Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Era of Blues, January 1, 2005
This documentary is a must have, especially for music lovers of the blues and the roots of original American music. The film depicts old and new juke joints and honky tonks throughout the Mississippi Delta region. The main focus of the documentary is on the Subway Lounge in Jackson, MS. Located in the basement of the delapidated Summers Hotel. Sadly to say, The Subway Lounge is now closed due to the condition of the building and is scheduled to be demolished. This is truly a remorseful period because the Subway had been instrumental in preserving blues, jazz, funk, R&B, and blends of indigenious soul music of the South. Notable appearances on the film include actor/true gentleman Morgan Freeman, the secret treasure Patrice Moncelle, the character Fingers Taylor, the legendary Bobby Rush and the obscure but immensely talented J.T. Watkins and Levon Lindsey. Even though one era has passed in respect to the music scene, the rediscovery of the blues in America due to performers such as Stevie Ray Vaughn and Robert Cray has allowed newer establishments to continue the rich tradition of the blues. That being said, I must mention that I am partial to the film due to the fact that I grew up the area and frequented the Subway Lounge for years. And I urge anyone who is fan of Blues to make the journey to Mississippi and experience the music still brewing from old and new juke joints alike.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great documentary but somewhere frustrating..., August 22, 2003
In the heart of everyone who loves the Blues, this movie releases a plenty of crazy feelings. This is a magic alchemy of joy and sadness. It's impossible not to be touched by the emotion and the warm ambience of these delightful " jukes ". I would like to believe these great moments will not be the last ones. All is perfect in the Jackson's Subway Lounge, this hot and attractive but endangered club where the essential of the action was filmed : the poignant voices, the smooth guitars, the crying harps. I passionately enjoyed this portrait of a poorly known but so exciting America.
Nevertheless I was seriously disappointed by the cuts which often interrupt the musical performances. This is boring, especially for a French guy who hardly understands the conversations without subtitles. I wonder why the director made this mistake he avoided in his previous great documentary, Deep Blues. This is obviously a very bad idea. For my happiness, the movie could have been longer, with the whole songs. Because of this bitter frustration, I'm sorry to keep the fifth star for another time...
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Last of the Mississippi Jukes, January 22, 2009
Last of the Mississippi Jukes is a fascinating trip through places I'd heard of as a child growing up in the Mississippi Delta but had never had a chance to experience. My dad often told stories about a juke joint out in the middle of nowhere, at a crossroads near his family's farm. That one is long gone, but here, in this wonderful DVD, I got to see what they were like, listen to some great music, and hear stories of what life was like back in the heyday of the Mississippi jukes. This is a great history not only of a musical tradition, but of a cultural tradition that is waning, but not gone.
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