Bernard Shakey at the IFC Center: Human Highway

It is the end of the world, but everyone feels fine. Linear Valley is pretty much devastated from the radiation spewing from the nearby nuclear power plant and outright nuclear war is imminent. However, burning down the local diner for the insurance money is still a viable scheme for the new owner. Too stoned-out to even be considered satire, Neil Young’s pseudonymously directed apocalyptic musical Human Highway (trailer here) finally gets a proper New York release, starting today, as part of the IFC Center’s new film series, Bernard Shakey Retrospective: Neil Young on Screen.

Co-directed under Young’s Shakey alter-ego with co-star Dean Stockwell, Highway also features Dennis Hopper (in dual roles), Russ Tamblyn, and Mark Mothersbaugh with Devo, so that should give you a general idea what’s on-tap. Young plays earnest loser mechanic Lionel Switch, who harbors dreams of rock & roll stardom, but every year the nuclear power plant’s garbage men win the radio station’s talent show. This morning he has brought along his pal Fred Kelly, whom his boss, Old Otto has promised a job.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t known as “Old Otto” for nothing. Sadly, the town benefactor has passed away and his money grubbing son, Otto Quartz has inherited the diner and garage. He has some new policies that will not go over well with the staff. Yet, it may not matter very much, judging from the ominous radio reports.

It is hard to apply any rational critical standard to such a manic exercise in DIY spit-ball shooting and general tom-foolery. Frankly, the reason most people will want to see it would be Young’s hard-edged rendition of “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” with Devo. Arguably, Highway is even more a curio for Devo fans than admirers of Young (who has been quite well documented on film, by Jonathan Demme).

As Switch, Young is pretty shameless mugging for the camera. Likewise, Stockwell is not exactly shy about chewing the scenery while playing the villainous Quartz. What would you expect from a film conceived as a lark and fueled by peyote and transcendental meditation, or who knows what?

This is the sort of film you watch just to confirm it exists. Some see seeds of The Simpsons in its wacky nuclear waste handlers, but you could probably find crude analogs for just about every subsequent surreal vision quest within Linear Valley. For fans of Young, Devo, and anarchic micro-budget slapstick allegories, the director’s cut of Human Highway opens today (4/17) at the IFC Center.

Neil Young Journeys: Another Demme Concert Film

Toronto’s Massey Hall was the site of a now legendary bebop concert, producing the only live recording cut by the all-star quintet of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and Charlie Mingus.  That was in 1953.  A lot of headliners have played the storied hall since then, including native son Neil Young, whose rather workaday 2011 homecoming solo sets are documented in Neil Young Journeys (trailer here), his latest concert film directed by Jonathan Demme, which opens this Friday in New York.

If you like distortion, these were the Neil Young shows for you.  Despite the presence of greatest hits like “Hey Hey, My My,” Young draws fairly heavily from his then latest CD, Le Noise, as rockers are apt to do.  It is not called “The Noise” for nothing, but the hard rocking vibe helps compensate for the whininess of his more activist fare, like “Ohio.”

Surprisingly, some of Journeys’ strongest scenes feature Young talking rather than playing.  Cruising to the gig in a vintage 1956 Crown Victoria, the rocker discusses growing up in Omemee, Ontario and his father, the late sportswriter (most notable hockey, but of course) Scott Young for Demme’s camera. He even gives viewers a drive-by of the elementary school named for his father.

If nothing else, one thing comes through loud and clear during Journeys: Young is very definitely still stuck in the 1960’s.  Granted, fans will expect to hear “Ohio,” but the Kent State A-V guilt trip (the only time Demme departs from his intimate, in-his-grill focus on the guitarist) is more than a tad heavy-handed, not to mention disproportionate, compared to scope of subsequent tragedies, like September 11^th.

By and large, the concert footage’s saturated neon colors are reasonably cinematic, while cinematographer Declan Quinn and his mike-cam capture all Young’s stubble and spittle (for real).  Though it is unlikely to win over a host of converts, Young fans have probably been psyched for it, ever since it played Toronto and Park City.  In point of fact, several online sources currently misstate Journeys’ festival credentials, confusing Sundance (where previous Demme-Young docs screened) and Slamdance (where this one had a special featured screening earlier in the year).  Regardless, this is one largely for the faithful.  It opens this Friday (6/29) in New York at the AMC Empire and Landmark Sunshine.  The Quintet’s Jazz at Massey Hall by contrast, is recommended for wide audiences and is available from all quality online retailers.