own!

"Freebird", "Sweet Home.." and "T For Texas" are all here, and an astonishing version of "Cry For The Bad Man" as well.

The film quality is remarkably good, and so is the sound. It's a shame that the film is so hard to get, and that it's looks like it's gonna stay that way.

So people, call your neighbors, friends and enemies, and get your hands on a copy of this Masterpiece.

In-Depth look at Lynyrd Skynyrd

[Brian Blueskye · 16 September 1999]

A very good look into the original lineup of Lynyrd Skynyrd, or now known as "The Encore From Hell" by Spin magazine. Anyways, this shows some scenes of the last performances done by the band before their plane crash in 1977. As well as some of their older performances. The band recalls events while they were touring, and recording albums. This has some pretty classic performances in it, but it's not really anything to get excited about. The ending is a little sad, showing moments caught on camera of the take off just an hour or 2 before their 1977 plane crash, that killed Steve and Cassie Gaines, and Ronnie Van Zant.

"Freebird", still feel you now...

[MovieLuver365 · 10/10 · 22 November 2022]

This documentary tells the story of one of the great bands who pioneered the musical renaissance of the '60's/'70's and broke the mold of popular music with the onset of Southern Rock. It was a time when live musicians first learned the music via "muscle memory", THEN put the "soul" in it. This can only be done via true artists (live humans), and no one did it better than Lynyrd Skynyrd. The overwhelming and enduring overall success of a "song about a girl", (Gary Rossington) has been a mystery to many over the years (even the band!), but hindsight has shown that it spoke to a generation of people who were themselves, Free Birds. The beauty and true talent of this aspiring "dance party band" shows through in the artistry of the song itself. The lyrics describe the sorrow of leaving her, but the MUSIC lets you feel, in no uncertain terms, why he must. The listener actually gets to feel what it is like to be them. And it's So Good.

AWESOME!

[afchick2202 · 10/10 · 25 July 2003]

Even though I only saw the last forty-five minutes of this movie on CMT, I absolutely loved it! Lynyrd Skynyrd is my all time favorite band, even though I was born eleven years after the 1977 plane crash. I was never lucky enough to see my idols Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Leon Wilkeson live, but this movie gave me the next best thing. My mother said that it is not as good as the live concerts, but she was amazed at how well kept the records were. If you are a true fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, you will love this movie as I did. *this next one might be a spoiler* You will cry during "Freebird". You can see how inter-connected they all are. I cried for a whole half hour after I saw them play that song. You might be a little disturbed at the end, where the camera-man shows the band in the plane that took Ronnie and Steve's lives. They show the plane actually taking off on it's last flight.

This is a very touching tribute to our fallen frynds.

R.I.P Ronnie Van Zant*Steve Gaines*Cassie Gaines*Allen Collins*Leon Wilkeson

A great American Band

[danpro80 · 30 March 2001]

This movie will show the musicial strenghts of Lynyrd Skynyrd. During an era which bands depended on glitzy stage props and exotic gimmicks to attract an audience, Lynyrd Skynyrd's no frill approach to their craft was refreshing and pure. Freebird the Movie captures what true American Rock and Roll is all about

Great movie.

[Yoda-24 · 29 December 1998]

Skynyrd at the rawest and best. This film is a must for any Skynyrd fan. The interviews and home movies show that these guys weren't just rock 'n' roll gods.