|
Saw Cadillac Records on Wednesday. What a fucking travesty!
I understand the concept of dramatic license, but don't see how this covers having Little Walter shoot someone dead for passing himself off as the legendary bluesman, nor having Muddy Waters become an accessory to murder by driving Walter away from the crime scene. There is plenty of evidence that Little Walter was no saint, but none that he was a cold blooded murderer.
I also understand that no dramatised film can include every single character that was involved in the story, but to imply that Chess Records was run entirely by Leonard Chess and totally failing to even acknowledge the contribution of his brother Phil is just plain bizarre and to tell the Chess Records story without any reference whatsoever to Bo Diddley is downright stupid.
On top of this the film was full of anachronisms; 1950's cars in the 1940s, an Electric Light Orchestra logo in a record shop in the early 60s, Chuck Berry watching Elvis join the army and declaring that the way was open for him to become the king of rock & roll, after The Rolling Stones visit Chess studios. I'm sure there were many more, but I'm pretty crap at spotting such things.
The most scandalous thing is that the film was being shown as part of black history month; as if there aren't enough portrayals of black men as killers without adding Little Walter to the list.
Anyway, got me thinking, has there ever been a good dramatised biopic of a figure from popular music?
Plenty of good documentaries, plenty of good films about fictional musicians, plenty of good biopics of people outside music, maybe one or two about classical musicians or composers, but I can't think of any good dramatised biopics from the world of modern popular music.
Any suggestions?
As an aside, also showing with Cadillac Records was a documentary about Duke Vin and Count Suckle, my main reason for going. Two truly unsung heroes of the introduction of not just ska but also rhythm & blues to the UK.
_________________
Curmudgeonly Rock 'n' Roll time traveller from ye olden days
2nd verse same as the 1st...
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
