You don't have to be a musician to appreciate "It Might Get Loud," an unconventional documentary featuring seminal guitarists demonstrating and discussing their techniques and sources of inspiration.

Director Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") knows how to make the real-life obsessions of famous people compelling.

He took Al Gore's didactic slide show about global warming and turned it into something entertaining and inspiring.

This time around he examines the passionate dedication of three famous guitarists, unearthing insightful nuggets about creativity and the artistic impulse. Guggenheim chose an influential trio of rock musicians: Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge and Jack White of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs.

Though their individual stories are compelling, the best moments are when they interact, either verbally or musically. But there are too few of these moments, especially conversations. It's billed as a meeting of beautiful minds. But there's more fret-a-fret than t te-à-t te.

Some of the archival footage is rare. The early years of Page and The Edge's musical efforts are the most absorbing. Page was a session musician in England who was so horrified when asked to play what he labeled Muzak that he temporarily dropped the guitar and went to art school.

The Edge, born David Howell Evans, reminisces about how he, Bono and Larry Mullen met as schoolkids and began playing in a classroom.

White talks about working as an upholsterer and forming a rock duo with a fellow employee.

It's a pleasure to watch these men perform. These are real-life guitar heroes. But it would have been a treat to see more of them talking shop.