[DVD Get]
After spending years in development limbo following the death of James Brown in 2006, this film was finally produced and release in 2014, chronicling the life and career of this rock and roll icon. Directed by Tate Taylor (The Help), Get On Up stars Chadwick Boseman as the legendary rock pioneer, with Nelsan Ellis as his right-hand man Bobby Byrd, Dan Aykroyd as his manager, Ben Bart, and a wealth of other Hollywood royalty in various supporting roles.
Get On Up is told in non-sequential order, opening with one
of the low points in Brown’s life, in the late 1980s when he was chased by a
squadron of police cars after discharging a shotgun in one of his businesses.
The film them jumps back and forth in time, almost in a stream-of-consciousness
form, from Brown’s childhood in extreme poverty and deprivation, to the many
highs and lows of his performing career. The film doesn’t shy away from Brown’s
character flaws, and paints a “warts and all” portrait of a man who laid much
of the groundwork for the modern rock-and-roll industry.
With the recent passing of Boseman, and the
2017 passing of Ellis, sadly this film is reminder of how short life is, and
how, like James Brown, you have to grab onto it and squeeze every last drop out
of it that you can. Strongly recommended.
[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Legends, Icons & Rebels: Music That Changed the World by Robbie Robertson, Working For the Man, Playing in the Band: My Years with James Brown by Damon Wood, The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America by James Sullivan or The One: The Life and Music of James Brown by R.J. Smith.]
[ Internet Movie Database entry for
this film ] | [ official Get On Up web site ]
Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment