DVD REVIEW: Springsteen & I

Shane | 13 January 2014

DVD REVIEW: Springsteen & I
Shock Entertainment
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9.5/10

The thought of sitting through an hour and a half of fanboys n’ girls gushing about their favourite performer sounds about as much fun as Chinese water torture, but SPRINGSTEEN & I makes it not only bearable, but life affirming, heart wrenchingly emotional, and wonderful viewing as well.

Having received over 2000 fan submitted videos, the producers whittled them down to produce a compelling collection of passionate people to whom The Boss has really meant something.

Even the Manchester guy who whinges about the length of Bruce’s shows, which he has to sit through for his loved-up wife comes across as an honest, working class Joe, which is exactly the audience that The Boss strikes the deepest chord with.

Fan-shot footage of these guys jumping on stage – the Elvis impersonator singing All Shook Up with the band, the guy who got dumped and gets a hug from The Boss, the girl who does the Dancing In The Dark dance at an English concert – makes it so much more real and – along with Springsteen meeting a few of these guys backstage in the DVD extras – show him to be a true man of the people and, as one fan says, someone who can make them feel like the only one there in a stadium of many thousands.

The stories told are all personal, these fans laugh, cry, dance and sing their love for Springsteen & The E Street Band, and the film will make most viewers do the same.