Johnny Cash - The Anthology (2001)
Sure, Johnny Cash is a country superstar and a founding father of rock & roll--but why, exactly? Johnny Cash: The Anthology is an efficient and highly enjoyable effort to answer that question through a rare historical perspective. Comprised of a 54-minute documentary and a supplementary film entitled Half Mile a Day, The Anthology places Cash dead center at the junction of gospel and blues traditions: between the isolation of hard living in America, delusional guilt from too much sin, and the fragile redemption of love. Drawing upon archival footage of Cash performing his earliest crossover hits ("Five Feet High and Risin'," "I Walk the Line") and including comments by admiring peers (Rodney Crowell, Porter Wagoner), The Anthology makes a compelling case for Cash as a master of knife-edged economy and a populist oracle from a younger, perhaps scarier, America. If it has become too easy over the decades to take Cash for granted, The Anthology sets things straight. --Tom Keogh
Johnny Cash is one of the most imposing and influential figures in the history of music. Emotional and real, his deep baritone voice and percussive guitar style created a bridge among various genres of music and earned him induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This special collection includes two programs--"Johnny Cash: The Anthology" (54 min.) and "Half Mile a Day" (89 min.)--which detail the incredible six-decade career of this 10-time Grammy winning artist through performances, rare archival footage and photos. Scoring over 100 hit singles during his career, "Johnny Cash: The Anthology" takes viewers on a journey which begins with the 1950s hit "Cry, Cry, Cry" and continues through the 1990s classic "Bird on a Wire." Songs: Cry Cry Cry, Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, Orange Blossom Special, Five Feet High and Risin', Big River, Ring of Fire, Jackson, A Boy Named Sue, Daddy Sang Bass, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, The Man in Black, If I Were a Carpenter, Bird on a Wire. 143 minutes.
Johnny Cash is one of the most imposing and influential figures in the history of music. Emotional and real, his deep baritone voice and percussive guitar style created a bridge among various genres of music and earned him induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This special collection includes two programs--"Johnny Cash: The Anthology" (54 min.) and "Half Mile a Day" (89 min.)--which detail the incredible six-decade career of this 10-time Grammy winning artist through performances, rare archival footage and photos. Scoring over 100 hit singles during his career, "Johnny Cash: The Anthology" takes viewers on a journey which begins with the 1950s hit "Cry, Cry, Cry" and continues through the 1990s classic "Bird on a Wire." Songs: Cry Cry Cry, Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, Orange Blossom Special, Five Feet High and Risin', Big River, Ring of Fire, Jackson, A Boy Named Sue, Daddy Sang Bass, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, The Man in Black, If I Were a Carpenter, Bird on a Wire. 143 minutes.
