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Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues by Morgan Neville
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DVD detailsActor: Hank Williams Director: Morgan Neville DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 45 minutes DVD Release Date: 2004-06-08 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Mercury Nashville
DVD Reviews of Hank Williams: Honky Tonk BluesDVD Review: Best Hank DVD Hands Down Summary: 5 StarsThis is the best Hank Williams, Sr. DVD out there. No need to look any further once you've found this one. It's an in-depth and un-biased view on Hank life and legacy given by the friends and family that lived it with him. Highly recommended. Hank III does a great job narrating as well.
DVD Review: Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues Summary: 5 StarsThis is an excellent account of the Hank Williams story. I love the music and the video's of the 'real'Hank and his friends, music colleagues, and relatives. It was especially good to see Hank's real daughter, Jett. She sure looks like Hank! And of course, it was good to see Hank Jr. and Hank lll. His voice is very similiar to his granddaddy's, and there is some physical likeness.
DVD Review: Not enough Hank Summary: 2 StarsI was disappointed in this video by the constant narration...even interrupting Hank's simging..with morbid comments...
DVD Review: Hank Williams "Honky Tonk Blues" DVD Summary: 5 StarsThis is an excellent, VERY COMPREHENSIVE, DOCUMENTARY ,biography of the legendary country music/American music legend HANK WILLIAMS. IT BEGINS WITH EXCELLLENT REPLICATION FOOTAGE OF HIS "BABY BLUE" 1952 CADILLAC DRIVING THROUGH THE COUNTRY SIDE. It covers his family background in rural south Alabama. It covers Hank's life from childhood all the way throughout his life, his career and even his death, and his funeral, and his legacy and events after his death. This contains excellent archival footage obtained from family members, performance footage, footage from friends, and other sources. It is very comprehensive.
During most of the documentary, Hank's music is played in the background. The Dvd does contain some performance, and commentary footage of Hank, and some recordings of Hank's voice.
It also contains commentaries and interviews by Hank Williams Jr., Lucretia (Hank's step daughter from his marriage with Miss Audrey), Hank Williams III, Jett Williams(Hank Sr's daughter), Members of his band the "Drifting Cowboy's", Billie Jean Horton (Hank Sr. was married to her when he died, the son of Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne ("Tee-Tot" is the black street musician who taught Hank Sr. how to play the guitar, and friends and fans. It also contains footage of his first and beloved wife "Miss Audrey". It even has footage of her performing some songs.
One thing that stood out for me was an interview of one of his band members, "the Drifting Cowboys". He said when the 4 band members agreed to be Hank's band, that Hank took them over to a pawn shop, and requested 4 "black jacks" (also known as "slap jacks"- they are a fighting device made of lead covered in black leather). Hank said "If you're going to play with me, you'll need these, because when we get through playing, all the women in the audience will want to be with us, and that will make their men mad, and make them want to fight us. The "Drifting Cowboy" continued, saying that alot of their concerts ended in brawls. He said Hank even used his guitar as a weapon, and usually smashed one up every week in these concert ending brawls.
It covers his success in Montgomery, which lead to him being invited to join the Louisiana Hayride Radio show in Shreveport, Louisiana (LA), that was held at the legendary Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. It covers his success on the "Louisiana Hayride", which included his #1 Hit "Lovesick Blues". While he was living in Shreveport, his son Randall Hank Jr. was born. This time he spent in Shreveport were some of the best years of his short life.
The success of "Lovesick Blues" lead to an invitation to join the "Grand Ole Orpy" in Nashville, Tenn. His success there continued for quite sometime. He was a "head-liner" Act on many "Grand Ole Opry" Tours, and other tours. It covers the famous "Hadacol" Medicine Show Tour, which Hank headlined. It covers Hank in New York, with Tony Bennett when Tony Bennett recorded Hank's "Your Cold Cold Heart".
During this time, there was so much of Hank's music on the radio and on Juke boxes, that he came up with a "ghost writer" name of Luke the Drifter". He released many songs under the name "Luke the Drifter".
Finally, the pressure of all this sucess, and Hank's stuggle with his relationship with his wife Audrey, and his lifestyle, lead to him being fired from the "Grand Ole Orpy". (Johnny Cash was fired from the Opry also).
He moved back to Louisiana, and re-joined the Louisiana Hayride Show, and remained employed there until his death.
The Dvd recreate's his death night (Dec.31,1952/Jan.1,1953), where he was traveling from Montgomery to Canton, Ohio to do a New Years Day show. Using a "baby Blue" 1952 cadillac, it covers his journey,and even goes to the Knoxville Hotel where Hank checked into for a while. The same bus boy who served Hank that night is still alive and is interviewed in this Dvd. Also, the young man who drove Hank from Knoxville to the Hospital where he was pronounced dead is interviewed. Hank was living with Billie Jean at the time and was on a vacation from the Louisiana Hayride show, and was staying in Montgomery, AL. According to Billie Jean, the morning that Hank got up to make his final trip, he told her that "Jesus was coming to get him today". The dvd even has a replica of the Service Station in 1952 that his driver pulled into to seek help, and a recreation of this event. This is when they realize something is bad wrong.
It's a very comphresive documentary dvd, and is very well presented. If you like Hank Williams or just a good documentary/biography of an American/Country Music legend, you'll enjoy this one, and therefore, I highly recommend it.
DVD Review: hank williams honky tonk blues Summary: 4 StarsIt was good to compare the real life Hank Williams to that on film and
from previous stories. To see actual footage and music by this enigmatic
real life person is of great encouragement.
The quality of DVD was very good.
Description of Hank Williams: Honky Tonk BluesHonky Tonk Blues is an expanded director's cut of an American Masters television special about Hank Williams, and every minute of it illuminates Williams's importance as a seminal artist and American archetype. Produced with an understated fascination for the country legend's gifts and demons that shortened his career, played havoc with his marriages, and led to a haunting death at 29, Honky Tonk Blues builds a seamless profile from rare footage and rich interviews with (among others) Rick Bragg, Big Bill Lister (Williams's longtime opening act), Hank Williams Jr., and members of Williams's backup band, the Drifting Cowboys. Williams's story, including his mentorship in the blues by Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne, childhood loneliness, and emergence as a whole-cloth singer-songwriter "who taught people it's okay to bear your soul in everyday language," is thoroughly compelling and resonates with many American originals (e.g., Kurt Cobain) who followed him. An outstanding documentary. --Tom Keogh
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