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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From the Dust Bowl to the Sugar Bowl, March 31, 2005
Woody Guthrie is a legendary American figure. His prolific song writing, grass roots activism, and even his influence on other song writers like Bob Dylan and Steve Earle are only partially responsible for that legend. Woody represents a classic American type - the ramblin' man with no fixed home who champions the underdog wherever the wind may blow him, and therein lies the heart of the legend. This film captures that aspect of Woody superbly.
`Bound for Glory' covers Woody's life from just before he left dust bowl Texas to his first sojourn into the sugar bowl of California. It expertly captures the harsh conditions and brutal treatment that inspired many of Woody's songs. From dust storms, desperate migrations via highway and railway, to the squalid conditions of California migrant camps, this film recreates the world that Woody saw.
David Carradine gives a career best performance as Woody. He captures Guthrie's ambiguous nature - from his genuine concern for the downtrodden and oppressed to his irresponsibility in shirking his obligations to his own family. His performance powerfully embodies Guthrie's fierce independence, restlessness, and gut-level dissatisfaction with the system.
This film is a superb addition to the Guthrie legend. If you have ever been moved by Woody's songs, consider it a must see. I highly recommend it.
Theo Logos
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SOUNDTRACK WAS FINE, February 11, 2001
By A Customer
Unfortunately, for months I was frightened away from purchasing this movie, because one reviewer a year ago said the DVD soundtrack was such a bad transfer it was difficult to hear the dialog at certain points. Finally I decided I wanted to see this classic film so bad, I'd risk the bad sound. To my surprise and delight, I discovered no problem at all with the sound -- and I'm usually ultra-critical of fuzzy sound, which normally drives me up the wall. If, in fact, there was any sound problem on early prints of the DVD version, it appears to have now been corrected in the later prints. The viewer discovers belatedly, at the end of one music sequence, that it was tinny-sounding on purpose, because one of the characters was listening on an old-fashioned wind-up phonograph -- a nuance easy to miss if you blinked in the wrong place. In a few other sequences, the movie appears to utilize early-day recordings by the real Guthrie -- which helps rather than hinders the impact. True, the soundtrack technology in this 1976 movie is not up to modern-day Dolby Surround Sound standards -- but it's amazingly good for a 25-year-old soundtrack. Relax, and enjoy the Academy Award-winning Depression Era photography of Haskel Wexler that will make you feel you've stepped into a Walker Evans photograph of 1936 Dust Bowl refugees fleeing to the supposed golden land of California. Almost every scene is suitable for framing. Not to be missed. A "must buy" for collectors.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bound For Glory-First Rate!, January 28, 2001
After spending 7 months engaged as music coordinator and playing the role of George Guthrie is this excellent Hal Ashby film, I was pleased to see how well it actually turned out. When one is behind the scenes in the making of a film, it is often difficult to try and follow a script, inasmuch, that so many scenes are shot out of sequence. This is a very fine film made by one of my closest friends, Hal Ashby. A great director with great actors. Carridine does a wonderful job, as does Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillion, and Randy Quaid...A first rate film for any class "A" film collector...Believe me, most of the dust in this motion picture was real..I coughed for month after the film wrapped...Hope you enjoy it... Guthrie Thomas
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