Born to be Blue Movie Trailer

[Balladeer]

After Miles here´s your Chet Baker movie. 

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/born-be-blue-trailer-ethan-865331

And that´s a comparison

http://www.musictimes.com/articles/65296/20160215/born-blue-miles-ahead-trailers-jazz-legend-biopic-movie.htm

 

Edited February 21, 2016 by Balladeer

[Dmitry]

Thanks for the info.

Two trumpet movies in one month. What are the odd of that?!

..Hmm, this actually looks like a thought-out film.

 

[AllenLowe]

I gotta admit, I hate the title. Sounds like a bad pulp novel.

[duaneiac]

I think this is the first I've even heard of this film.  I'm a Chet Baker fan and I confess I have next to no interest in seeing this film.  The trailer looks okay and it looks like it might be a not godawful film, but I just don't need to see it.  I know the basic details of Chet Baker's biography and I don't think  this film will illuminate that story any further.  I like Chet Baker's music, but I really don't need to watch while he gets his teeth knocked out.  I wish I could have seen him perform in concert, but I would not have wanted to spend even 5 minutes with him off-stage because his life was such a chaotic mess.

[Balladeer]

@Allen: Understand that. But you know that Chet sang/played this song. And it´s legitmate to interpret it as a kind of melody of his life. 

@duaneiac
Wholly reasonable, too. After Bruce Weber´s fabulous documentary "Let´s get lost" (another song title of CBs repertoire like "Born to be blue") you surely can say. A movie? So what.
But...I´ve seen Budreau´s short cut "Deaths of CB" about his fall from a hotel window in Amsterdam and how it came about. And I must say: Sparse,atmospheric, acurate as far as I can say.
The story with his teeth: I can understand your reservations. But it´s stuff for drama - in life and above all in a movie. You can imagine what it means for a trumpeter to lose his teeth. Baker had to practice for years before he could play again - IMO more beautifullly than ever. Especially those forgotten years have been out of focus in his life story
Although I have my own reservations about biopcs that are no pure documentary I´m gonna see that film.

Please don´t misunderstand me. I don´t want to be an advocate for this film. On the other hand: I´m far too curious what they made of it..

[clifford_thornton]

I'll watch it.

From the movie it almost looked like the beating happened in the 'early 60s (just based on set pieces/clothing) than '68. I thought that was weird. 

[danasgoodstuff]

Maybe they were being sloppy with dates, maybe not - in '68 many people were still in '63 if you get what I mean.

[Cyril]

Thanks for the information. Is there any possibility that we can see it in the Netherlands? I'll ask my friend, who is the author of a book about Chet, if he knows something more about this movie. 

 

[duaneiac]

The Hollywood Reporter piece you linked to describes this film as "a mix of factual and fictional events".  That could be said of every Hollywood biopic about a jazz musician ever made.

I just feel I know enough about the life of Chet Baker as it is.  I read James Gavin's biography of him, and while some may have their quarrels with that book, it provided a lot of information about his life.  I don't feel this film will add anything to that and I suspect it will really wallow in the drug addiction aspect of his life.  His life certainly had its share of drama and that's good for Hollywood, but while I really enjoy much of his music, I'd have to admit he doesn't seem like a very interesting or sympathetic personality.  Chet Baker was blessed with such natural musical talent and movie star good looks.  He should have been a towering figure in jazz and pop culture during his lifetime.  Instead, his addiction caused him to squander so much of his natural talent.  While I can appreciate what he did accomplish musically, I feel, with the talent he had, he could have done so much more.

I should naturally be part of the target audience for this film, but I'm just not excited about it.

[jazzbo]

Looks as if it might be an interesting film. I'll go see it. I don't expect it to be "true."

[JSngry]

So, this is what it pretty much has to be, and always will be.

Game over before it begins, no matter how many times the reset button gets pushed.

There can never be a plausible Chet Baker movie with plausible wah-wah.

[Quasimado]

Chet was who he was, he did what he did. In the musical field, a lot of that was great. Q

[jazzbo]

Dat be True.

[ArtSalt]

I've always thought that the 1955-1956 extended tour of Europe with the death of Richard Twardzik would make an ideal subject for a film on Chet Baker's life. You get all the good stuff: the potential and youthful elan, modern jazz culture in mainland Europe at the time, his first mature recordings and then the tragedy and fall into the abyss.

 

 

[gmonahan]

I go to a lot of movies, so like the Miles movie, I'll probably see this one.  It's certainly not surprising that someone would make a movie about Baker.  His whole life is pretty obvious movie material, and some of the stuff they'd make up wouldn't be as goofy as what really happened.  And Ethan Hawke, like Don Cheadle, is a pretty good actor, and, one hopes, a better singer than Chet.  (I was *never* a fan of Baker's singing.)

 

gregmo

[Balladeer]

@gregmo   Understand that. Chet´s singing has always been an acquired taste. Earier on I felt like you. Only pure trumpet. But later on I discovered the charm of his singing. Even in his late periode I liked this frail character. There are some nice examples of great late frail singing, similar to those last Johnny Cash recordings.
With Chet it was like this: He played like he sang and he sang like he played. Always strong interdependence. 

@ArtSalt   That sure would be attractive those fatal European years - especially picturesc Paris 
Sure you know those Barcley recordings Baker did after  Twardzik´s death. Listen to "Tenderly" - real heartbroken.
BTW: Never has this interdependence of vocal way of playing been more plain than in those gorgeous Barcley recordings (on: Jazz in Paris series, "Chet Baker plays standards")
 

Of course I will see the movie. Don´t expect visual wikipedia but an artistically good and emotianally gripping film.. 

[gmonahan]

Actually, my problem with his singing is that he just sang flat.  Drove me nuts.  It sounds like Hawke is doing the singing in the trailer?

 

gregmo

[Balladeer]

Know what you mean, gregmo. I d call it lineal like Tristano with the keys, kinda cool thing. I think young Chet was the first who sang like that. 
Its a matter of either...or. There´s hardly an in-between if you like this style or not
In his latest years I think Chet needed those singing intervals because of his dwindling chops for the trumpet.. 
 

[Balladeer]

Ethan Hawke on the film

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/19/ethan-hawke-on-his-darkest-performance-yet-my-two-greatest-influences-were-lost-to-heroin.html

Filmstart in US is 25nd March.
Any feedback about the movie would be great.
Dont know when it will premier in Europe but probably last some time, so I´m really curious...

 

[paul secor]

  On 3/7/2016 at 10:00 PM, gmonahan said:

Actually, my problem with his singing is that he just sang flat.  Drove me nuts.  It sounds like Hawke is doing the singing in the trailer?

 

gregmo

Expand  

Supposedly, Hawkes did his own singing. Someone else played the trumpet parts.

[bluenoter]

  On 3/27/2016 at 6:37 PM, paul secor said:

Supposedly, Hawkes did his own singing.  Someone else played the trumpet parts.

Expand  

 

  Quote

The jazz trumpeter Kevin Turcotte conjures Baker’s trumpet at different phases, including the period after he loses his teeth and is struggling to make any sound from the instrument. If Mr. Hawke does a reasonably good imitation of Baker’s plain, vibratoless voice singing “My Funny Valentine” and “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” he only fitfully captures the fragility embodied in that voice.

Expand  

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/movies/born-to-be-blue-review-ethan-hawke-chet-baker.html

 

  Quote

 . . . besides providing the music you hear when Hawke plays, [U. of Toronto alumnus Kevin Turcotte] also played as both Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie in one scene.

Expand  

Born to be Blue: the U of T music experts who helped Ethan Hawke play Chet Baker

Edited March 27, 2016 by bluenoter

[jcam_44]

I'm planning on going to see this sometime this coming week. I personally have higher expectations for this than the Miles pic.

[Balladeer]

positive review in db

http://downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=news&subsect=news_detail&nid=3103

[Balladeer]

Fred Kaplan: Why can´t movies about jazz greats get what makes jazz great? (Slate)

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2016/03/don_cheadle_s_miles_ahead_and_ethan_hawke_s_born_to_be_blue_reviewed.html

[gmonahan]

I saw the movie.  The music was fine, and Hawke's singing was a lot like Chet's.  The love interest was made up, but it seemed to me they were fairly accurate about the way Chet used women.  Liked the ending.  On the whole, better than I feared it would be.

 

 

gregmo