Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Release Date:

9 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

The Whole World Knows the Music. Nobody Knows the Man.

Plot:

This documentary covers the concert at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, to celebrate Chuck Berry's sixtieth birthday...

Plot Keywords:

John Lennon | Concert Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Chuck Berry	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ingrid Berry	...	Herself
Eric Clapton	...	Himself
Robert Cray	...	Himself
Bo Diddley	...	Himself
Ahmet Ertegun	...	Himself - DVD only
Don Everly	...	Himself
Phil Everly	...	Himself
Etta James	...	Herself
Johnnie Johnson	...	Himself
Steve Jordan	...	Himself
Bobby Keys	...	Himself
Chuck Leavell	...	Himself
John Lennon	...	Himself
Julian Lennon	...	Himself
Jerry Lee Lewis	...	Himself - DVD only
Little Richard	...	Himself
Roy Orbison	...	Himself - DVD only
Keith Richards	...	Himself
Robbie Robertson	...	Himself - DVD only
Linda Ronstadt	...	Herself
Joey Spampinato	...	Himself - Bass Player (Bass Player)
Bruce Springsteen	...	Himself

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

East St. Louis, Illinois, USA

Company:

Delilah Films

Trivia:

Shot in 1986, not released until 1987.

Quotes:

Keith Richards: We spent 12 days rehearsing, this goes here, this goes there, go onstage and boom out the window. Wing it!

Hail, hail Chuck Berry

If you were young when rock-and-roll was young, then you will probably enjoy this; if you were not young at that time, then this would give you a bit of history. Even though I was not around for the era of the big bands, seeing movies like "The Glenn Miller Story" or listening to some Artie Shaw or Tommy Dorsey gave me an appreciation for the music of a previous generation, and an understanding that those of that generation are not hopelessly antiquated.

The bulk of the movie is footage of a concert in St. Louis at the Fox Theater in celebration of Berry's 60th birthday in 1986. Berry plays a lot of his classics - he was still an amazingly agile and robust performer at the time. Kieth Richards plays a big part in this movie. Apparently Richards was bothered by the fact that Berry always picked up lackluster backup bands wherever he played and he put together a good backup band for this concert, himself included of course. There are guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, and Julian Lennon. There are interviews with Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard (a delight), John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and much talk from Keith Richards. The fact that Richards is still alive at this late date is a testament to the resilience of the human body.