Customer Reviews

This Is Free [VHS]

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Since the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has successfully demolished most of the old Maxwell Street neighborhood, this documentary is more important than ever as a record of the street and its unique role in the life of Chicago. It's also a lot of fun. Done in the early cinema verite style, much like the Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back," it seems like a slice of life from one Sunday at the Maxwell Street Market. In fact, the filmmakers shot and recorded at the market almost every Sunday during the summer of 1964, so this is really a composite. They captured the "anything goes" flavor of the market itself, as well as performances by street musicians in the blues and gospel genres. Blues/rock legend Michael Bloomfield was a behind-the-scenes presence, helping with funding and giving the crew street cred. Although he is, in fact, playing with many of the musicians, he insisted on staying off camera.

This documentary was unavailable for several years due to a change in distributors. It is now controlled by the same people who released "And This Is Maxwell Street," a three-CD collection of the recordings made for the documentary. It's good to see it back.