Marley (2012)

A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Stars:

Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Bob Marley	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ziggy Marley	...	Himself
Jimmy Cliff	...	Himself
Rita Marley	...	Herself
Cedella Marley	...	Herself
Chris Blackwell	...	Himself
Danny Sims	...	Himself
Lee 'Scratch' Perry	...	Himself (as Lee Perry)
Cindy Breakspeare	...	Herself
Constance Marley	...	Herself
Bunny Wailer	...	Himself (as Neville Bunny Wailer Livingston)
Marcia Griffiths	...	Herself
Judy Mowatt	...	Herself
Aston Barrett	...	Himself (as Aston Family Man Barrett)
Desmond Smith	...	Himself (as Desmond Desi Smith)

Storyline

Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. The definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international super-stardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, there is rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.

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Plot Keywords:

funeral | interview | musician | surname as title | soccer | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content, thematic elements and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Magnolia Pictures [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

20 April 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bob Marley: Stay with the Rhythm

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$262,004, 22 April 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,412,124, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shangri-La Entertainment,Tuff Gong Pictures,Cowboy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martin Scorsese was originally working on this documentary for the Weinstein Company back in 2008, but he swiftly left citing "scheduling conflicts," and was replaced by Jonathan Demme. The project came to a standstill in August 2009 when Demme left the project after he and producer Steve Bing had creative differences in the middle of editing. Finally Kevin Macdonald was appointed.

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Quotes

Neville 'Bunny' Livingston: It is mentioned out in the Bible, that there shall be a music, that all people of all global concerns shall play and dance and sing this music. Its in the Revelation. What other music could that be? Reggae.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.129 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Teenager in Love
(uncredited)
Written by Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman
Performed by Bob Marley

User Reviews

Great man, great documentary

Marley is a 2012 Documentary film that tells the story of legendary Jamaican reggae artist Bob Marley. The film charts his life from his humble beginnings in a small country village without electricity, through his rise to fame in Jamaica, to his exile in London, subsequent return to his Island of birth and eventual death at the age of just 36.

Before going in to the cinema I wouldn't have classed myself as a Bob Marley fan and although I have a couple of his albums and love his best known songs I knew very little about him. The film gives an honest account of his life and of Marley as a man. The story is told using achieve interviews with Marley himself but mostly through interviews with his friends, family and ex colleagues who are still living. Some of the interviewees are great characters and speak with wisdom. Others are hilarious and most have a fantastic Jamaican Patois which is delightful to listen to. The film also gives some background to Rastafarianism, something else that I knew little about.

The whole film is backed with over sixty Marley and Bob Marley and the Wailers songs which start with the song he first recorded aged sixteen and ends with One Love. This film has one of the greatest soundtracks of any film I've seen. The highlight for me was Marley's triumphant return to Jamaica for the One Love Peace Concert in 1978. After years living in London following an attempt on his life, Marley returned to Jamaica and performed in front of 32,000 people and bought the leaders of Jamaica's warring Political Parties up on stage where he managed to get them to hold hands above their heads in a sign of peace. It was an amazing thing to witness, even in the cinema and its impact was obvious.

The final quarter of the film takes on a deceivingly sadder tone as we reach the final years of Marley's life. After a battle with cancer he died in 1981 in Miami, USA. There were many people crying in the theatre, including my girlfriend after a very sad few moments on screen. The film ends on a positive note though by showing how Marley's music and message is still being used to educate and unite people today.

The film shows Marley to be both a great musician and great man but isn't afraid to look at his less impressive traits. His womanising is mentioned on several occasions, as is his poor parenting. His willingness to do anything to make it is also a constant theme. He was willing to change his style as well as drop his friends in order to become better known or appreciated and the film doesn't shy away from letting this be known. A thread I'd like to have seen explored further was his lack of success with black audiences outside of Jamaica. It was hinted at several times but is an interesting area which could have been looked at further.

Marley is a fantastic biopic documentary which sheds light on one of the world's best loved musicians. It isn't afraid to show both his good and bad sides and does a good job of illustrating his life from start to finish. It is accompanied by a soundtrack that head my head bobbing and feet tapping throughout and made me want to go out and further explore his back catalogue as well as his message of One Love.

www.attheback.blogspot.com