Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4

Subject: Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 03:41 AM

Finally this series comes to UK (freeview digital)tv:
Episode One: BBC 4 next Thursday 15th April at 9pm BST and repeated Friday 16th at 10.40 pm BST. No doubt repeeated again (and again!).
RT gives it 5 stars.

RtS
(it is released on DVD in UK but not on video as far as I can see)

Subject: RE: Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 05:06 AM

I don't wish to pre-judge the seven films in this series but I just hope the results are better than the book.

Reading Wim Wenders' section about making his film on Blind Willie Johnson/Skip James and JB Lenoir just filled me with despair.

However I'm trying to keep an open mind.

Subject: RE: Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 09:15 AM

Well I'm happy to pre-judge the series, it could be even more evidence of White men getting fat on Black mens talent. Robert Johnson didn't sell his soul to the Devil, he sold it to the American Record Company who were bought up by Columbia Records who were bought up by Sony, and they get most of the money. In my experience music documentaries major on boring and intrusive voice-overs and precious little of the actual music they purport to promote. I look forward to being proved wrong.

Subject: RE: Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 09:41 AM

US Mudcatters have given it two cheers, I believe. I was disappointed in the shortage of music in the Ken Burns jazz series, I hope this will be better, but any blues on tv is better than none.

RtS

Subject: RE: Scorsese The Blues soon on BBC4
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 10:00 AM

Well, you and I, we probably just really like the music, but it is as well to remember that movies, DVDs, cds, books, TV progs et al are viewed as product for sales and profit by their makers, and I can't help but feel that people are jumping on the Blues bandwagon. These people didn't do much to help these artists when they were alive. I recall that BBC Radio Times ran a cover photo of Buddy Holly about 25 years after his death and ran programmes and articles saying how great he was, when to my knowledge, Holly & the Crickets toured the UK and they was never once on the BBC. They ignored them completely I also recall that the BBC it was that banned an entirely innocuous recording of a rocked-up version of Griegs In the Hall of the Mountain King, by Nero & the Gladiators. Actually it was crap anyway, but I'm wandering off the point!