DVD Review: I Am the Blues

STUDIO: Film Movement | DIRECTOR: Daniel Cross
RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017 | PRICE: DVD $19.99
BONUSES: deleted scenes, bonus interviews and performances
SPECS: NR | 106 min. | Documentary | 1.78:1 widescreen | 5.1 Surround/2.0 Stereo

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie  | Audio  | Video  | Overall

I Am the Blues is a spirited musical journal that highlights a generation of veteran blues musicians still living in the American deep south and touring the Chitlin’ Circuit.

Bobby Rush in I Am the Blues

Criss-crossing the Louisiana Bayou, the Mississippi Delta and the North Mississippi Hill Country, I Am the Blues visits such living legends as Barbara Lynn, a left handed guitarist who spent most of her early years having to play upside down with a right handed guitar, and Bobby Rush, who has over 326 records and won his first Grammy this past year at the age of 81.

The film was directed by Daniel Cross (Last Train Home) and was the winner of the Best Feature-Length Documentary and Best Cinematography awards at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards, as well as an official selection of Hot Docs International and South by Southwest Film Festivals.

The accolades are well-deserved. Though the film doesn’t reinvent the documentary drama, what it does, it does well, telling its story in simple and straightforward manner through intimate conversations with the artists and joyful musical performances. Cross gives his subjects room to breathe which helps create an instant connection with the audience. Those who aren’t ardent blues fans may find this pacing rather slow and wish for a bit more history on the featured players, but the passion oozing from the film is infectious and should win them over.

I Am the Blues has a lot of life and soul and its amazing musicians deserve to be recognized and remembered.

The disc features 30 minutes of deleted scenes, including interviews and performance footage.