Blood Brothers (documentary)
Encyclopedia
Blood Brothers is a 1996 documentary film
made by Emmy Award-winning http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0296025/awards filmmaker Ernie Fritz, chronicling a brief reunion of Bruce Springsteen
with The E Street Band in 1995. Fritz's film was nominated in 1997 for a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Long Form" http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0296025/awards
In 1989, Springsteen had decided that he wanted to explore working with a different set of musicians and he placed his long association with The E Street Band on indefinite hiatus. Between 1989 and 1995 - he recorded and toured with other musicians. In 1995, he decided to reconvene the E Street Band for a week of recording sessions as well as a couple of New York City
promotional concert appearances. The recordings were to add a few new tracks to Springsteen's upcoming 1995 Greatest Hits release. After the brief reunion, Springsteen then went on his own way again. The next reunion was not until 1999's Reunion Tour
and 2002's The Rising
album.
Filmmaker Ernie Fritz documented the entire period - capturing Springsteen and manager/producer Jon Landau
deciding what songs to put on Greatest Hits album, working on arrangements of the new songs, the recording sessions themselves and performances at the promotional shows.
Critical reaction to the Blood Brothers documentary was very positive. TV Guide
called it "superlative ... more than a record of a legendary band's reunion. It offers a glimpse of Springsteen that fans rarely see."
One writer for the tabloid The New York Post offered his personal opinion on one aspect of the content captured in the film rather than on its merits as a documentary, saying "It makes one a little uneasy to see how quickly the members of the band forgive their former employer, for a chance to work for a few days with him again."
Blood Brothers premiered on March 3, 1996 on the Disney Channel
. It was released on Laserdisc
on October 1, 1996, on VHS
on November 19, 1996 (the packaging for which contained a Blood Brothers
EP
in CD form), and on DVD
on January 16, 2001.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
made by Emmy Award-winning http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0296025/awards filmmaker Ernie Fritz, chronicling a brief reunion of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
with The E Street Band in 1995. Fritz's film was nominated in 1997 for a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Long Form" http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0296025/awards
In 1989, Springsteen had decided that he wanted to explore working with a different set of musicians and he placed his long association with The E Street Band on indefinite hiatus. Between 1989 and 1995 - he recorded and toured with other musicians. In 1995, he decided to reconvene the E Street Band for a week of recording sessions as well as a couple of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
promotional concert appearances. The recordings were to add a few new tracks to Springsteen's upcoming 1995 Greatest Hits release. After the brief reunion, Springsteen then went on his own way again. The next reunion was not until 1999's Reunion Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000....
and 2002's The Rising
The Rising (album)
The Rising is the 12th studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released in 2002 on Columbia Records. In addition to being Springsteen's first studio album in seven years, it was also his first with the E Street Band in 18 years...
album.
Filmmaker Ernie Fritz documented the entire period - capturing Springsteen and manager/producer Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
deciding what songs to put on Greatest Hits album, working on arrangements of the new songs, the recording sessions themselves and performances at the promotional shows.
Critical reaction to the Blood Brothers documentary was very positive. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called it "superlative ... more than a record of a legendary band's reunion. It offers a glimpse of Springsteen that fans rarely see."
One writer for the tabloid The New York Post offered his personal opinion on one aspect of the content captured in the film rather than on its merits as a documentary, saying "It makes one a little uneasy to see how quickly the members of the band forgive their former employer, for a chance to work for a few days with him again."
Blood Brothers premiered on March 3, 1996 on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. It was released on Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
on October 1, 1996, on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on November 19, 1996 (the packaging for which contained a Blood Brothers
Blood Brothers (EP)
Blood Brothers is the name of a 1996 EP by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was released together with the VHS packaging of the 1996 documentary Blood Brothers, which portrayed the 1995 temporary reuniting of Springsteen with the band to record extra tracks for his Greatest Hits release...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in CD form), and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on January 16, 2001.