Tom Dowd & the Language of Music
Palm Pictures | Release Date: January 16, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Film ThreatTim Merrill
Music fans of every stripe should kill to see this film, one of the very best music documentaries in recent years. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleJoel Selvin
This wise and warm man, who died in 2002, is captured in all his glory by the remarkable documentary. Read full review
90
VarietyDavid Rooney
Dowd's graciousness and enthusiasm, and the enormous respect afforded him by industryites on record here, make this a thorough and satisfying acknowledgement of one man's unique contribution to popular music. Read full review
90
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
Moormann's film transcends A&E hagiography, and Dowd's spry egoism and science-hipster joie de vivre provide piquant icing. Recalling trends, technical advances, artists, and landmark sessions (one where he suggests the rhythm for "Sunshine of Your Love"), Dowd conjures the excitement that helped coax so many iconic performances. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
It makes a convincing argument that Dowd's personal history is a kind of history of the 20th century itself, encompassing the era's art, science, commerce and politics. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
If there is one moment in The Language of Music that will thrill old rock fans, it's watching Dowd, his fluid hands moving with a surgeon's grace, remix for the film's benefit the 24-track sub-master of "Layla." Read full review
88
Miami HeraldHoward Cohen
The Language of Music hews strictly to its title, however. There isn't anything about Dowd's life outside music except for details of his work as a nuclear physicist at Columbia University, where he was a key part of the Manhattan Project research team that developed the atomic bomb during World War II. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The documentary was shot on film, and Moormann's snappy editing and subtly moving camera match the energy of the jump-blues and roots-rock that Dowd loved. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The man who emerges is a likable, unpretentious musical enthusiast and roll-up-your-sleeves problem-solver who apparently led a charmed life. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Shows firsthand the appreciation and warmth from the musicians who worked with him. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Moormann deserves credit, not only for choosing a wonderful and deserving subject for a film, but for doing him proud. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Like its subject, the movie is a tad overzealous, but often fascinating and revealing. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeSteve Morse
Sometimes it gets into arcane talk of equipment that makes more sense for a Berklee College of Music engineering class than for a mass-market movie -- but as a probing look at a really nice-guy genius in the studio world, it succeeds admirably. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJim Fusilli
Shows how a dedicated man ensured that great music could always be heard at its best.
67
Austin ChronicleRaoul Hernandez
The correlation between music and math, if not explicit, is seldom documented with as much panache as Tom Dowd & the Language of Music. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Mark Moormann's documentary tends to the worshipful, but Dowd, a charmer onscreen, was by all accounts just as appealing in real life. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Moormann's reverential documentary, seven years in the making, is most successful as a self-narrated autobiography. It fails, however, to deliver a balanced portrait of the man's life and work. Read full review
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