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Deep Blues

Play trailer 3:01 Poster for Deep Blues 1992 1h 31m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In 1990, commissioned by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, veteran music film director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches, and parlors of Holly Springs, Greenville, Clarksdale, Bentonia, and Lexington. Along the way, they visited celebrated landmarks and documented talented artists cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry. The resulting film expresses reverence for the rich musical history of the region, spotlighting local performers, soon to be world-renowned, thanks in large part to the film, and demonstrating how the blues continues to thrive in new generations of gifted musicians.
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Deep Blues

Critics Reviews

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David Bax Battleship Pretension Though Palmer does give us some background on things like juke joints and old Beale Street, Deep Blues reminds us that it's not a movie about the history of delta blues but rather about its tradition, one that has never gone away. Nov 9, 2021 Full Review Marie Asner Phantom Tollbooth Watching the documentary, Deep Blues, is like going back in time. Rated: 4/5 Oct 23, 2021 Full Review Neely Swanson Easy Reader (California) At least we have the music, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Oct 13, 2021 Full Review Alan Ng Film Threat If you want to know more about blues music, this is the place to start. Rated: 8/10 Oct 12, 2021 Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews music scholars and hardcore blues fans will enjoy the meatier primary source material of Deep Blues Rated: B- Jun 12, 2001 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Rated: 4.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Absolutely essential (you know who you are). On second viewing the goosebumps increased. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Visually lackluster but aurally intoxicating. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Phenomenal performances of the Mississippi Hill Country Blues Bluesmen (and women) in their Natural environs. They truly lived what they wrote about and played, and this film does a wonderful job of incorporating the spooky yet beautiful landscape and lifestyles (steeped in Southern traditions and superstitions) into the background, without taking focus off of the incredible music. R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Jack Owens, and "Blind Bud" Spires were among my favorites. They threw away the mold after these guys were made. Most of them are long gone now, but their influence may be heard in today's music and will live on forever. And, oh yeah....Dave Stewart, the guy with Robert Palmer (the other Robert Palmer not the one from ELP) in first 20 minutes of the film? That's Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Some of the earliest blues in the US Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie introduced me to the Delta Blues- and a whole new wonderful world of music that doesn't get its just due. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A great documentary showing a bunch of unknown blues musicians playing at their homes in rural Mississippi. A must see for anyone that likes blues music. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Deep Blues

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Mugge

Director

Big Jack Johnson

Actor

Roosevelt 'Booba' Barnes

Actor

Junior Kimbrough

Actor

Jessie Mae Hemphill

Actor

R.L. Burnside

Actor

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Deep Blues

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Deep Blues

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1990, commissioned by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, veteran music film director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches, and parlors of Holly Springs, Greenville, Clarksdale, Bentonia, and Lexington. Along the way, they visited celebrated landmarks and documented talented artists cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry. The resulting film expresses reverence for the rich musical history of the region, spotlighting local performers, soon to be world-renowned, thanks in large part to the film, and demonstrating how the blues continues to thrive in new generations of gifted musicians.
Director
Robert Mugge
Production Co
Radio Active, Oil Factory
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 1, 1992, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Dec 17, 2007
Runtime
1h 31m
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