Johnny Cash: American Rebel (2015)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely entertaining documentary covering the life of Johnny Cash. The documentary uses interview footage, concert footage as well as interviews with some of Cash's closest friends including John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Rodney Crowell, Merle Haggard, Rick Rubin as well as family members Rosanne Cash, Carlene Carter and John Carter Cash.
If you're a fan of Johnny Cash then you're certainly going to watch this as there are plenty of great interviews as well as a lot of home movies that were previously unseen. We also get a lot of concert footage, television appearances and other items, which highlight Cash's music. The biggest problem with this documentary is that it clocks in at around 95-minutes, which isn't enough time to get all the information about Cash that's probably needed. While nothing here is told in great detail, the documentary does a fantastic job at giving you bits and pieces of everything Cash did. This includes his troubled childhood, his drug addiction, his rise to fame, his religious period, his downfall and his eventual rise towards the end of his life.
JOHNNY CASH: American REBEL is certainly going to appeal to Cash fans but it will probably be even better for those unfamiliar with the man and just wanting to see what made him a legend.
