Lightning in a Bottle (2004)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Release Date:

5 August 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

A one night history of the blues

Plot:

Antoine Fuqua's documentary on the blues, shot at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Aerosmith	...	Themselves
Gregg Allman	...	Himself
James Blood Ulmer	...	Himself
Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown	...	Himself
Ruth Brown	...	Herself
Solomon Burke	...	Himself
Natalie Cole	...	Herself
Shemekia Copeland	...	Herself
Bill Cosby	...	Himself
Robert Cray	...	Himself
Chuck D.	...	Himself
Dr. John	...	Himself
Honeyboy Edwards	...	Himself
John Fogerty	...	Himself
Macy Gray	...	Herself
Buddy Guy	...	Himself
John Hammond	...	Himself
Levon Helm	...	Himself
India.Arie	...	Herself
David Johansen	...	Himself
Larry Johnson	...	Himself
Angélique Kidjo	...	Herself
B.B. King	...	Himself
Chris Thomas King	...	Himself
Alison Krauss	...	Herself
Lazy Lester	...	Himself
Keb' Mo'	...	Himself
Mic Nuggette	...	Himself
Odetta	...	Herself
Bonnie Raitt	...	Herself
Vernon Reid	...	Himself
Mavis Staples	...	Herself
Hubert Sumlin	...	Himself
Jimmie Vaughan	...	Himself
Kim Wilson	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

103 min | Argentina:108 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | Canada:110 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:PG-13 | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Radio City Music Hall - 1260 6th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Vulcan Productions

Quotes:

Hubert Sumlin: We gotta do what we gotta do.

A treat for Blues lovers

Most of the big names in American blues music, certainly the black exponents, get glimpsed in this tribute show - and if they didn't attend, mainly because they are deceased, there is archive footage of them. Although a concert, the film manages to become a documentary as well and reasonably chronological. Obviously you can't expect this condensed film to be comprehensive about a subject this big with so many artists, but it makes a good try. The artists and their performances I guess are a matter of personal taste, but I enjoyed most of them. The borders between blues, soul and rock are rather blurred sometimes, but there are lots of people who resist categorization. Standouts for me were Buddy Guy's rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" (Hendrix was actually a big fan of Buddy Guy) and BB King's fret work right at the end. For blues lovers it's a must see; for those who don't know much about it, this film is a good introduction. Try to see it in a cinema with a good sound system.