Search - Angels and Airwaves: Start the Machine on DVD

After all they hype and wait....

A. M. Lewis | 06/17/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Three and a half stars

I have to admit that this documentary is something of a disappointment. Let me backtrack a second. There seems to be three types of music fans over the last three years. Those who love and worship Angels and Airwaves, those who absolutely hate Angels and Airwaves, and those who don't know who the hell Angels and Airwaves are. Unfortunately, it appears that most of the population in the world fits into the third, but I undoubtedly, undeniably and proudly fall into the first. Whisper and I-Empire are two of my favorite albums of all time and are in constant rotation on my i-pod and cd player. I regularly check forums, fan sites and Mod-Life to see what the band is up to. You can only imagine than that I was seriously looking forward to this documentary which has been talked about for for so long to finally come out. Today was that day, and I was first in line (ok, so there was no line) to pick it up (after failing to find it at three other stores first). I'm not sure what I was looking for in this film, but it was much more than what I got. Start the Machine is hardly more than any other "making of the album" special on VH1 or "Classic Albums" DVD that has been released in the past few years. The band is followed from the breakup of Blink (very briefly covered) and through the hype and eventual release of their debut album, We Don't Need To Whisper. The thing is, during the filming... nothing really seems to happen. Perhaps the aspect of this film that fans were looking forward to most (obviously aside from some Blink stuff), was Tom's reaction to the way he hyped the record and his addiction to painkillers. While this stuff is pretty interesting, we don't get to hear too much from the other band members on it. David tries to have an intervention with an overly annoying and incredibly interruptive Delonge, and Tom himself reflects on that time and how it affected him, but really it's nothing we haven't read in one of the million AVA interviews that have been done in the last year. The Ryan Sinn exit is brushed over pretty quickly and Matt is barely introduced to the audience. Unless your a superfan, there is nothing intriguing about this piece of film at all (whereas even a non-fan would find The Pink Floyd Story to be quite engaging). As far as the extras, the live songs are all from the San Diego show back in 06' that have been widely available on I-Tunes and P2P sites. The short films are all on YouTube and pretty much on any AVA fan site.

All of that being said, the absolute highlight of the DVD is the commentary that the band does over the entire film. Matt is hilarious and you get to hear that side of Tom that makes you remember why you first started to love him. The guys are obviously good friends and all seem to be great dudes. They make fun of each other (in good fun) throughout much of the film and to be honest it is far more entertaining than the actual documentary. It's the reason I'm giving this the rating its getting.

Anyway, bottom line is, if you're a fan you should pick this up... without expecting too much. If you're not a fan, this isn't for you. And if you're trying to get someone into AVA (a constant goal and battle of mine), this is not the best approach. Adios."

It's finally here and....???

Robert Urry | Chicago, IL USA | 06/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After all the hype and wait for the Angels & Airwaves DVD "Start the Machine" it's finally arrived and depending what you're looking for this is either a pleasant surprise or a disappointment.
This DVD is basically a look at Angels & Airwaves as they created the "We Don't Need To Whisper" album. And for this purpose the DVD delivers great insight. You get a great look at the inner working of the band within the studio experience. You get to see what Tom Delonge was thinking and where he wanted the Band and the Music to go. I think if you're a musican or a producer, this DVD will be very interesting to you.
If you are looking for something more along the lines of "Behind the Music: Motley Crue" then this DVD is not for you. While there is some discussion about the Blink 182 breakup, Drug use and other outside factors this DVD does not deliver these all that thoroughly or in great detail.
The Special Features aside from the interview with Tom Delonge where he speaks about the Blink 182 break up which provides some interesting insight but only lasts 5-10 minutes, are not anything overly interesting and you've probably seen them before online.
All in all this DVD does a great job of giving you a birds eye view of the recording of the album, but it lacks some of the back story elements that could have made it great. I give it a 4 out 5, and strongly recommend it if you're a musican or producer and interested in taking a look into the studio while a band strives to start something new and exciting or if you are just a Angels & Airwaves fan."

If you like AVA at all, this is worth it!!

AlainaPoncho | NY | 08/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this figuring what the hey since it was only $9, and despite some low reviews, I was happy with it! The publicity might get your hopes up, but if you go into it without expecting something phenomenal, you'll be very pleased.

A major plus is the special features, which seemed to be just as long as, or longer than, the actual documentary. They are plentiful ("MORE FROM THE STUDIO" lasts for a while), and the interviews are pretty good! The short films were new to me, adding up to 6 counting the music videos, and 7 counting a live video!

Start The Machine may not be spectacular, but it was very refreshing. All of the videos appear to be high-budget, with an interesting mix of animation, all put together nicely! I even love the menu screen. It's creative and for an AVA product, it's definitely great. For a band documentary, if you're into this type of music, it might just be the best you've ever seen- it was definitely more theatrical than the ten or twenty band documentaries I've seen in my life! (Though I do still like the Blink 182 chronicles better- only because Blink 182 was my first real favorite band.) Even if AVA isn't your top favorite, if you like them a little bit, this DVD will definitely give you more insight and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. :)"

From silly punk band to the greatest newer band

H.R. #1 | 07/31/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First off, the bad reviews rather on Amazon or elsewhere are mind boggling. Besides the fact they could have put it in 5.1 it is basically a documentary so need not be. Start the Machine has plenty extras with the short films being a real treat. Too many blame the introspective I suppose but HELLO, this is a documentary so what do you expect? A true fan will absolutely LOVE this film. And know there is enough LIVE concert footage to tickle the fancy. If you're just a Blink 182 fan maybe you're not into AVA but for those like me who only care about AVA, Start the Machine is a wonderful insight. Bring on I-Empire!!!!"