Barnes & Noble

In June 1996, 20 of the leading performers in alternative music gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a benefit show that has since become an annual, global event. The show's de facto headliners, the Beastie Boys, organized the concert to benefit the Milarepa Fund, a charity established by the group in 1994 to help oppressed Tibetans under Chinese rule. Free Tibet, now available on DVD, is a moving and entertaining documentary based on this first show, enhanced by concert footage from a subsequent New York show, plus interviews with audience members and the performers. The lineup reads like an alt-rock all-star team (Beck, Björk, Sonic Youth, Pavement, the Fugees, and Rage Against the Machine, to name a few) and while their sets are truncated in this 88-minute film, each displays a rockin', heartfelt sense of purpose. The DVD's Dolby sound packs sufficient punch and it includes two commentaries -- one by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), one of the film's photography directors, and Beastie Boy-Milarepa Fund founder Adam Yauch. DVD viewers get an additional Beastie Boys' number, "Root Down," recorded at the New York concert. More than a memorable musical documentary, Free Tibet is a rare, successful confluence of decent music and noble cause. Doree Shafrir

Barnes & Noble

In June 1996, 20 of the leading performers in alternative music gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a benefit show that has since become an annual, global event. The show's de facto headliners, the Beastie Boys, organized the concert to benefit the Milarepa Fund, a charity established by the group in 1994 to help oppressed Tibetans under Chinese rule. Free Tibet, now available on DVD, is a moving and entertaining documentary based on this first show, enhanced by concert footage from a subsequent New York show, plus interviews with audience members and the performers. The lineup reads like an alt-rock all-star team (Beck, Björk, Sonic Youth, Pavement, the Fugees, and Rage Against the Machine, to name a few) and while their sets are truncated in this 88-minute film, each displays a rockin', heartfelt sense of purpose. The DVD's Dolby sound packs sufficient punch and it includes two commentaries -- one by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), one of the film's photography directors, and Beastie Boy-Milarepa Fund founder Adam Yauch. DVD viewers get an additional Beastie Boys' number, "Root Down," recorded at the New York concert. More than a memorable musical documentary, Free Tibet is a rare, successful confluence of decent music and noble cause. Doree Shafrir

All Movie Guide

Sarah Pirozek filmed this documentary combining interviews with concert footage of the 1996 San Francisco Tibetan Freedom Concert, which attracted 100,000 people to Golden Gate Park. The film's executive producer, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is a Buddhist who initiated the concept of the annual concert. Included are current-events clips (the Dalai Lama addressing Congress, President Clinton announcing a continuation of trade despite China's treatment of Tibetans). With numbers (or partial performances) from top groups (A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Bjork, De La Soul, Foo Fighters, Fugees, Richie Havens, John Lee Hooker, Biz Markie, Tim Meadows, Yoko Ono, Pavement, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins), this film was distributed to one city at a time and marketed like a concert tour. Bhob Stewart

Product Details

• UPC: 660200302023
• Source: PALM PICTURES / UMVD
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo
• Time: 1:28:00
• Sales Rank: 56,067

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