Shut Up & Sing (2006)
Cabin Creek Films

Description

"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." This film documents how those 15 words in 2003 took the Dixie Chicks from the peak of their popularity as the top-selling female recording artists of all time, through the days, months and years of mayhem that followed.

Collected reviews and ratings

10 San Francisco Chronicle | Joel Selvin

Two-time Academy Award-winning documentarian Kopple struck gold when Maines told a crowd on the opening night of the band's first European tour that she was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas.
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10 digitallyobsessed.com | Dan Heaton

The movie revealed more beneath the surface than I would have expected, which has enhanced my view of their talent and songs. I may not buy all their albums tomorrow, but I have gained tremendous respect for them.
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9.1 DVD Verdict | Daniel MacDonald

While you may or may not like their music, it's hard not to respect the Dixie Chicks after seeing the grace and consistency with which they approached an unforeseen and unwanted battle. This is one of the best documentaries of the decade.
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9.0 Amazon user reviews

The collective--and quite touching--portrait is of three women who wish only the best for one another and back each other's decisions all the way. This is essential viewing for fans of the gifted Kopple as well as the always-against-the-odds Dixie Chicks.
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9.0 DVD Talk | Brian Orndorf

The film is a wonderful and intelligent creation and certainly a must see for any Chicks fan that lost the faith over such an absurd and misunderstood moment of personal expression.
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8.8 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

The documentary shows an ugly side of the right wing intimidation they face. Among all of the self-anointed patriots who picket them, there is apparently not a glimmer of a notion of what freedom of speech means.
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8.3 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

...a lively, roving, surprisingly intimate backstage documentary that follows the Chicks as they deal with the lingeringly bitter fallout from the comment about president Bush.
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8.0 New York Times | Stephen Holden

It all makes for a sad commentary on pop culture and public relations [...] when an act like the Dixie Chicks goes against the beliefs of its “base” (to use a word favored by Republican strategists), reason is drowned out by noise, and there can be hell to pay.
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8.0 efilmcritic.com | Rob Gonsalves

Ultimately, "Shut Up and Sing" is about the cost of free speech at the major populist level, when you have to worry about corporate sponsors (Lipton Tea) pulling out of your tour after you've criticized a president.
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7.5 USA Today | Claudia Puig

Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck have fashioned a compelling and rousing film that will not only appeal to Chicks fans, but make fans of those who weren't before.
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