5 Movies About the Blues That You Need to See
There are a lot of great movies about the blues out there. Here are five of the best that you need to see.
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis. It stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as “Joliet” Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from “The Blues Brothers” musical sketch on the NBC variety show Saturday Night Live. The film’s screenplay was written by Aykroyd and Landis.
Set in the early 1980s in Chicago, Illinois, the film tells the story of reactivating the blues band to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised. The film is set to a soundtrack featuring several blues and soul artists.
The Blues Brothers was filmed throughout the city of Chicago, Illinois, including notable landmarks such as Daley Plaza, The Palmer House Hilton hotel, and Chicago City Hall. A number of blues singers make cameo appearances, including Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin (as Mrs. Murphy), and John Lee Hooker. Upon its release on June 20, 1980, The Blues Brothers received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success grossing $115 million in ticket sales worldwide.
Crossroads
Crossroads is a 1986 American musical drama film inspired by the story of blues musician Robert Johnson. Starring Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca, Jami Gertz, Rob Lowe, and Steve Vai, the film was directed by Walter Hill and features an original score by Ry Cooder. The film was produced by Clive Davis and released by Columbia Pictures.
Crossroads tells the story of Johnson’s attempts to sell his soul to the devil in order to become a great blues musician. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $40 million against a $14 million budget.
Ray
Ray is a 2004 American biographical musical drama film focusing on 30 years in the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was written, directed, and produced by Taylor Hackford, and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role. Ray was photographed entirely inoutheastern Louisiana, mainly in and around New Orleans, with some shots in surrounding areas including Baton Rouge’s rural Scotlandville neighborhood.
The film depicts Charles’ struggle with heroin addiction from the 1950s to the 1970s; and how he overcame drug abuse and blindness to achieve success during his afterlife as one of the greatest musicians of all time. The film grossed $124 million worldwide and received critical acclaim from critics. It received five Academy Awards: Best Picture; Best Actor (Foxx); Best Director (Hackford); Best Sound Mixing; and Best Film Editing.
Cadillac Records
Cadillac Records is a 2008 American drama film directed by Darnell Martin, written by Darnell Martin and Daniel Pinchbeck. The film stars Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles and Columbus Short. It chronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
The Help
The Help is a 2011 American period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor and adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name. The film stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, and Cicely Tyson. The film is set in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.
The story focuses on African Americans working in white households as domestics; it covers the realities of racism in the South during the early 1960s from the viewpoint of black maids. White women who were looking for a change in their lives called upon these maids to help them with housework while they socialized and attended parties. One of the main characters is Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Stone), a recent graduate of Ole Miss who returns to her family’s cotton plantation named Longleaf outside Jackson where she eventually becomes a journalist for The Jackson Journal. The other main character is Aibileen Clark (Davis), an African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has suffered great loss herself. Through Skeeter’s friendship with Aibileen, she develops an idea to write a book from the point of view of the domestic workers to help show white women what they are missing out on by not knowing their maids as people.
The Help received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success; it grossed $216 million worldwide on a production budget of $25 million. The film won several awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Outstanding Motion Picture at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards for its ensemble cast: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (Davis), Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Spencer) and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
