Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You (2020) User Reviews

Springsteen's homage to ghosts past...

[DukeEman · 8/10 · 24 October 2020]

Thom Zimny captures perfectly the emotional mindset of Bruce Springsteen who leads the E-Street Band on a journey through the early years of The Castiles. Bruce is the only living member of his youthful band, The Castiles, and he looks fondly at the memories that have moulded him into the present master songwriter. He also pays respect to those who have moved on from this world, and to childhood memories that have left an everlasting impression. All through a depth of emotional charged music and stunning images.

We all get to a certain age where we look back on our past and reminisce in certain ways. Springsteen does so with music and this insightful documentary by Zimmy. The bareness and rawness of the black and white photography captures the process of producing an album by a group of legends who have lived to tell the tale. A most wondrous way for any musician to learn the craft of collaborating creatively.

Darkness on the edge of town.

[southdavid · 7/10 · 5 November 2020]

Next up on Apple Plus TV - a loose documentary for The Boss' upcoming album "Letter to You". Whilst I'd never claim to be the biggest Springsteen fan in the world, my father might be, so his music has been in my life for as long as I can remember.

Springsteen gathers the E-Street Band together for a recording session for their upcoming album, and to reminisce about the times they've had and friends they've lost along the way. The film cuts between performances of the new songs, rehearsal footage, historical photographs and video whilst Springsteen ruminates on the themes behind the album and specific tracks on it.

In the strictest sense, to describe it as a documentary is a little generous. It's neither a full career retrospective, nor a proper look at the complete creation of this album. It's really very well-made promotional material. There is a bit of a formula to how it works, Bruce talks about the theme of the song, which often is one of death or loss, which over cuts beautiful tracking shots of the snowy New Jersey woodland where the studio was located. The band then play bits of the song as they work out the kinks of it, "why don't we try coming in there instead of here" type stuff - and then there's a master version of the recording of the song. Occasionally video or photographs of Bruce's career is intertwined across the run, when it helps to tell the stories.

Whilst it's not a deep dive documentary, that doesn't mean it isn't touching. Hearing them talk about the times they've had and particularly, given the album themes of death, talking about Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici - members who are no longer with us, is affecting stuff. As is the fact that Clemons nephew Jake has taken his place as the band's saxophonist. Bruce's lyrical monologues between songs can feel heavy but seem genuine and appropriate for the music. I don't think the album is likely to win any new fans, as it's pretty in keeping with older stuff, but they are top quality players and this feels like a strong Springsteen entry.

If I'm honest, I can't see myself watching the documentary again but days later I'm still singing little bits of the songs to myself.

Not great but worth a watch

[sonicvoodoo · 7/10 · 24 October 2020]

I dig docs telling the story of "teams" and "brotherhoods" and in this way Letter delivers but, as noted, the music is tired and Bruce.at times, sounds a little too full of himself. It's worth a watch.

A beautiful doc.

[SnobReviews · 7/10 · 6 November 2020]

Inspiring, electric and beautifully shot; "Letter To You" takes you deep into Springsteen's thoughts and musical process.

In this documentary, go behind-the-scenes and look at Springsteen's creative process with full performances from The E Street Band, in-studio footage, and never-before-seen material.

The legendary Bruce Springsteen bares his soul in this reflective and intimate look at the making of his new album with the E Street Band. Frequent collaborator and filmmaker Thom Zimny does yet again an excellent job at capturing the essence of the band but also exploring Springsteen's thoughts. The new album is one of the band's best and this doc is beautifully made and worth the watch.

Follow @snobmedia for all reviews!

Intimate and Revealing

[dlynnsch · 9/10 · 24 October 2020]

Meditations on life and loss, aging, and appreciating your loved ones.... at times melancholic... yet hopeful

Beautiful Words, Spoken And Sung

[david-meldrum · 7/10 · 12 September 2022]

Springsteen is ageing; in recent years he has written his (excellent) memoir, and his music has become more ruminative in keeping with that project. This is on the face of it a fairly simple behind the scenes music documentary, with a few glimpses of craft and band dynamics and a handful of thoughts on each song from the album of the same name aa the film. It's elevated by the economic depth of Springsteen's insight and the beauty of his spoken commentaries and sung words. He is always worth listening to, this man who a wise person once called America's greatest living theologian; a prophetic and pastoral voice who we're lucky to have. Long may he continue.

A rare look into the heart and soul of a musical genius

[lp2906-1 · 10/10 · 31 October 2020]

It's not often that the public are subject to the process of one of the greatest musical talents of our time. Bruce and the E street band take us on a musical journey of a lifetime. For any Springsteen fan, or music fan at that, this is a much watch!

Bruce pays tribute to his friends, family, bandmates from his past, present, and future.

[KinoBuff2021 · 7/10 · 27 June 2023]

'Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You' (2020) really is just a letter to "you". With "you" being all the people from Bruce's life who have shaped him and in this film/album its for those who have passed on. Springsteen reminisces of his youth growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s.

At his recording studio in New Jersey with the E Street Band, Springsteen writes, records, and details the meaning of each song from the album. The only survivor from his first recorded band, The Castiles, Springsteen grieves but remains driven as music remains his only outlet during tough times. With touching tributes to former bandmates, this film is really a behind the scenes look at his critically acclaimed 2020 album, 'Letter to You'. The black-and-white film and and personal interviews make the film unique as it is not a regular film or documentary but styled as a mixture.

Overall its pretty good, but is really meant for Bruce Springsteen fans especially those have listened to the album. But those who are older or have lost those close to them can relate to Springsteen's grief and perseverance to carry on for those who have left. Give it a watch if these topics speak to you.

45 years burning down the road

[bluebirdstreet · 10/10 · 29 November 2020]

Bruce Springsteen is my hero and he has been my hero for many years. His latest album is for me one of his very best. This film is Bruce's way of making up for not being able to take the album out on tour ( also Western Stars) because of covid 19. Bruce knows his fans, he knows we will love it...and we do. This film shows his love for his friends past and present. Bruce's voice is just superb.

If you are a Bruce Springsteen fan you will treasure this movie. If you are not a fan, so what, i don't care, your loss.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN...thank you

Beautifully raw & polished at the same time

[david_royz · 8/10 · 1 November 2020]

Stunningly shot in black and white over 4 days against a snowy autumnal backdrop, intertwined with vintage footage and photographs from half a century ago.

It's incredible to think that Bruce and the E Street Band are all 70 years old (give or take). Yet, with almost ease, they create one of their finest albums ever in under a week, using the musings of a teenage Bruce and tributes to lost friends as inspiration.

The film is gorgeous and the music is outstanding. The narrative is deep and engaging. I just wish it had a little more insight into the recording process; how the rough demos became ultra-polished gems.

A waste of time

[aliasstone · 3/10 · 12 January 2021]

I watched this on Apple TV. It was free so thankfully I didn't waste my money on it. I get what Bruce was trying to do and say in these songs, but they're really not that good in the way they were recorded. He's written and recorded better ones and these would have been more memorable if they weren't so cluttered with an E-Street wall of sound. A trimmed down sound backed by a simple band (more acoustically) would have helped quite a bit in my opinion. Less is more as they say? His comments between songs seemed to show that he thinks quite highly of himself and I suppose accomplishment does that to those with a high ego. All in all a waste of time for me, but at least it was free. Just sayin'...

Exceptional.. emotional.. brilliant journey

[bader-amf · 10/10 · 19 July 2021]

What a wonderful movie, a piece of art that makes you attached emotionally from the beginning.

My love for the E street band has grown more and more throughout the beautiful journey of making this album.

True friendship and old friends .. showing love to those whom will never be forgotten.

so emotionally

[sameh_alzyoud · 8/10 · 4 March 2021]

So great make me feel about past a lot of memories.

By far the Best of the Boss

[chargerfan-84950 · 9/10 · 27 November 2020]

I've grown up with a respect for Springsteen's longevity and success without ever really buying in as a fan of his catalog of music personally.. I'm officially a believer of the wealth of talent that I under appreciated for too long. The collaboration of musical talent that breathes life into every song played with obvious reverence to the artist that created them is simply brilliant..

An Intimate Reflection on Friendships, Life and Music

[twalsh-18369 · 9/10 · 2 November 2020]

This is an insightful and intimate reflection of Springsteen's life and friendships told through his words and music. The E Street Band of brothers (and sister) is as much of a family as it is his pallet, lending their own talents and artistic skills to color his vision upon the canvas. We are given a front row seat to listen and watch the process unfold. Truly enjoyable.

Liberal Greedy Crybaby Looking For $$$

[al_tirador · 1/10 · 23 November 2020]

These liberal losers amaze me. Gimme gimme gimme. Eating out of garbage cans one day then millions the next and always putting down the "common" man only because they lucked out and made it. Simply losers and this flick is one that looks for sympathy and a fast buck. Real American greed. I wasted my time even watching this trash. THIS TRASH FLICK SUCKED!! Waste of time Bruce just trying to get his name in the headlines. 5 thumbs down on this one.

Not quite as advertised

[dcj2 · 5/10 · 21 February 2022]

Full disclosure: I'm a huge Springsteen fan, going back to the Wild/Innocent days. His music - some of it great, some of it not so much - has followed me through most of my life, and is a touchstone for countless memories. I've only seen him live 4 times (that's not much by Springsteen standards) so I was psyched to finally get to peek behind the creative curtain and witness the recording of "Letter to You".

To call this a documentary is fairly misleading. Yes, it features behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions, interspersed with voice-over montages featuring old clips and photos. There are some snippets of Bruce teaching the band the basic structure of the new songs, a few false starts as they rehearse, some give and take with the recording engineers and musicians about how the song should go, sharing memories about growing up, etc. And that's all really good stuff.

But when they get to the actual songs, what we see and hear are not the same. We SEE clips of the band playing live, but we HEAR the released/mixed version of the song from the CD. Sometimes this works - especially when it focuses on Bruce singing ("One Minute You're Here" is absolutely riveting) - but other times the disconnect is just jarring. Max's drum hits and cymbal crashes are often totally out of sync. Stevie and Nils are playing riffs that don't look anything like what we hear. This doesn't happen all the time. Some tracks are pretty close to being in sync, but other times it's so out of sync you're taken totally out of the song. Once I noticed, I couldn't stop looking for it, which spoiled the enjoyment for me. A few times I just closed my eyes so I could listen to the music undistracted.

I'm glad I watched it for the "real" parts, but overall disappointed at the rest. I would have much preferred raw, unmixed live versions of these deeply moving songs. It's too bad, this could have been a real revelation into the creative process.