# Meeting People Is Easy
**Meeting People Is Easy** is a 1998 documentary film directed by Grant Gee that follows the English rock band [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead) on the world tour for their 1997 album *OK Computer*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999) Rather than a conventional concert film, it is a fragmented, impressionistic portrait of the band's exhaustion under the pressures of sudden fame, built from backstage footage, interviews, press conferences, and concert recordings.[2](https://movingimage.org/archived-events/radiohead-in-meeting-people-is-easy/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | Radiohead's 1997-98 world tour promoting *OK Computer*, covering Asia, Europe, and North America[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999) |
| Director | Grant Gee, who had previously directed the band's "No Surprises" music video[3](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/can/jam/pt_1998-06-02_jam.html) |
| Performances charted | 104 over the course of the tour[2](https://movingimage.org/archived-events/radiohead-in-meeting-people-is-easy/) |
| US release | Wide release March 26, 1999 by Seventh Art Releasing; domestic gross $51,282[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Meeting-People-is-Easy) |
| Recognition | Grammy nomination in 2000 for Best Long Form Music Video[5](https://raindance.org/12-must-see-music-documentaries/); included in Rolling Stone Australia's list of the 70 greatest music documentaries[6](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/70-best-music-documentaries-34172/meeting-people-is-easy-1998-34195/) |
| Critical scores | 83% Tomatometer (6 reviews) and 85% Popcornmeter (2,500+ ratings) on Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999) |
| Availability | Free to watch in the OK Computer section of the Radiohead Public Library[7](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/MeetingPeopleIsEasy) |
## Spoilers
### Content and style
The film follows Radiohead, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway, through large concerts and extended press conferences that take a physical and mental toll, with Yorke having a particularly difficult time dealing with stardom.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999) Over the course of 104 performances it charts the band's growing apprehension toward the price of celebrity and their increasing disillusionment with the rigors of touring.[2](https://movingimage.org/archived-events/radiohead-in-meeting-people-is-easy/)
**Form.** The film deliberately abandons the conventions of the "rockumentary." It uses quick cuts contrasted with stills and slow tracking shots, and mixes color with black-and-white video, creating a chaotic impact that echoes the band's sonic ambiance; the soundtrack layers interview samples, songs, and sounds of metropolitan cities.[11](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/2001-09-13_v35_013.pdf) Audio bleeds and overlaps in a constant chatter of reviews and commentary, including journalists asking questions such as "What is music to you?"[12](https://avclub.com/meeting-people-is-easy-captured-how-much-it-sucks-to-be-1798262172) Live performances of nearly all the songs from *OK Computer* appear, usually in brief snatches, so that lyrics to songs like "Lucky" and "Karma Police" take on sardonic subtext as commentaries on the band's growing isolation.[12](https://avclub.com/meeting-people-is-easy-captured-how-much-it-sucks-to-be-1798262172) Gee has cited [Chris Marker](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-marker)'s essay film *[Sans Soleil](https://www.edgepedia.org/sans-soleil)* as an influence, a film he bought on VHS in New York in 1997 during the tour.[13](https://watch.grasshopperfilm.com/transmissions/three-films-that-influenced-grant-gee-s-radiohead-documentary-meeting-people-is-easy)
## Production
Grant Gee, a self-taught director and cameraman, first met Radiohead early in 1997 during pre-launch preparations for *OK Computer*, after directing their "[No Surprises](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-surprises)" video.[3](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/can/jam/pt_1998-06-02_jam.html) • [8](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/uk/uncut/03/pt_1999-01_uncut.html) The band gave him free rein to film what he wanted on tour.[3](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/can/jam/pt_1998-06-02_jam.html) The project was never commissioned as a documentary; Gee kept submitting proposal after proposal in order to keep the cameras rolling.[9](https://citizeninsane.eu/videos/mpiequotes.html) He shot with Super 8 and hand-held video cameras as the band toured through 1997 and 1998.[10](https://www.7thart.com/product/radiohead-meeting-people-is-easy/)
## Release and reception
The film played a limited theatrical run to sold-out houses before a home video release on May 4, 1999.[14](https://www.salon.com/1999/04/06/radiohead/) The Numbers records a wide US theatrical release on March 26, 1999 by Seventh Art Releasing, with a domestic gross of $51,282 and a 99-minute running time.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Meeting-People-is-Easy) Rotten Tomatoes lists a theatrical release date of March 20, 1999 and a 1h 38m runtime.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999) It was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for Best Long Form Music Video.[5](https://raindance.org/12-must-see-music-documentaries/)
Critics have consistently read the film as an anti-tour document. Rolling Stone Australia called it "the perfect visual embodiment of alternative rock's 'success = sucks eggs' mantra," turning arena stardom into "a psychological horror movie."[6](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/70-best-music-documentaries-34172/meeting-people-is-easy-1998-34195/) Salon described it as the quintessential 1999 rock documentary in the way that *Gimme Shelter* was for 1969, as much about a moment in time as about the music.[14](https://www.salon.com/1999/04/06/radiohead/) A 2001 campus review noted that it functions as a visual companion piece to the mechanized attitude of *OK Computer* rather than a typical tour film.[11](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/2001-09-13_v35_013.pdf) Some reviewers warn that its deliberate drudgery makes it a slog for viewers expecting a concert film.[15](https://uproxx.com/music/best-music-documentaries-ranked/)
## Legacy
The documentary is frequently cited as context for Radiohead's drastic change of direction on their next album, *Kid A*, with viewers describing it as showing a touring band pushed to their edges and a frontman at the limit of his sanity.[16](https://thefilmstage.com/watch-the-ok-computer-era-radiohead-doc-meeting-people-is-easy-for-free/) It was later released as part of the band's online archive, the Radiohead Public Library, where it is free to watch in the [OK Computer](https://www.edgepedia.org/ok-computer) section.[13](https://watch.grasshopperfilm.com/transmissions/three-films-that-influenced-grant-gee-s-radiohead-documentary-meeting-people-is-easy) • [7](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/MeetingPeopleIsEasy)
## References
1. [Meeting People Is Easy (1999), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_people_is_easy_1999)
2. [Radiohead in Meeting People is Easy, Museum of the Moving Image](https://movingimage.org/archived-events/radiohead-in-meeting-people-is-easy/)
3. [Jam! Showbiz, June 2, 1998](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/can/jam/pt_1998-06-02_jam.html)
4. [Meeting People is Easy (1999), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Meeting-People-is-Easy)
5. [12 Must-See Music Documentaries, Raindance](https://raindance.org/12-must-see-music-documentaries/)
6. [70 Greatest Music Documentaries of All Time, Rolling Stone Australia](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/70-best-music-documentaries-34172/meeting-people-is-easy-1998-34195/)
7. [Meeting People is Easy, TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/MeetingPeopleIsEasy)
8. [Uncut #20, January 1999](https://citizeninsane.eu/media/uk/uncut/03/pt_1999-01_uncut.html)
9. [Meeting People Is Easy quotes, Citizen Insane](https://citizeninsane.eu/videos/mpiequotes.html)
10. [Radiohead: Meeting People is Easy, 7th Art Releasing](https://www.7thart.com/product/radiohead-meeting-people-is-easy/)
11. [Radiohead documentary is OK, The Observer (University of Notre Dame), September 13, 2001](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/2001-09-13_v35_013.pdf)
12. [Meeting People Is Easy captured how much it sucks to be Radiohead, The A.V. Club](https://avclub.com/meeting-people-is-easy-captured-how-much-it-sucks-to-be-1798262172)
13. [Three Films That Influenced: Grant Gee's Meeting People Is Easy, Grasshopper Film](https://watch.grasshopperfilm.com/transmissions/three-films-that-influenced-grant-gee-s-radiohead-documentary-meeting-people-is-easy)
14. [Eat the documentary, Salon, April 6, 1999](https://www.salon.com/1999/04/06/radiohead/)
15. [The Best Music Documentaries, Ranked, Uproxx](https://uproxx.com/music/best-music-documentaries-ranked/)
16. [Watch the OK Computer-Era Radiohead Doc Meeting People is Easy for Free, The Film Stage](https://thefilmstage.com/watch-the-ok-computer-era-radiohead-doc-meeting-people-is-easy-for-free/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Documentary films by subject: arts, music, sports, and place*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license