Songcatcher

Starring:Janet McTeer, Michael Davis, Michael Goodwin, Greg Russell Cook, Jane Adams (II), E. Katherine Kerr, Emmy Rossum, Pat Carroll, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Aidan Quinn, Bart Hansard, Erin Blake Clanton, David Patrick Kelly, Kristin Hall, Michael Harding (III), Taj Mahal, Muse Watson, Iris DeMent, Rhoda Griffis, Steve Boles
Director: Maggie Greenwald
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Hauntingly beautiful folk music and stunning Appalachian scenery take center stage in this winner of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for outstanding ensemble performance. Musicologist Dr. Lily Penleric has a deep love of English folk ballads. After a humiliating failure to make full professor, she heads off to visit her sister's tiny school in rural Appalachia and finds herself in folk music central. Lily is entranced, but the locals are suspicious of the outlander's motivations. Issues of tolerance, clashing cultures, and Big Bad Men abound, but Songcatcher wisely focuses on the music. Janet McTeer does fine with the "repressed academic gets in touch with the earth" role, but her truly outstanding work is in revealing scholar Lily's rapture in her discoveries. McTeer leads a truly great cast, including the wonderful Pat Carroll, and a just-for-the-hell-of-it cameo by bluesman Taj Mahal. Songcatcher has a healthy respect for the mountain people it portrays, and an absolute reverence for their music. --Ali Davis

Description

When musicologist Doctor Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) is passed over for a prominent teaching position, she leaves the city to visit her sister in the beautifully rugged mountains of Appalachia. It is here she discovers a wellspring of emotional tunes passed down from the original Irish and Scottish immigrants who settled in these parts. Determined to document the history of the songs, she immerses herself in mountain life, falls in love with a local musician, Aidan Quinn, and is profoundly changed by the generosity, strength, and freedom of the fiercely proud mountain people.

Customer Reviews:

Disturbingly Lesbian Film.......2007-07-02

Yes, what looks like a great family film is actually a disturbing vehicle to promote lesbian values. I was so disgusted by the lesbianism and partial nudity that I didn't even finish it. YYUUUUCCKKK!!!!

Breathtakingly Honest .......2007-05-13

Here is a look at the North Carolina Mountain Culture at the turn of the 19th century through the eyes of a rennisance woman with a PhD. in music. It is so much more than the story it tells. It reminds us of our roots and shows us the heartache of ignorance. There are several remarkable characters throughout the movie.I would urge all lovers of the land and life to see this piece that slipped through the cracks at oscar time. The performances are excellent, and it is the first time we see and hear the work of Emi Rossum. Get the sound track also. You will love this one. I wore out my first copy. This review is from my second. I'm not sharing more of the story because it is groundbreaking and I want your experience to be organic. That alone will do justice to this labor of concientious love and integrity.

An All-Time Favorite!.......2007-02-25

Just on the basis of the soundtrack and musical performances alone, this is a great movie. Then add in the historical information about early Applachian Mountain culture, an entertaining and absorbing storyline, and excellent acting, and you have magic. Really, really good!

Catch a style of song .......2007-02-23

The story in this movie is a really good one; a female professor in the early 1900's (I believe) who stumbles upon a unique style of music in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains. She decides study and documentation of this musical genre will warrant her advancement in the university's music department and launches in to her study with great gusto.

The main character transforms in this movie and her transformation is truly believeable. Not everything about this movie is believeable yet the movie is very worthwhile viewing. The storyline is good and the music is fantastic. Not all of the progression of scenes/story makes for a believeable plot but again, the movie is very worthwhile for the music itself.

Why? What's the point?.......2007-02-16

There are enough reviews of the main movie story so I don't need to add anything in that regard. But, what on earth does a lesbian sub-story (in both regards) have to do with the story as a whole? Nothing. So, we have another movie that would be great to introduce the whole family to blue-grass music and the Appalachian way of life that, instead, heads for the trash bin.

Average customer rating:

Disturbingly Lesbian Film
Breathtakingly Honest
An All-Time Favorite!
Catch a style of song
Why? What's the point?

Songcatcher
Starring: Janet McTeer , Michael Davis , Michael Goodwin , Greg Russell Cook , and Jane Adams (II)
Director: Maggie Greenwald
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Songcatcher: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
Songcatcher II: The Tradition That Inspired the Movie
High Lonesome - The Story of Bluegrass Music
Down from the Mountain (The "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Concert)
Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways

ASIN: B000092T3Z
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Product Description

When musicologist Doctor Lily Penleric is passed over for a prominent teaching position, she leaves the city to visit her sister in the beautifully rugged mountains of Appalachia. It is here she discovers a wellspring of emotional tunes passed down from the original Irish and Scottish immigrants who settled these parts. Determined to document the history of the songs, she immerses herself in mountain life, falls in love with a local musician, and is profoundly changed by the generosity, strength, and freedom of the fiercely proud mountain people.

System Requirements:

Starring Aidan Quinn, David Patrick Kelly, Jane Adams, Janet McTeer, Taj Mahal

Directed by Maggie Greenwald

Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Disturbingly Lesbian Film.......2007-07-02

Breathtakingly Honest .......2007-05-13

An All-Time Favorite!.......2007-02-25

Catch a style of song .......2007-02-23

Why? What's the point?.......2007-02-16

Average customer rating:

Songcatcher (Signature Series)
Director: Maggie Greenwald
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Songcatcher: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

ASIN: B000NCZT3I

Average customer rating:

Disturbingly Lesbian Film
Breathtakingly Honest
An All-Time Favorite!
Catch a style of song
Why? What's the point?

Songcatcher
Starring: Janet McTeer , Michael Davis , Michael Goodwin , Greg Russell Cook , and Jane Adams (II)
Director: Maggie Greenwald
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video