The soul of a man [DVD video]

Director Wim Wenders looks at the dramatic tension in the blues between the sacred and the profane by exploring the music and lives of Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J.B. Lenoir. The film tells the story of these lives in music through an extended fictional film sequence, rare archival footage, present-day documentary scenes. Contemporary musicians such as Shemekia Copeland, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Garland Jeffreys, Cassandra Wilson, Nick Cave, Los Lobos, Lou Reed, and Bonnie Raitt are featured covering songs of James', Johnson's, and Lenoir's.

General Note:

Title from disc surface.

Videodisc release of a 2003 television production.

Series originally produced for PBS and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting ; presented by WGBH Boston to PBS.

Special features include: five full-length performances not seen in the film: See that my grave is kept clean / Lou Reed -- Slow down / Cassandra Wilson -- Mama talk to your daughter / Alvin Youngblood Hart -- Dark was the night, cold was the ground (electric) / Marc Ribot -- Revelations / Chris Thomas King. Also includes outtake from film, "The visit to the plantation" (silent) ; on-camera interview with Wim Wenders ; director commentary ; director biography and filmography, etc.

Performers:

Narrator, Laurence Fishburne ; features, Keith Brown, James Hughes, Chris Thomas King.

Personal Subject:

James, Skip, 1902-1969.

Johnson, Blind Willie.

Lenoir, J. B., d. 1967.

Subject Term:

Blues (Music) -- History and criticism.

Genre:

Documentary television programs.

Language:

English