Rooster_Ties Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Has anyone ever seen this documentary? Or even any clips? I can't believe with all the digging I've done on-line over the years, searching for Miles-related footage on Youtube and other streaming video sites, that I've NEVER once seen any footage from the actual documentary that Miles did the soundtrack to. There's one Youtube clip with some footage of Jack Johnson, set to the Miles soundtrack music -- but it's clearly a fan edit montage kind of thing (here, fwiw). In short, I've always wondered about seeing/hearing the Miles "Jack Johnson" soundtrack, in its original context (arguably). I know the music wasn't recorded with the specific footage in mind (let alone with visual edits in mind), but the album does bear the name of the documentary. Edited January 16, 2012 by Rooster_Ties Quote
crispi Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Has anyone ever seen this documentary? Or even any clips? I can't believe with all the digging I've done on-line over the years, searching for Miles-related footage on Youtube and other streaming video sites, that I've NEVER once seen any footage from the actual documentary that Miles did the soundtrack to. There's on Youtube clip with some footage of Jack Johnson, set to the Miles soundtrack music -- but it's clearly a fan edit montage kind of thing (here, fwiw). In short, I've always wondered about seeing/hearing the Miles "Jack Johnson" soundtrack, in its original context (arguably). I know the music wasn't recorded with the specific footage in mind (let alone with visual edits in mind), but the album does bear the name of the documentary. Thanks for ansking that question. I was looking for it myself some time ago, to no avail. Has anybody ever seen the movie? Would be interesting to see how Miles music integrates with the images. Quote
medjuck Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 My guess (and it is just a guess) is that the film has never been available on home video because the filmmakers never cleared home video rights for the music. That's often the case for films made before 1980 and those rights are often very expensive. Quote
mracz Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Yes, it's curious that neither hide nor hair of this ever appears. Has anyone here actually seen it? BTW, I don't think it was a documentary, but a scripted film (with Brock Peters?) Quote
medjuck Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 IIRC it was a documentary with Brock Peters as narrator or maybe the voice of Johnson. But I'm far from sure Quote
Pete C Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) I either saw it when it first came out, at The Whitney Museum, or maybe a couple of years later at MoMA. It was definitely a screening at a museum, but I think I was older than 15, so it would have been after 1971. IIRC, I'd call the style of the film stylized documentary montage. Definitely a documentary, and that line of Brock Peters' that ends the original Miles album is from the film. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B00E2DF163EE63ABC4D53DFB767838A669EDE Further research shows that it was screened in London in 2005, but with DeJohnette leading a band to provide a live soundtrack: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/jun/01/jazz Edited January 16, 2012 by Pete C Quote
JSngry Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Roger Ebert's review: http://www.toptenreviews.com/scripts/eframe/url.htm?u=http%3A%2F%2Frogerebert.suntimes.com%2Fapps%2Fpbcs.dll%2Farticle%3FAID%3D%2F19710310%2FREVIEWS%2F103100301%2F1023 Quote
Cali Posted January 18, 2012 Report Posted January 18, 2012 What I remember about the film is I liked it, a lot. I liked it because it showed Jack Johnson as more than a one-dimensional caricature. I liked finding out about Johnson's Russia experience, his living in Paris, his musicianship (yes, he was a musician, too), his beloved image outside of the U.S. And I liked the way the soundtrack meshed with the images. Quote
mracz Posted January 18, 2012 Report Posted January 18, 2012 Wow! This just makes me all the more curious to actually see/hear the thing... Quote
Pete C Posted January 18, 2012 Report Posted January 18, 2012 It is curious that it never seems to have had a commercial release. I wonder why Sony didn't try to get the rights at the time of the JJ box. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) Even more curious that with everything else under the sun turning up on-line (not legit, mind up, but Youtube uploads and such), that no footage from this doc has ever surfaced on-line, far as I can tell. Edited January 20, 2012 by Rooster_Ties Quote
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 good question. i bet the ucla film archives has a print, but you cant get into that unless you have some serious cred. Quote
Pete C Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) good question. i bet the ucla film archives has a print, but you cant get into that unless you have some serious cred. No, they don't. One can search the catalog: http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First Here's a list of libraries that own VHS copies from WorldCat (NYU has a film copy): http://www.worldcat.org/title/jack-johnson/oclc/46973173&referer=brief_results It appears that it was released in 1996 on VHS by MPI Home Video. By doing a search on "Jack Johnson" and "MPI Home Video" I discovered it was released as "Jack Johnson: Breaking Barriers" (regarding the title, see http://milesdavisonline.com/culture/miles-davis-the-boxer-3/ ), and there are some copies for sale: http://www.amazon.com/Legends-Ring-Johnson-Breaking-Barriers/dp/6304097034 The 88-minute length is further confirmation it's the same film. I used to have a VHS to DVD dubbing machine, but no longer. If anybody has the wherewithal to buy a copy and convert to DVD, I certainly wouldn't refuse a copy in appreciation of my research efforts Edited January 20, 2012 by Pete C Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Posted January 20, 2012 Now we're getting somewhere. Never imagined that this had ever come out on home video. Quote
JSngry Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 I'm told by a reliable source that Disney now owns the film and "has no interest of releasing it". Yep, Disney. Quote
Pete C Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 I'm told by a reliable source that Disney now owns the film and "has no interest of releasing it". Yep, Disney. Maybe they'll redo it with a kinder, gentler Jack Johnson. Quote
JSngry Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 And a song called "The Square Circle Of Life"... Quote
mjzee Posted April 22, 2018 Report Posted April 22, 2018 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/21/at-sylvester-stallones-urging-trump-weighs-full-pardon-for-boxer-jack-johnson.html Quote
Simon Weil Posted April 22, 2018 Report Posted April 22, 2018 On 19/01/2012 at 3:08 PM, Pete C said: "Jack Johnson: Breaking Barriers" Some copies available 2nd hand (and relatively cheap) on VHS on Amazon. But also: Jack Johnson Breaking Barriers Documentary This appears to be the full doc (clocks in at just under 90 minutes). Quote
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