Product Details

• Actors: John Mayall, Carl Lumbly, Taj Mahal, Mya
• Producers: Alex Gibney, Belinda Clasen, Belinda Morrison, Jeff Scheftel, Lisa Day
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Black & White, Color, Compilation, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (PCM Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony
• DVD Release Date: October 14, 2003
• Run Time: 780 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000CBHOI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,698 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Music > Blues > Regional Blues > East Coast Blues
  #12 in	Music > Blues > Regional Blues > West Coast Blues
  #18 in	Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Memphis Blues

• For more information about "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - A Musical Journey" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It may have been underrated when first broadcast on PBS on consecutive nights in the fall of '03, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for these seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Some of the films (like Wim Wenders's The Soul of a Man and Charles Burnett's Warming by the Devil's Fire) use extensive fictional film sequences, generally to good effect. There's also plenty of documentary footage, interviews, and contemporary studio performances recorded especially for these films.

The last are among the best aspects of the DVDs, as the bonus material features the set's only complete tunes. Lou Reed's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and the ElektriK Mud Kats' (with Chuck D. of Public Enemy) hip-hop-cum-traditional updating of Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy" are among the best of them; on the other hand, a rendition of "Cry Me a River" by Lulu (?!) is a curious choice, even with Jeff Beck on hand. The absence of lengthier vintage clips, meanwhile, is the principal drawback. For that reason alone, Clint Eastwood's Piano Blues is the best of the lot; a musician himself, Eastwood simply lets the players play, which means we get extensive file footage of the likes of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Nat "King" Cole, as well as new performances by Ray Charles, Dr. John, and others. Overall, this is a set to savor, a worthwhile investment guaranteed to grow on you over the course of repeated viewings. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Take an American Journey With the Blues, November 19, 2003

By	Bryan A. Pfleeger (Metairie, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The premise is a good one: take seven visionary directors and turn them loose on a subject like the blues. The result, while for the most part excellent has a slight tendency to lag a little.

The Blues takes us on a musical journey through perhaps the only true American art form. The journey begins in the Mississippi delta and winds its way to Mali and all points in between. What we wind up with is a history of the black influence in American and its expansion to the world.

The series opens with Martin Scorsese's Feel Like Goin' Home a documentary that takes modern blues player Cory Harris from the Misissipii delta to Mali in Africa to explore the similarities in the music that moved from Africa with the slave transports to the Southern United States.

German director Wim Wenders film The Soul of a Man chronicles the lives of three blues players that affected the director. Through fictional recreation and archival footage we get biographies of Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James, and J.B. Lenoir.

Richard Pearce takes us on a musical journey with B.B King. and Rosco Gordon back to Memphis and Beale Street og the past and present in his Road to Memphis. Also explored is the story of moden player Bobby Rush who continues to travel the "chitlin circuit" of his ancestors. The film culminates in a performance of bles legends at the W.C. Handy Awards.

Charles Burnett tells the story of his youthful travels with his southern blues loving uncle in Warming By the Devil's Fire. This film relies heavily on archival footage of the great southern blues artists and explains the differences between the music that was played on Saturday nights in contrast with the gospel music of Sunday mornings. It is interesting to note that in many respects that there was not a whole lot of difference between the two genres in style.

Perhaps the most interesting film is Marc Levin's Godfathers and Sons which explores the Chicago blues scene. The film profiles Marshall Chess, son of Leonard Chess and founder of the legendary Chess Records. Chess meets with rap icon Chuck D to take the blues to its next level with a modern recording of Electric Mud. The reunion of the origal band with blues next generation makes for an interesting film.

Red, White and Blues by director Mike Figgis explains the blues impact on classic rock in the 60's and 70's. This is a straight interview piece that covers the British invasion by the music and its branching out to the world.

Piano Blues is Clint Eastwood's contribution to the series. This film features interviews with piano masters Ray Charles, Dr. John and Dave Brubeck. This piece also includes archival footage of Art Tatum, Theolonious Monk, Fats Domino, and Professor Longhair.

The series is a good one if not necessary one that you'll want to watch over and over. The main problem is that there too little emphasis on the actual recordings. The films stress the music but I would have enjoyed hearing more.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff, But Expensive, November 13, 2003

By	Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

I've been a student of the blues for a long time, reading what I can find and listening to a wide variety of the music. But I still managed to learn quite a few details in this set. I don't consider this set to be the ultimate, but until something better comes out, it's the best you can find. I would have liked to have seen many more tunes in their entirety, but admit that the tidbits are tasty. The special features are a real plus, I admit, but I was left wanting more. The overall video and audio quality are as good as one could expect for the archival material and are excellent for the current material.

About the cost: The Amazon discount brings this down to 15 bucks per disc and although I love the material, if I'd had to have paid that price, I would have balked. I would understand the price for individual discs in the set being that high or even a little higher, but in a set, I expect a significant discount. These aren't DVDs you're going to watch over and over like you might some movie box sets, so the cost is a real concern.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Repetitious, July 29, 2004

By	David Solomon (East Brunswick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a big blues fan but was very disappointed with this series.

The problem, to me, is the concept: have movie directors make films about the blues. This leads to trying to come up with some "plot" to carry each installment.

In striving to come up with a storyline, most of the directors came up with the same one: a contemporary musician (blues guitarist Corey Harris, rapper Chuck D) travels someplace to find his musical roots in some form of the blues (Delta blues, Chicago blues).

This repetitive storyline leaves no room for the history of the blues.

Another problem is that not only are the storylines repeated, but so are many of the film clips and songs.

I do have to single out the episode Clint Eastwood directed about piano players. It was excellent, and the concept (have piano player Eastwood interview and play with legendary pianists) sets it apart from the other episodes.

My advice: buy the CDs from the series and skip the video.