Alicia I love this movie so much

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Roguengineer I've always been a fan of John Cale, as I believe many people are, but don't know it. His music has been an inspiration to many other well known artists such as Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. Eric Clapton offers a frank and honest respect to John throughout this documentary, including a funny part where he admits he was jamming with John on stage for three+ minutes before he realized they were playing the Cale song he made famous- "Cocaine". The film documents John's early life in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told in old photos and present day on site interviews. Much of the film is done from the tour bus as they roll from venue to venue, and you get a taste of what life as a traveling musician must be like. There is also some beautiful scenery as the tour bus rolls through Colorado, as well. Many other reviews here are on the money for their descriptions, and should be read, but they all say that the length is wrong- only 90 minutes instead of the 167 minutes listed by IMDb. I believe they were all wrong, and IMDb is correct, because they turned off the film when the credits roll. The film continues on, showing full length performances by JJ doing all the songs he plays during the film, and more. Don't it off at the credits! Enjoy these performances of a late, great artist. John Cale, you were one of the best. Thank you for all the music. You wrote the soundtrack to many of my favorite memories. Rest in Peace.

punishmentpark I still remember stories about J.J. Cale coming on stage, tuning his guitar and starting to play while the audience didn't realize he was on already, or that he took off time to stay away from the world (I'm not sure if they meant the entertainment world, or the world altogether) and his music is always nice to hear. 'Laid-back' is a good word for it, if not perfect, but I must admit I've never bought one of his albums. 'Cocaine' is a classic.This documentary must be great to watch for his fans, me - I just liked it. I didn't see the 167 minutes cut (does that exist?), nor did I see 90 minutes cut, no, Dutch television deemed it just fine to kill it after about 55 minutes... thanks but no thanks.Anyway, it was a bit of everything; Cale on tour, Cale at his birth house, Cale's history (mostly his time in California), Cale talking about his sound and of course, Clapton talking about his (Cale's) sound. And some live footage, which was nice again.All in all... yes, pretty nice. A laid-back 7 out of 10.

George-130 Just watched this DVD, having got it for Christmas, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was expecting a basic concert film with maybe a couple of backstage scenes - you know the sort of thing - but this is far more than that. It's a proper documentary, running through Cale's career, including old photos and film and anecdotes, as well as visits to old haunts in Tulsa and interviews with his entourage and his long-serving tour band. Eric Clapton also makes regular affectionate contributions throughout.All through the film J J Cale comes across as the cool and relaxed guy one would expect from his legend, but he's also got a constant twinkle in his eye and a smile and a handshake for everyone.There's actually only a handful of live songs with the full band, which surprised me, but there's music playing all the way through and there's plenty of footage of just Cale and a guitar, which is plenty satisfying for me.Definitely recommended to any fan, past, present or future.

CedricBlye Saw the film last night at the Nashville Film Festival. The documentary follows Cale and his band on a two week trip to Tulsa and back where Cale talks about his life and his approach to his music. It was great to watch in a lot of ways .. the music was great and, as a longtime admirer of the music, I heard a lot of songs in the film that I would like to own if I could figure out their names, the scenery was kind of cool and made me wonder if the German director (who had never met Cale before he made the film) had also never been through the American southwest.For me, the most poignant parts of the film were with JJ Cale in downtown Tulsa with an acoustic guitar playing his songs -- seeing a musician transforming from a quiet, soft-spoken man into the musical genius that he is in such a mundane setting can be magic.The film also made me think about the way we age. Cale, who tells that he is 65, obviously looks different than he did years ago and the film's photography seemed to let you catch that young musician's face from the photos it showed in the aging face of the man as he is now.It's a great film about a man who could be anyone you know with everyday thoughts, a dry wit and a gentle and humble approach to life.