I remember when Blaze Foley died. As an Austin resident, his murder and funeral were covered in the local newspaper. It was a bit of a big deal. He was only 39.
In this film, Blaze (born Michael David Fuller in Malvern, Arkansas) is portrayed by fellow Arkansan, musician-actor Ben Dickey, from Little Rock. Dickey represents Blaze and his music to perfection.
Charlie Sexton, older brother to Will, both local guitar legends, plays Blaze's late friend, Townes Van Zandt, and also serves as principal narrator of Blaze's life in the years of Blaze's professional life covered by the film.
Also herein, 'Blaze' and 'Townes' perform the worst duet of Townes's most famous song, "Pancho and Lefty," that I've ever heard as they're both drunk on stage in a bar.
On a bright side, director Ethan Hawke did a superb job of capturing the mood and atmosphere of Austin and Texas in those days as I remember them.
Blaze's ex/widow, Sybil Rosen, is portrayed in the movie by Alia Shawkat. There's a photo of them both together at an event for the movie in IMDb's photo collection for this entry.
