Render - Spanning Time with Ani DiFranco

Ani does things her way and this movie is just another example of that fact. It is forthright and honest and some people just can't deal with the reality of that. To see, Ani talk about everything from Racism to Feminism is moving and inspiring. She is not just some pop musician who you can nod your head too and listen for the next poppy beat. She is the social conscience of a generation and this was a glimpse into her life story not a MTV video. The criticisms made here are ignorant because the movie is meant to make you feel real emotion and not just a sterile artist on a stage performing. You are supposed to have an epiphany that not everything is golden in the land of gold and you are supposed to feel motivated to do something to make it better. So, if you are looking for mindless dribble this is not your kind of movie this is a movie for those who really like art, politics and music.It doesn't have a format because it is not just a concert movie and it is not just a social commentary documentary. It is something in between the two and quite a nice little experiment. Ani is can be a harsh reality for people who are not enlighten and some people might not like the politics because people like THOMAS EDWARDS exist and they can't understand when Ani states" murder is murder whether by a person or government" or some might be offend by Ani pot smoking but not the useless drug war which locks up thousands of people each year and waste millions of dollars. So, if your looking for a heroine buy the Render DVD.

Buy it LISTEN CLOSELY WITH YOUR MIND OPEN, SEE THE LIVE SHOW! NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU MUST TRAVEL. EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR EARS FIRST. ADD VISUAL AND A LITTLE BIT OF WEED AND ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bought vhs, who has vhs. my mistake thought it was dvd blah blah nine more words required ok two more

You eiter love her or hate her

I like everyone else, heard Ani for the first time from a friend and immedatly fell in love with her fast acustic guitar, razor voice and lyrics, and strong messages (feminism, political activism...ect.) And once you are an Ani fan, you really become an Ani fan. You spend every pay check on C.D.s and music DVDs to get a little closer to the tough independent folk singer. And everyone wants to know what Ani is going to sing about next.I picked up "Render" because of the previously stated comments above. I read other reviews on amazon, and I'll tell you the truth to the very biased reviews. (They are either I LOVE IT or IT SUCKS!)First of all, this DVD is more of a documentary than anything. If you want a concert of Ani, I suggest you get "Trust." It goes into Ani's life on the road with her friends and what not. You get to see many Righteous Babe Artists preforming and chilling with Ani. (Best scene is with Bitch and Animal...total sexism) Each scene is a song that Ani is preforming, but in the prefomance, is clips of her hanging out. Ani speaks her beliefs on politics, feminism, homosexuality, capital punishment, racism...ect, everything Ani writes and sings about.The review that said Ani was mean to her fans and said she was a druggie, is not really true. Ani tells her fans, not yells at her fans, for singing along with her music because her music is a very emotional experience for her, and for the fans to sing along and make it into a "scoccor chant" is a bit degrading to her art. (As a poet and writer I understand.) Also, Ani just smokes a joint and makes a joke about it. Not that big of a deal, but it does get me wondering about her song "Come Away From It".....hummm.So in the end, if you LOVE Ani like H-Core style, get "Render." It's not a concert, but an artistic documentary with concert tid bits. If you like Ani's music, but don't really care to watch her hang with friends for 2 hours, don't get it. Just go out and get "Trust." This is for H-Core Ani fans only.

if you're looking for a concert DVD, skip this and pick up trust instead. but if you're looking for insight into the force known as ani difranco, then this is a great overview. along w/ some great live performances (my fav being a lovely version of "overlap" w/ a guest guitarist), there's lots of backstage, home-y footage, inc. a nice sequence where we see the song "slide" take shape and another where we see her mixing a song for a live recording. a real draw to this DVD is getting to see ani in many of her non-songwriting aspects, including her political interests, her role as producer and record label head, and her just plain goofiness. the DVD also includes a track from each artist on her label at the time. yes, a lot of the camera work is clearly amateur, but it helps add to the overall experience w/ its immediacy and friendliness, combining to give you a great picture of ani as a person. prob. not for casual fans, but a lot of good content. p.s. what's w/ the overreaction to the pot-smoking scene? she's not doing crack for pete's sake!