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Poster for The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

Seen it?

2009 | 93 min | Documentary, Music

Sunday Safe Betearly rating

Why it’s a Sunday Safe Bet

Critics loved it (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had a box office flop and almost no lasting buzz. A safe bet when you want something reliable.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for the curious. If you loved Stop Making Sense or Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, start here.
The mood
Eye-opening.
The pace
Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 33 min.
What might put you off
Nothing much for most grown-ups.

In 2007 the legendary American duo White Stripes toured Canada. Besides playing the usual venues they challenged themselves and played in buses, cafés and for Indian tribal elders. Music video director Emmett Malloy followed the band and managed to capture both the special tour, extraordinary concert versions of the band's minimalist, raw, blues-inspired rock songs and the special relationship between the extroverted Jack White and the introspective Meg White - a formerly married couple who for a long time claimed to be siblings. The film makes striking use of the band's concert colors: red, white and black.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 78 on Metacritic

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerWeak

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 19K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Emmett Malloy

  • Jack WhiteSelf
  • Meg WhiteSelf