The Blues A Musical Journey: Godfathers and Sons (2003)
Director: Marc Levin
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
'Blacks plus Jews equals the blues,' runs an old adage on Chicago's Maxwell Street, the original home of Polish expat Leonard and Phil Chess's seminal Chess Records. Muddy Waters cut not only his legendary '40s and '50s tracks for the imprint, but also his late-'60s crossover experiments 'Fathers and Sons' - with various young rock acolytes - and 'Electric Mud', which numbers among its few admirers Public Enemy's Chuck D. Marc Levin's film follows Leonard's heir Marshall as he welcomes D and the rapper Common into the old fold to take a shot at HipHop-blues and hear stories from the glory days. Marshall's such a voluble witness that his story pretty much overtakes the film - an introduction to some of the backing band characters would have been handy - but it's compelling material any which way.Author: NB
Cast & crew
Director: Marc Levin
Producer: Daphne Pinkerson, Marc Levin
Cast: Marshall Chess, Chuck D, Howlin' Wolf, Jamar Chess, Phil Chess, Koko Taylor, Mrs Willie Dixon, Sam Lay, Mike Bloomfield, Ike Turner, Otis Rush, Chuck D, Common, Sam Lay, Lonnie Brooks, Pete Cosey, Morris Jennings, Louis Satterfield, Phil Upchurch, Juice, Bo Diddley, Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Public Enemy, Koko Taylor, Ahmir '?estlove' Thompson Rahzel of the Roots, The Paul Butterfield Blues B, Gene Barge full cast
Genre(s): Musicals
Duration: 97 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.



What do you think?
Post your review now