It's hard to apply the usual numbered or grade ratings to this 7-part mini-series, as some parts may be more appealing to you than to others. It's a long mini-series, as each part goes in its own ways through the history of the blues, going back to Africa for some (as in Scorsese's first of the 7 films, Feel Like Going Home, which is one of the best of them), traveling around the country for others (The Road to Memphis, which is also very interesting, if a little repetitive), going this way and that to search for its passion and power (Wenders segment), or taking it down easy to sit with the masters (Eastwood's Piano Blues, one I will probably watch more than once on its own as its so loaded with musical goodies). As a fan of music in general, and of Blues up to the point when I watched the documentary fairly well, it's really an eye and ear opener. A lot of history and emotional connections go on with people and how they play or respond to the music, but it's all in tune with a simple, straight-forward way of telling little stories and getting a real mood more than anything. How you respond to the mood may depend more on your musical tastes, hence why the documentary, while overall intriguing, cool, sluggish, and hard-edged in different ways, is hard to really grade overall. But it's not one to miss if you've got the time; as it is I went back to at least a few of the segments recently, as the effect from first seeing the series in 03 wore off. Oh yeah, and Tom Jones is in one of the segments (perhaps the least effective one).
Review of The Blues
The Blues
(2003)
quite long to go through, and not all great, but all-in-all a real keepsake
20 August 2006