Jimi Hendrix (1973)

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:

Music Documentary | Memories | Interview | Concert Footage | Performance

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)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (hi-fi)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Fillmore East, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Connections:

Features Experience (1968)

Soundtrack:

Wild Thing

Great performances, good interviews, classic for the Hendrix fan.

Jimi Hendrix: Delux DVD Edition Movie: The documentary is very interesting, and not just for guitar players like myself, I'm a big acoustic guitar fan not electric at all. It concentrates solely on who the man was and his amazing playing, it doesn't get distracted and bogged down with stories of drugs, mismanagement and the circumstances concerning his death. It really does give a sense of the person and the passion behind Jimi Hendrix and his music.

The film comprises of a series of a series of performances, some very rare and some considered classic, interspersed with clips of interviews of Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Little Richard, Lou Reed, Mick Jagger, Hendrix himself and the all important ones, from his friends and family.

The interviews are very frank and relaxed, and when interviewing friends you get a sense of sitting chatting with someone rather than the usual interrogation that half hearted interviews can become. With the interviews with other famous stars of the time, and indeed other amazing guitarists like Clapton, there is a real feeling of respect and admiration. They don't hold back about how good or influential he was and there doesn't seem to be any back stabbing or slapping, just genuine conversation and respect.

These aspects are something you can't just make in a documentary, and they enrich the interviews so much making them thoroughly engaging and make for much better documentary.

One of the most interesting parts for me were the live performances, they are excellent to listen to and some are pretty amazing just to watch his performance. These are absolute classic performances and should be watched by any aspiring guitar player, I certainly had a huge desire to grab my guitar and start playing...just don't set it alight!

My favourite piece was Hendrix playing a beautiful twelve string, I love the acoustic guitar and strive to find as many recordings of unusual songs and artists playing their songs acoustically, and this is undoubtedly the pinnacle of that search. It's amazing to see him play, and particularly interesting to see how nervous he was when he makes a mistake (like I heard!) and asks if he can start again. When he steams into the second play you can see he wasn't just an electric virtuoso. His talent is unmistakable and these performances have been selected to really show off his best playing.

Picture: Presented: 1.85:1

The picture quality is very good with a lot of restored and remastered footage. Still some sections show their age and that's not taking into account the hairstyles and clothes! Overall though, it's excellent quality for remastered 1973 footage and some of the older and more worn performances.

The interviews are perhaps the highest picture quality, however here it's the words that matter more than anything, and in the performances it's the music.

Sound: Presented: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Subtitles: English and French

I didn't quite understand this one, presenting the film in DD5.1 seemed a waste of channels without a proper remix to bring you into the performances, or let you feel you're sitting in the studio, park or stage that the interviewees were. It doesn't add anything to the experience over the DD2.0 track. The sound sticks firmly at the front, although at times it does spread wider, but just as much is achieved with the DD2.0.

Some of the older performance footage does sound old with cracks, clicks and hiss. Yet this achieved something else, like that feeling with vinyl, it just adds to the atmosphere and performance.

Extras Presented: From the Uklele to the Strat (63:00), The making of Dolly Dagger and Stone Free performance

From the Uklele to the Strat provides you with what appears to be the full interviews that were used to cut together to make the documentary. Although I did start to find this hard going, it really does provide a level of authenticity and would appeal to the hard bent Hendrix fan. The interviews are wide and extensive, and considering the purchase base for this I would think that there will be many Hendrix fans watching this.

The making of Dolly Dagger is a superb and very insightful feature into the recording process for any song, never mind one of Hendix's. Sitting with the Producer\Engineer from the recording, Eddie Kramer, we're treated to a break down of the track, how it was recorded, insights into the process, and even sections that never made it to the final cut. This was fascinating.

Finally there's a performance of Stone Free from the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1970 on July the 4th, apparently never seen before. This is a blistering watch, and much like the rest of his performances, amazing and very entertaining. Watching his guitar work just astounds me, and listening to how easily he produces the music fills you with envy. Roughly shot, but it again adds to the raw feel of the performance.

Overall: I think this is an excellent documentary for fans of Hendrix and of the guitar. It's an insightful film which doesn't get hung up on any of the contentious issues of the man's life, and instead tells us from his friends, co-workers and peers who he really was and how dedicated to his music he was.

However, if you're not a Hendrix or guitar fan, I think you might find this much harder going. I'd have preferred a more expansive DD5.1 track, or just sticking to the DD2.0, and some more intimate performances would have added to the overall attraction.

A good purchase for the performances, and in particular the acoustic performance, but add the interviews and the making of featurette, and you have a classic DVD for the fan.