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Until my sister sent me a DVD Called, Walk the Line. James Mangold's movie tells many great stories of Cash's strange and interesting life. He has fused together several meetings, conversations and two autobiographies and the end result is an engaging account of the first part of Cash's ... Read review
Charting the life stories of both legendary musician Johnny Cash and singer June ... more
Carter,Walk The Linehas proven to be among the most popular music biopics of all time. And with good reason.Spearheaded by two superb performances (which well come to shor...
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Charting the life stories of both legendary musician Johnny Cash and singer June ... more
Carter,Walk The Linehas proven to be among the most popular music biopics of all time. And with good reason.Spearheaded by two superb performances (which well come to shor...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Singer. Rebel. Outlaw. Legend.In Walk the Line, Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix ... more
powerfully portrays Johnny Cash, a young, passionate artist who rebelled against convention, revolutionised music, and always walked his own path regardless of the co...
Charting the life stories of both legendary musician Johnny Cash and singer June ... more
Carter,Walk The Linehas proven to be among the most popular music biopics of all time. And with good reason.Spearheaded by two superb performances (which well come to shor...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks...
Love is a burning thing. In 1955 a tough skinny guitar-slinger who called himself J.R. ... more
Cash walked into the soon-to-be-famous Sun Studios in Memphis. It was a moment that would have an indelible effect on American culture. With his driving freight-t...
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor
Advantages: A Fascinating Insight into Johnny Cash's Life Disadvantages: I Can't Think of Any
...sent me a DVD Called, Walk the Line. James Mangold's movie tells many great stories of Cash's strange and interesting life. He has fused together several meetings, conversations and two autobiographies and the end result is an engaging account of the first part of Cash's life.
The film begins at one of Cash's major concerts, the Folsom Prison gig in 1968 but within minutes we are whisked away to Arkansas in the year of 1944. Here ... ...is the emotional core of Walk the Line and the magical chemistry between both actors had me caring about what happened to them and wanting everything to work out okay through the years of tours and performances and of course, all the demons that went with their lifestyle.
June was a very religious person and her roots were firmly planted in the Bible. Her beliefs and Cash's determination to discover his lost self are the two things ... more
When I was a kid I often used to hear Johnny Cash's braying voice, blurting out from Dad's radiogram but I never knew a lot about the tall, lanky figure, dressed in black with a chiselled chin and a voice as deep and raw as the ocean.
Until my sister sent me a DVD Called, Walk the Line. James Mangold's movie tells many great stories of Cash's strange and interesting life. He has fused together several meetings, conversations and two autobiographies and the end result is an engaging account of the first part of Cash's life.
The film begins at one of Cash's major concerts, the Folsom Prison gig in 1968 but within minutes we are whisked away to Arkansas in the year of 1944. Here we see JR as Cash was known, as a kid, with his brother Jack working hard in the cotton fields. The two kids work hard but also have fun like most kids do. They like to fish and play and as much as they try to please their father they are always disappointed as he is a mean and miserable Bible punching man. Although, he favours Jack as a son because he is a good student of the Lord. This becomes clear when there is a terrible accident and Jack is tragically killed. Cash is immediately distraught over the loss of his brother and what makes matters worse is his father's cruelty towards him. His father truly believes that the Lord has taken the wrong son. Cash's grief and sorrow become a catalyst for his artistic achievements but also his obsessive, addictive behaviour.
The following frames then introduce us to Joaquin Phoenix as the famous singer. This young actor does an excellent job of portraying Cash's mannerisms even down to the way he holds the guitar high and twitches and turns around. We see the gradual transformation from the youthful Cash who is a little nervous and loses his voice every now and again to the skilfull, guitar hurling rogue. At times I closed my eyes and I couldn't differentiate between the real Cash and Phoenix's voice. He was that good.
Cash then tolerates a period of time in the US Airforce before moving to Memphis Tennesse where he takes up a position as a salesman during the day and in the evening he changes into a talented gospel singer. The evening stint with the gospel choir doesn't go down to well with the newly married Mrs Cash and here we see seeds of unrest.
Eventually Cash has an audition with the great Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts) who is the producer for Sun records. You may remember he was the guy responsible for the launching of Presley's career and recodred his first single, 'I' m alright Mama.' Cash plays him a traditional gospel number but Phillips shows no passion for the song and asks him to come up with something a bit more original. The two don't see eye to eye in the beginning but Phillips perseveres and eventually persuades Cash to write a song with true gut feeling and one form the heart. This is when we hear Folsom Prison Blues and the rest of the film sets out to show us just how enigmatic Cash was and how rich and fascinating his life story is.
Mangold's film uses a group of aspiring singer/songwriters to portray artists who toured with Cash during the Sun Records hey-day. Such performers as Presley, Orbison and Jerry lee Lewis were portrayed to create an interesting and fascinating time in the history of music. Although, the actors representations were credible and superb to watch, not one of them was as good as the legends they portrayed.
What comes across in Phoenix's performance is the sheer enjoyment of his performances. Once on stage and in front of an audience it's as if some mad demon takes over. We also see the boredom of being a star. All the trapsing around from town to town, carrying their own equipment. We see how a group of young lads get involved with drugs and booze and women to keep the lonely nights and exhaustion at bay. In one scene we see how Cash's addiction to amphetamines is ignited. He is exhausted with the endles journeys and needs something to keep him awake for the next performance. This is the start of his roller coaster addiction which haunts him for most of his life and destroys his first marriage.
On an early tour, Cash meets his all time favourite member of the famous country singing family - June Carter. She is the daughter of Ezra and Mabel Carter. June has sung since she was a nipper and Johnny remembers listening to her when he was a small boy. On the tour they become good friends and form a very successful musical duo which is magical to watch the pair of them perform. Gradually, they fall deeply in love but this relationship is put on hold due to other things that are happening in each of their lives.
This prolonged romance is the emotional core of Walk the Line and the magical chemistry between both actors had me caring about what happened to them and wanting everything to work out okay through the years of tours and performances and of course, all the demons that went with their lifestyle.
June was a very religious person and her roots were firmly planted in the Bible. Her beliefs and Cash's determination to discover his lost self are the two things that save his life. Although, we only see a glimpse of Cash's own transformation near to the end of the film, we know the fundamentals are there and the foundation has been laid.
Reece Witherspoon gives a solid performance as June. Her singing is perfect. I love her bold, spirited, won't take no for an answer performance and she proves to me just what a brilliant actress and good vocalist she is. The film shows several concerts which I really enjoyed and didn't feel that these disturbed the flow of the film in any way. I thought the concert performances moved the plot on and it was interesting to see the characters of Cash and Carter shine through in the chemistry of Phoenix and Witherspoon as they sang together. I think the production of the musical score by T Bone Bennett was superb and I have to give him credit for his work.
This is a biopic and in lots of ways the film is very conventional. What makes the movie for me is Phoenix' s superb performance as Cash and the way he played out his compelling life story. My attention never faltered throughout the film. After ten minutes into the film I had forgotten that Phoenix was an actor playing a role. He was the man dressed in black with his guitar held high and a big chip on his shoulder. He was Johnny Cash.
The cinematography is standard. There are no flashy camera angles, quick fast editing or fancy narratives. This is a film about a country boy who could play a few chords on his guitar and had a voice that people took notice of. He was once troubled and lost his way as we all sometimes do. He was one of the lucky ones because June Carter changed his life. With her trust and love he was able to re-discover his true self and became an icon the world over. A bit of an old fashioned film with an old fashioned story but hey, who cares. A really good film and two fantastic performances from Phoenix and Witherspoon. Highly Recommended.
Rating PG13 - for bad language and the depiction of drug abuse. I think this rating is correct. The language isn't too strong and the depiction of drug abuse is necessary to get the point of Cash's addiction and obsessive behaviour across to the audience. It isn't there to create melodrama.
Summary: A great film with great music and two fantastic lead actors
Advantages: An engaging, touching story and exceptional performances Disadvantages: Very little
"Walk the Line" chronicles the early years of legendary Country singer Johnny Cash from his childhood days, through to his rise to fame as a singer, his romance with June Carter, his decline into drug addiction and culminating in the now legendary concert at Folsom Prison in 1968.
There is nothing I enjoy more than a really good biopic, one which entertains, educates and excites you whenever you watch it. For me "Walk the Line" fits that scenario ... ...in fact despite its 124 minute duration it leaves me wanting more. What also makes this film so enjoyable is that whilst it sounds like a pretty stock storyline it is made all that more special because it is also an amazing true love story. As is often the case with biopics we get a look at the life of Johnny Cash from childhood, thankfully the film does not over dwell in this area just delivering what is important, such as the accidental death of ...
christianfilmcritic 05.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Walk The Line (DVD)
Advantages: Excellent acting, great story, good songs Disadvantages: June Carter annoying accent
After seeing this DVD so many times in Tesco and picking it up but then putting it back down I finally decided I would give it a go. I have to say that I am so pleased I did.
The film is about the life of Johnny Cash and his rise to fame. The start of the film shows him in a prison about to go on stage and sing for the inmates but he is staring at a wood saw and then we are taken back to his childhood. As a child he had an older brother who died ... ...his father always telling him that the wrong son had died.
Johnny grows up and get married and soon they have a little girl. He is struggling with earning enough money until one day he comes across a recording studio and decides that he and his two band mates will go and audition. The studio manager tells they that their sound has been done before and we would like they to sing a different song. Johnny sings one which he wrote himself and as a result ...
sewbizzie 08.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Walk The Line (DVD)
Advantages: Great performances, good direction and a strong script Disadvantages: Subtitled epilogue
Johnny Cash, the iconic Man in Black of Country music found a wellspring of inspiration in a life characterised by a self-destructive streak that saw him addicted to booze and prescription drugs. His life was further complicated by an upbringing marred by a controlling and abusive father and lifelong guilt over the childhood death of his older brother. He found redemption in his pursuit and romance with fellow singer June Carter, but their relationship ... ...balanced view of Johnny Cash's life in this sensitive but never fawning bio-pic. He shies away from sentimentality in his depiction of the singer but isn't so far removed from his subject that the story is dry or sterile. He focuses on the defining moments of Cash's life and career, using them like building blocks to illustrate where he came from, who the man was and how certain people influenced him. So you get a good sense of him, without being ...
afy9mab 10.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Walk The Line (DVD)
Advantages: Phoenix, Witherspoon, most things about the movie... Disadvantages: ... I think it just needed to lighten up a little from time to time
FILM-ONLY REVIEW
----------------------------
Walk the Line is a biopic about country singer Johnny Cash. His life hit trouble early on, when his brother has a terrible accident and Johnny is, if not quite outright blamed by his father, blamed for being the one who survived who he wasn't the favourite child with apparently most potential. As he goes through life Johnny seems almost a victim of his own talents though he's not averse to seizing opportunities. ... ...weren't many special effects - Walk the Line is a completely character-driven movie and works well as such. The camerawork is clever in places and the sets were well designed. In fact there's very little I could possibly say against this movie as such, but I just felt quite distant from the main characters and thus never quite got involved with what was going on. Also, though I quite like the music in the movie, none of it grabbed me. Somehow I feel ...
CaptainDisaster 22.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Walk The Line (DVD)
Advantages: Great music and performances Disadvantages: Always tough to cram years of life into two hours
...omitted from the film but Walk The Line makes a wise decision and mainly concentrates on the rise of Cash. By keeping things simple and concentrating on the music, Walk The Line becomes a very accessible drama for any audience. You don't have to be a fan of Cash or the music to leave the theatre satisfied.
James Mangold does a very solid job of directing the film; he gets the right performances out of his actors and most importantly makes sure that ...
utero 31.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Walk The Line (DVD)
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Advantages: A Woody Allen Film Disadvantages: Lacking sophistication
My copy of the film of Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run" came free as a DVD with the Times, it also included footage from the movie "Walk the line" about Johnny Cash including a behind the scenes look. The film directed by Woody, written (Screen play) by Woody Allen and Mickey Rose is the first of Woody's film's as actor/writer/director to be Produced by Charles.H.Joffe. The running time 82 minutes rated PG for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Music by Marvin Hamlish. The film is sold under the genre comedy/crime.
CAST:
Woody Allen (Virgil Starkwell)
Janet Margolin (Louise)
Marcel Hillaine (Fritz)
Jacquelyn Hyde (Miss Blair)
Jackson Beck (The Narrator - voice)
THE STORY
The story of the life of Starkwell, played by Allen an incompetent, petty criminal called Virgil ...
Advantages: Fast paced and topical joke telling at its best Disadvantages: DVD Extras could have been better
the real Jimmy Carr, unburdened by televisual etiquette he is able to really let fly. Recorded at London's Bloomsbury theatre, 'In Concert' is Jimmy Carr's fourth live DVD, and in my mind it's his best so far, he is on top form with nothing escaping his razor sharp wit.
The always dapper Jimmy Carr seems particularly at home if a member of the audience is silly enough to try and heckle him; his put downs are swift, crisp and very very hard. Be in no doubt that if you heckle Mr Carr you will come a very poor second. One moment worthy of mention is how he deals with an audience member complaining that he is not racist and doesn't tell any racist jokes; his put down is quite brilliant. A lot of the humour is adult based, on more than one occasion I squirmed a little as he tightrope walks that fine line of controversy and bad taste, suffice to ...
Advantages: Attention to detail Disadvantages: Everything else about the film
that she wasn't prepared for.
All the right ingredients are here in another of Shymalan's unusual stories. Their are the heart pumping scares, the out of place hero, the other worldly beasts, and the obligatory twist that makes you question everything you've seen. Except, its all terminally dull. The dialogue is universally attrocious, even for a film thats supposedly set in another lifetime. The acting, with the exception of the reliable Bryce Dallas Howard, is appalling. Joaquin Pheonix isn't terrible, but he sleep walks through his role, delivering his lines in the same bewildered and slightly irked manner that the audience receives it. According to the extra's on the DVD, the cast is world class. I couldn't care less, because most of them look bored on screen, and no wonder with a script this bad. Everytime they muttered ...
Audio Commentary By Co Writer And Director James Mangold, Ten Deleted Scenes, International Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio
2.39 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Award information
BAFTA
Best Actress 2005 (Reese Witherspoon)
OSCAR
Best Actress In A Leading Role 2005 (Reese Witherspoon)
Professional reviews
Review
Terrific (Daily Mail, )
Flawless (Evening Standard, )
One film that has Oscar written all over it (Rolling Stone, )
Extraordinary (The Times, )
A great American love story (Vogue, )
DVD Description
Primarily the story of the love that grew between country stars Johnny Cash and June Carter during the early years of Cash's career, WALK THE LINE is the result of intense collaboration between director James Mangold, co-writer Gill Dennis, Johnny Cash, and June Carter Cash. Though both Cashes died in 2003, they oversaw the script's development for seven years. Mangold and Cash's insistence that the film's stars would actually sing paid off. Witherspoon's singing (as June) is lovely, and Phoenix's contains the raw energy and soul that defined Cash's sound. Even as a child on a cotton farm in Depression-era Arkansas, Cash shows a strong interest in music, escaping from his no-frills life and strict father (Robert Patrick) through hymns and listening to the radio. When his brother dies in a freak accident, young Johnny feels responsible, and worries that he will never live up to his brother's goodness. The film follows Cash through his first marriage with Vivian Cash (Ginnifer Goodwin) and into the early stages of his touring career alongside such musicians as Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and most importantly, June Carter. As Cash's success grows, so does his relationship with drugs, alcohol, and Carter, putting a strain upon his family life. From his initial audition with Sam Phillips of Sun Records on through his legendary 1968 concert at Folsom Prison, Cash is transformed from a hesitant singer riddled with demons to a man whose uniquely bold style would make music history. WALK THE LINE never attempts to paint a full picture of Cash's prolific career, but instead focuses on the passions that drove his music and on the woman who gave him strength. With magical performances by Witherspoon and Phoenix, a haunting and inspiring American romance is brought beautifully to life.
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