Meeting People Is Easy (1998)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Meeting People is Easy (1998): Dir: Grant Gee / Featuring: Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selwey: Rockumentary independent feature that is extremely low budget yet features an insightful view of musicians and the struggles of touring and media. Grant Gee directs and highlights the band Radiohead that are on their OK Computer tour with several interesting moments including concert footage. This is sometimes disjointed in its structure with scenes that seem to jump all over. The band accepts their awards whether it be presented or, in the case of touring, do video responses in acceptance. It becomes clear that the constant attention and media spotlight wears down the band to the point where they breeze lazily through interviews without a care. The theme regards the price of fame and success and what comes with the advantage of being able to obtain wealth. The band members all react differently to the attention but one element that is common is the tiring nature of what they are unable to escape. For those that enjoy documentaries, especially within the music industry, then this will key in interest. It is hardly in comparison to This is Spinal Tap, The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terriffico or even Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story but for Radiohead fans it presents an interesting view of the band, their struggles and their accessibility, as the title points out. Score: 8 / 10

a very boring, mundane, lazy film (which made me fall asleep.)--just the way i like it. it's just brilliant choppy edits: thom whining as usual (faking his expressions at times.), some snapshot of plastic chairs, grainy concert cuts--images mostly inspired/ripped off from the OK Computer album artwork. it's not worth watching really. it's not even a documentary if you ask me. it's more of a war film. very "anti"--very--very Radiohead. (a band which is--not the greatest--but merely the embodiment of all the past bands that have passed by, both popular and obscure. strangely intelligent musicians in a film you can completely ignore.)

I'm not going to tell you that if you don't know who RadioHead are, or if you don't like them, that you should watch this. If I weren't a fan (or if I lived so deep inside a cave I'd never heard of them), I would have gone crazy trying to wrap my head around this movie.However, since I am a huge fan, I absolutely loved this video. Artfully done, it has more crammed into it than I would have thought possible. The Irony, the Agony, the Frustration, the Fans, the Good Times, the (never-ending) Interviews; and of course the vicarious thrill you get from this rare look into the real back-stage life of a serious rock-n-roll band.This is not an up-lifting film. It makes you glad you never seriously pursued a career in the popular music industry.

"Meeting People Is Easy" is an amazing, groundbreaking work. This is not merely a concert video, nor is it, consciously, a short film. It is a visually stunning, aurally exciting piece that twists your head around in wonderful ways.Don't judge "Meeting People Is Easy" based on whether or not you like the Radiohead that you hear on the radio; nothing could be further from relevant when regarding this film. The concert footage, in conjunction with the searing visual pyrotechnics, brings to light the product of a band of rare quality, skill, and creativeness. Each bandmember is given a moment in the spotlight to show off their individual talents, and the process as a whole is, well, breathtaking.Several people that I know, some Radiohead fans, some not, have attempted to watch the DVD but not been able to finish it. This, almost invariably, comes not from disinterest or disgust, but rather from the overwhelming emotional roller coaster the film progresses along. This can be an exhausting work to take in. If you feel ready to be challenged, however, and, (especially) if you love Radiohead, this DVD is absolutely essential.