This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
There’s a fine line between ambitious and trying too hard. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where this documentary belongs.
Nothing Is Easy: Live At The Isle of Wight 1970 is centred around a solidly entertaining seven-song set by Ian Anderson and prog-rock outfit Jethro Tull, shot at the British equivalent of Woodstock. Trouble is, filmmaker Murray Lerner wants this to be more than just a live video. So between every song, he inserts recently shot reminiscences from Anderson and leftover footage of ill-behaved hippies — all in a rather forced and unnecessary bid to contextualize, dramatize and generally aggrandize their short set into something more significant than it actually was. Really, watching Anderson in his prime — perched on one leg, breathing fire through his flute, and spurring the band through classics like My God — is all the drama you need.
