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TIMELINE |
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GRAPHY |
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......superbly crafted portrait......Interviews
with Johnson's contemporaries and modern-day musicians are deftly
combined with hauntingly lyrical re-dramatizations of Johnson's
life.....
Blues artist Keb' Mo' in a sublime performance of movement and
grace.....
Offers an invaluable insight into how music can shape our culture,
breathe life into myth, and give rise to a legend.
-- Jerry Johnson,
South by Southwest Film Festival
Various feature films and documentaries
have touched on Johnson's remarkable story, but none has done
so as honestly or poetically as Can't You Hear The Wind Howl?
It does so, in part, by juxtaposing archival footage with acted
dramatizations .....a risky approach for any documentary... (but)
they never intrude on the documentary tone of the film or its
veracity. Instead, they give the story a flesh- and-blood quality
it would not have otherwise.
--Howard Reich, Chicago
Tribune
Documentarian Peter W. Meyer revisits Highway
61 and other strange byways to deliver a loving mytho-biography.
B+
--Troy Patterson,
Entertainment Weekly
Wind transcends
its genre of "docudrama," providing the well-researched
information we'd expect from a conventional documentary with the
dramatic impact we could hope for from a Hollywood film.
--Sam Sutherland,
Amazon.com
Strong film.....breaking from the strict
documentary format, Meyer's film mixes vintage footage with new
material that evokes rough, Depression-era America.
-- David Hunter,
The Hollywood Reporter
It sheds powerful light on a figure who
has long remained in the dark. The presence of such musicians
as Johnny Shines and Honeyboy Edwards are a big part of what makes
Wind blow so strong.
-- Chris Vognar,
The Dallas Morning News
Enthralling.....film neatly explains who
Johnson was.
-- Daniel M. Kimmel,
Variety
Now, with that culture almost gone, works
like Meyer's become even more valuable. Framed by the stories
and views of his peers, Johnson's brief haunted life gains a different
kind of authority.
-- Cynthia Rose,
The Seattle Times
Director Peter Meyer delivers an essential
documentary on the life of blues legend Robert Johnson......Meyer's
10-year labor of love is a must-see.
-- Todd Camp, Fort
Worth Star-Telegram
Excellent introduction to
the life, music, and mythology of one of the most influential
artists in American music.
--Peter R. Aschoff,
Living Blues
This acclaimed film is a one-of-a-kind documentary.
-- Alonso Duralde,
USA Film Festival
This documentary is terrific -- as good
as can be done, actually, considering only two know photos of
Robert Johnson exist to show what he looked like. Turns out that
was all the filmmakers needed. For the rest, they turned to other
elderly musicians and friends who knew Johnson way back when,
the talented Keb' Mo' to play Johnson in some re-enactment scenes,
and Danny Glover to tell the story. And of course, the music.
That indelible music.
-- Michael Jacobson,
The Cinema Scope
Looking uncannily like the mysterious Johnson,
Keb' Mo' appears in new footage Meyer masterfully blends with
archival film of the era.
-- Dan Ouellette,
San Francisco Chronicle
Filmmaker Peter Meyer has created a documentary on the life of Johnson, no mean feat since there are only two known photographs of Johnson in existence. Gone is the Ken Burns, flood the screen with old photos option, so in Meyer's film, he relies on Johnson's music and the recollection of select contemporaries to enhance the bluesman's legend.
For those curious about perhaps the most
influential musician of modern times, Wind is a must see.
-- Craig Marine,
San Francisco Examiner
Peter Meyer presents a vivid portrait of
this enigmatic figure, revealing the man behind the myth. Danny
Glover delivers an enthusiastic narration and bluesman Keb' Mo'
uncannily portrays Johnson.
-- Greg Cahill, Mill
Valley Film Festival
The stories are fascinating, and
the music is great. This well-made film is highly recommended.
-- Julia Stump, Library
Journal
Wind
is an important piece of American musical history.
-- Jay Carr, The
Boston Globe
This is a beautifully made film.
-- Kenneth Bays,
Blues Revue
I watched this fascinating
documentary last night, and cannot get the images out of my head.
I am especially impressed with the interviews Peter Meyer manages
to get, including Johnny Shines (who passed away shortly after
the filming concluded), Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Jr. Lockwood
(who remembers and plays a very rare portion of one of Johnson's
unrecorded songs), Henry Townsend, and former girlfriend Willie
Mae Powell (for whom Robert wrote 'Love In Vain') in her
first filmed interview. It is amazing to be able to look into
the eyes of these great artists, and see in each a haunted look
as they relate their firsthand experiences with Robert Johnson.
The effect is eerie and very powerful. Peter Meyer has done great
work in finding, listening to, and capturing these priceless voices
before they are gone forever.
-- Blues Room Review