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In this exquisite concert film directed by Jonathan Demme, Neil Young expresses modest hopes for his two-night stint at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium, the home of the original Grand Ole Opry. He states he wants to "play well, share the stage with my friends, and let the muse have us." He succeeds magnificently, as does Demme, who keeps the music and performers center stage, without intrusive crowd reaction shots, flashy camerawork, or jarring cuts to distract or detract. The flip side of Young's ferocious Rust Never Sleeps, Heart of Gold finds Young in a more thoughtful and reflective mood, performing his Grammy-nominated acoustic album, Prairie Wind. Young had written and recorded the album in the wake of his father's death and his own diagnosis with a brain aneurysm. The music recalls his 1972 classic Harvest, with songs about his father, his daughter, his god, and even, in a duet with the incomparable Emmylou Harris, his guitar; which, he informs us, once belonged to Hank Williams and is making its own homecoming to Ryman. The forever-Young standards "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" are even more poignant in this context, and you'll experience few lovelier moments onscreen than Young's rendition of "Four Strong Winds," a ballad by fellow Canadian Ian Tyson, to whom Young pays heartfelt tribute. A vivid portrait of the artist as an older man, Heart of Gold achieves greatness and merits a place in the concert film pantheon, alongside Demme's Talking Heads film, Stop Making Sense, and Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

In the fall of 2005, Neil Young returned to the sound and style of his iconic 1972 album Harvest with Prairie Wind, a set of ten songs which look to America's past and future accompanied by sweet but rough-hewn country-rock. The album was written and recorded after Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and shortly before he went into the hospital for surgery for the condition, Young played a pair of special concerts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, where he performed the Prairie Wind album in full along with a set of old favorites. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme was on hand to film the shows, and Neil Young: Heart of Gold was culled from the best moments of those two concerts, as well as interviews in which Young talks about his life and music. Emmylou Harris appears as a guest vocalist, and Young's band includes long time accompanists Ben Keith on pedal steel, pianist Spooner Oldham and Pegi Young (Neil's wife) on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. By the way, Neil Young enjoyed a full recovery after his surgery. Mark Deming

Entertainment Weekly

Young, wizened yet valiant, his voice still braying at the moon, delivers these songs of aging and loss as if caught in a beautiful dream of what lies waiting for him on the other side. Owen Gleiberman

New York Times

At one point, during one of his occasional verbal rambles, Young says half-jokingly, half-defensively that he's got some love songs left in him. This film, which is at once a valentine from one artist to another and a valentine from a musician to his audience, is surely proof that he does. Manohla Dargis

Los Angeles Times

It's the record of a life, a musical and spiritual autobiography, and as directed by Jonathan Demme it taps into the kind of unashamed, unsentimental emotion that's become increasingly rare in films of any kind. Kenneth Turan

Product Details

• UPC: 097363466949
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Time: 1:43:00
• Sales Rank: 10,316