this was a great behind the scenes look at one of my favourite artists. a bit heavy in spots but great all the same.
July 6, 2007Definitely there's a lot packed into the turbulent life & career of Sophie, and this DVD touches upon a lot of aspects. But too much has been edited out, leaving us feeling somewhat unfulfilled. There are oblique references to incest, rape, shady dealings and other juicy subjects, but we never get anything more than a hint. It's obvious that the filmmaker was too afraid of potential lawsuits to expose anything of real substance. The result is a very watered down documentary much like those annoying History Channel bits about the pyramids that end with (but we'll never truly know...)
Despite this seemingly unfavorable review, I did enjoy it. But that's only because I'm a hardcore Sophie fan, and I also love all the scenes with cute doggies & stuff. But I doubt that this film will have a broad appeal. I would love to see an unauthorized director's cut version that shows all the scenes that were deleted & bleeped/fuzzed out. No holds barred. That would be more Sophie's style.
January 22, 2006This documentary shows some very raw emotions between Sophie and her family, which they seem not to have ever addressed with each other. Sophie is extremely talented and I feel proud of her and impressed that she rose above her rough childhood. The documentary delves mainly into her family history and how it is reflected in her music, but it also covers some historical aspects of Sophie's career that I wasn't aware of, such as the banning of her 'i wish i was your lover' video. The documentary also made me aware of her incredible talent as a writer, as she reads diary entries aloud. Overall, Sophie is much deeper, more fascinating, and more talented than Madonna (and I am a huge Madonna fan). Unfortunately for Sophie, it probably comes from a rough childhood. I wish Sophie the best!
August 2, 2004 |  | not just for hardcore fans |  |
I don't agree with the other reviewers that this dvd is only for hardcore fans. I'm assuming that if you buy this to watch you are interested in the life of Sophie B. Hawkins and what is behind her music and provacative lyrics. This dvd takes a look at her composition process (you see her talking to her band members, etc), her insights on her own rise to fame and her response to her songs (including how she regrets the control the record company had over her when she started out and a response to her incredible lyrics to "damn..."), and delves into her personal life. She says really revealing things about her family so the only thing I was surprised about was the fact that there was no discussion about her love interest(s). I hate pop music but I really like S. B. Hawkins because her lyrics are not repetative garbage and actually make you think and her music is very intense and includes acoustics and great drum rythms (except maybe for most of "whaler" her most pop sounding album). I only gave this 4 stars because I think it would have been more interesting to know more about her writing process and the songs she creates. She is an aweful brave lady though to reveal as much as she does on this documentary. Good for her. Anyone her loves her music would know that it is that bravery that creates her boundary pushing music in the first place. You also get a couple of videos and her response to seeing her own documentary, which is interesting.
August 8, 2002| | | only for hardcore Sophie fans | |
The Cream Will Rise is an 85 minute documentary following the escapades of pop singer Sophie B. Hawkins. This is a documentary best enjoyed by hardcore Sophie fans who have heard all 3 of her albums released so far. We get to hear tidbits of several songs in the background, but no song in its entirety during the documentary.
There is a nice 30 minute behind the scenes "commentary track", which is actually more like a featurette, where a cameraman is filming Sophie and director Gigi Gaston as they talk about various scenes of the documentary.
There are also 3 of Sophie's videos on this DVD, from her most recent album, Timbre.
I'm not sure how interesting this DVD would be for non-Sophie fans or people who have never heard her music before. For these people, I would only recommend this DVD as a rental.
For the true Sophie fans, this DVD provides a candid insight into the unique personality of Sophie B. Hawkins that you'll never see anywhere else. May 24, 2002
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