Genghis Blues
by Roko Belic
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DVD details
Actor: Aislinn Scofield, B.B. King, Kongar-ol Ondar, Paul Pena, Richard FeynmanDirector: Roko Belic
Brand: New Video
Producer: Roko Belic
Producer: Adrian Belic
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Pan & Scan, 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-12-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Video Group
DVD Reviews of Genghis Blues
DVD Review: 2 Vesions : Totally Confusing
Summary: 3 Stars
I vividly recall seeing this movie in theatres. It was a double-feature playing with Buena Vista Social Club and I enjoyed Genghis Blues much more. Recently, I ordered the DVD and just watched it last night. It is not the same movie. The DVD version is terrible. I agree with the negative reviewers. On the other hand, the original theatrical release is brilliant. I am quite shocked by the gap between the theatrical and DVD versions. They are vastly different movies.DVD Review: Music from the heart via the throat
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this story and music! What a wonderful tribute to friendship, exploration, endurance of culture and talent.
It is hard to believe that the music I heard was coming from a human and not a mix of instruments. The human voice is amazing. Paul has overcome adversity to become an accomplished muscian, a blues singer, and a highly respected throat singer in the Tuvan tradition! He was very brave to travel so far into the far reaches of Asia when he could not see and had to depend on strangers as helpers.
The Tuvan people are amazing, so talented and so open and helpful.
Loved the music and the adventure.
DVD Review: A great film starring two transcendent personalities
Summary: 5 Stars
No other way to say it it: I love this film. Its two stars are transcendent personalities. Paul Pena who - by all rights - should be bemoaning the cruel fates of his life, is instead a testament to the human spirit (I know that sounds trite, but it's simply the truth here). When Pena sings for the first time, your jaw will drop. And Kongar-ol Ondar - Tuvan throat singer extraordinaire - is a star whose personality overcomes any language barrier. He's got an amazing presence.
Kudos to producers Adrian and Roko Belic, who pooled every penny to make this amazing film. It has that 'scrambling' feel to it, which is welcome. I'm willing to support anything else these two brothers decide to cook up. Oddly, their IMDB resumes are fairly thin until 2007. I would have thought they'd get a shot to follow up on Genghis Blues' widespread critical success.
DVD Review: Fantastic DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
As all the other reviews have put so well - a great DVD and an inspiring story - especially if you are a musician or someone going through hard times.DVD Review: An interesting voyage
Summary: 5 Stars
A blind San Francisco blues singer, on his own, learns the art of Tuvan throat singing. By chance, he is invited to an international competition in Tuva, which is located just north of Mongolia.
A pair of aspiring documentary film makers make the trip with him.
There's nothing earth shattering in the film. Rather, it is a very human story of a blind man with a unique talent visiting a very old culture. Some of the scenes are jarring in their discordancy. For example, young Tuvan children, dressed in blue jeans and other Western fashions learning a skill that is perhaps thousands of years old.
Music is indeed the universal solvent as this Californian builds relationships with a native Tuvan throatsinger.
All in all, it's a pleasant movie that tells the story of a man, an exotic skill and an ancient culture all at once.
Jerry
Description of Genghis Blues
Paul Pena heard a sound -- something intensely beautiful but disturbing at the same time -- coming from his short-wave radio. The sound was that of Tuvan throat-singers, a sound that changed his life forever and sent him on a journey across the world toThe ancient art of Tuvan throat singing may not sound like the most scintillating subject for a movie, but for those wishing to immerse themselves in a different culture or meet remarkable people, this inspiring and exhilarating Oscar-nominated documentary will be pure pleasure. This is a story no Hollywood screenwriter could have imagined. Paul Pena is a blind San Francisco blues singer who has played with the likes of John Lee Hooker and Jerry Garcia (he also penned "Jet Airliner," which Steve Miller covered). One night while listening to his shortwave radio, he picked up a Radio Moscow broadcast and heard the mesmerizing, gutteral sound of throat singing, which is peculiar to Tuva's region of upper Mongolian. Enthralled, he became a master of this obscure art form. Enter Friends of Tuva, a curious group that included Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who likewise had become fascinated with Tuva. In 1993 they sponsored a San Francisco appearance by Tuvan singers. Pena was in the audience and met with the singers afterward. Pena so impressed the Tuvans that he was encouraged to come to Tuva and participate in its annual festival competition. Genghis Blues chronicles this incredible journey. Pena's performance is as joyous and triumphant as the Buena Vista Social Club's Carnegie Hall concert, but this is more than just a one-note concert film. It also movingly charts Pena's friendship with revered Tuvan singer Kongar-ol Ondar (whose stature is described as "John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jordan rolled into one"). Documentarians Roko and Adrian Belic modestly profess they were ill equipped to make this documentary. They may have a point, but would you pass up such an opportunity? --Donald Liebenson
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