Lightning In A Bottle
Joe's Corner
A documentary about classic blues musicians from the director of "Trainign Day", "Tears Of The Sun" and "King Arthur"? The mind boggles, doesn't it? And at many points, "Lightning In A Bottle" is exactly what you'd expect from the director of Hollywood schlock like that... unimaginative camera work, rockers like Steve Tyler, Joe Perry and John Fogerty who have no business being on stage with these blues giants, and talking head interviews that don't give you as much insight as you'd like... at least, not most of the time.
However... and for once the "However" is a good thing... Martin Scorcese is the executive producer behind this all-star concert film, and the man has assembled a downright unbelievable collection of the biggest names and greatest legends in the field of blues. No matter how Antoine Fuqua falls flat on his face, you're still watching Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Ruth Brown, Odetta, B. B. King and a virtual encyclopedia of blues greats perform at the peak of their powers, along with archival footage of some of the greats of the past. The incredible power of their music is more than enough to overcome any of the shortcomings of the director. If you have even the tiniest little interest in blues music, you absolutely have to see this film. In particular, if you're tired of pre-packaged, pre-fab pop idols, you need to remind yourself how powerful REAL music straight from the soul can be. And it doesn't get any more real than the music, and the performers, in "Lightning In A Bottle".
A documentary about classic blues musicians from the director of "Trainign Day", "Tears Of The Sun" and "King Arthur"? The mind boggles, doesn't it? And at many points, "Lightning In A Bottle" is exactly what you'd expect from the director of Hollywood schlock like that... unimaginative camera work, rockers like Steve Tyler, Joe Perry and John Fogerty who have no business being on stage with these blues giants, and talking head interviews that don't give you as much insight as you'd like... at least, not most of the time.
However... and for once the "However" is a good thing... Martin Scorcese is the executive producer behind this all-star concert film, and the man has assembled a downright unbelievable collection of the biggest names and greatest legends in the field of blues. No matter how Antoine Fuqua falls flat on his face, you're still watching Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Ruth Brown, Odetta, B. B. King and a virtual encyclopedia of blues greats perform at the peak of their powers, along with archival footage of some of the greats of the past. The incredible power of their music is more than enough to overcome any of the shortcomings of the director. If you have even the tiniest little interest in blues music, you absolutely have to see this film. In particular, if you're tired of pre-packaged, pre-fab pop idols, you need to remind yourself how powerful REAL music straight from the soul can be. And it doesn't get any more real than the music, and the performers, in "Lightning In A Bottle".
posted by Joe Bunce at
7:40 AM
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