In this biodrama, director Gordon Parks certainly evokes where Lead Belly came from, and the difficult life that fueled his folk/blues music. The poverty, whorehouses, brawls that would lead to murder, and multiple prison sentences are all shown, and this is not a glamorized account by any means. While there are some moments that were fictionalized, most of what's shown is accurate to his life, at least up until 1934. The performances are sometimes uneven but the feeling of the rural south comes through, with occasionally very nice cinematography.
However, there were a few things that held me back from loving this film, much as I wanted to. For one thing, I wish the songs in the film were Lead Belly's own recordings, no offense to Hitide Harris, and that there had been more of them. Secondly, despite a runtime of over two hours, it feels oddly truncated at the end. I wish it had focused less on the prison time ala Cool Hand Luke and given us more of his touring and how his career evolved. Lastly, I'm not sure this film truly transported me to the 1930's as between uneven performances and the way the various characters talk and dress didn't seem quite right to me.
Lead Belly was highly influential to such a wide range of artists, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, of course, but also Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, Nirvana, etc etc so it's great to see that this film exists, and I was happy to learn about his life. The music incorporated into the soundtrack fit the events well, adding meaning to lyrics I've long been familiar with, and so seeing the film had me appreciating Lead Belly's music in new ways, which was pretty cool.
However, there were a few things that held me back from loving this film, much as I wanted to. For one thing, I wish the songs in the film were Lead Belly's own recordings, no offense to Hitide Harris, and that there had been more of them. Secondly, despite a runtime of over two hours, it feels oddly truncated at the end. I wish it had focused less on the prison time ala Cool Hand Luke and given us more of his touring and how his career evolved. Lastly, I'm not sure this film truly transported me to the 1930's as between uneven performances and the way the various characters talk and dress didn't seem quite right to me.
Lead Belly was highly influential to such a wide range of artists, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, of course, but also Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, Nirvana, etc etc so it's great to see that this film exists, and I was happy to learn about his life. The music incorporated into the soundtrack fit the events well, adding meaning to lyrics I've long been familiar with, and so seeing the film had me appreciating Lead Belly's music in new ways, which was pretty cool.