Jimi Hendrix (1973)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Joe Boyd
John Head
(more)

Release Date:

10 October 1973 (Sweden)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

This documentary was made three years after Jimi Hendrix's untimely death. At the time it was an example of how a visual biography should be done...

Plot Keywords:

Performance | Woodstock | Interview | Jimi Hendrix | Musician

Cast

Arthur Allen	...	Himself - Interviewee
Albert Allen	...	Himself - Interviewee
Stella Benabon	...	Herself - Interviewee
Eric Barrett	...	Himself - Interviewee
Paul Caruso	...	Himself - Interviewee
Eric Clapton	...	Himself - Interviewee
Billy Cox	...	Himself - Interviewee
Frankie Crocker	...	Himself - Interviewee
Monika Dannemann	...	Herself - Interviewee
Jenifer Dean	...	Herself - Interviewee
Alan Douglas	...	Himself - Interviewee
Germaine Greer	...	Herself - Interviewee
Harold Parker	...	Himself - Interviewee (as H)
Pat Hartley	...	Herself - Interviewee
Al Hendrix	...	Himself - Interviewee
Mick Jagger	...	Himself - Interviewee
Linda Keith	...	Herself - Interviewee
Eddie Kramer	...	Himself - Interviewee
Buddy Miles	...	Himself - Interviewee
Mitch Mitchell	...	Himself - Interviewee
Juggy Murray	...	Himself - Interviewee
Little Richard	...	Himself - Interviewee
Fayne Pridgon	...	Herself - Interviewee
Lou Reed	...	Himself - Interviewee
Juma Sutan	...	Himself - Interviewee
Pete Townshend	...	Himself - Interviewee
Major Charles Washington	...	Himself - Interviewee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimi Hendrix	...	Himself (archive footage)
Noel Redding	...	Himself - Jimi Hendrix Experience member (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe Boyd
John Head
Gary Weis

Produced by
Joe Boyd	....	producer
Leo Branton	....	associate producer
John Head	....	producer
Peter Pilafian	....	producer (segments "Johnny B. Goode", "Purple Haze")
Gary Weis	....	producer

Film Editing by
Peter Colbert

Visual Effects by
Gary Weis	....	visuals

Camera and Electrical Department
Johannes Blom	....	videotape camera: "Machine Gun", Fillmore East, 31 December 1969
Woody Vasulka	....	videotape camera: "Machine Gun", Fillmore East, 31 December 1969

Editorial Department
Randy Roberts	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Albert Allen	....	additional researcher
Juliet Brightmore	....	additional researcher
Patricia Friedman	....	additional researcher
Caesar Glebbeek	....	additional researcher
John Head	....	researcher
Vicki Lefcourt	....	additional researcher

Thanks
Ellen Bailey	....	acknowledgment: still photographs provided by
Ed Chalpin	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Al Hendrix	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Willie Hogans Jr.	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Roz Kelly	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Jim Marshall	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of
Baron Wolman	....	acknowledgment: still photographs courtesy of

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cable Hogue Co.
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2000) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Hendrix Information Centre  additional research
• Sea Films  interviews filmed by

Also Known As:

A Film About Jimi Hendrix (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (hi-fi)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Fillmore East, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Connections:

Features "The Dick Cavett Show" (1968)

Soundtrack:

Hear My Train A'Comin'

a man who could play the coolest blues, the most far-out rock, and a good man behind the ultimate tragedy

Jimi Hendrix chronicles the story of the man, the myth, the legend, the left-handed dude with a love of the blues and Bob Dylan, and who took rock and roll almost to another planet (just listen to some of the tracks off Electric Ladyland and see how he goes into music like the equivalent of a crazy science fiction writer). He was also, as described by Eric Clapton, "guillible", and susceptible to the leeches that lay around him that, by way of the drugs, led to his very sudden downfall. Had he lived there's no doubt he could have had an output that for his genre would be the equivalent of one of those great 18th century European composers or even 20th century Jazzmen. There's been so much written about him that he's been elevated to the status he's at today, so it's a welcome thing to see this documentary so soon after his death.

Welcome, though also one can see the pain in some of the interviewees under the surface. Many on screen, his fellow ex-band-mates like Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell, and some of his own family and close friends, still have the memory of Jimi fresh in their minds, and so their recollections, both loving and even critical, comes at a time when there's still a lot to ponder. Through this and various concert clips (some well known like Woodstock and Monterey Pop clips, some more obscure like Band of Gypsies and Isle of Wight), and a superb interview conducted by Dick Cavett, portray Hendrix as a smart guy who could play a guitar like, as Townsend describes, "an instrument." In truth- and even for those who may just admire him as opposed to outright love and cherish his music- he was reaching into territory that was far surpassing anything done in the late 60s.

He had the basics down for the best in blues (maybe my favorite scene in the film, maybe exclusive just to this documentary, has him in a white room playing a 'Train' type of blues song that is so invigorating to see what he comes up with, begging the cameras to keep rolling). He also was a kind of wild man about his imagination, and so didn't hold back with an audience. He appealed to white and black, rock and blues, soul and (as might be the case years later) heavy metal, and without ever making himself into a commodity - that was done after he was dead and buried. What A Film About Jimi Hendrix portrays is a confident man, at peace with himself, but as is described by those around him someone who had such extraordinary things about him that his few flaws made his undoing. And it is a near perfect treat for die-hard fans.