Johnny Cash - The Anthology

Starring:Johnny Cash, Merle Kilgore, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Marty Stuart, Jack Clement, Porter Wagoner, Jessi Colter, Rodney Crowell, Merle Haggard
Director: Al Greenfield (II)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Sure, Johnny Cash is a country superstar and a founding father of rock & roll--but why, exactly? Johnny Cash: The Anthology is an efficient and highly enjoyable effort to answer that question through a rare historical perspective. Comprised of a 54-minute documentary and a supplementary film entitled Half Mile a Day, The Anthology places Cash dead center at the junction of gospel and blues traditions: between the isolation of hard living in America, delusional guilt from too much sin, and the fragile redemption of love. Drawing upon archival footage of Cash performing his earliest crossover hits ("Five Feet High and Risin'," "I Walk the Line") and including comments by admiring peers (Rodney Crowell, Porter Wagoner), The Anthology makes a compelling case for Cash as a master of knife-edged economy and a populist oracle from a younger, perhaps scarier, America. If it has become too easy over the decades to take Cash for granted, The Anthology sets things straight. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Johnny Cash is one of the most imposing and influential figures in the history of music. Emotional and real, his deep baritone voice and percussive guitar style created a bridge among various genres of music and earned him induction into the Country Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This special collection includes two programs which detail the incredible six-decade career or this 10-time GRAMMY-winning artist through performances, rare archival footage and photos. Scoring over 100 hit singles during his career, The Johnny Cash Anthology takes viewers on a journey which begins with the 1950s hit "Cry, Cry, Cry" and continues through the 1990s classic "Bird on a Wire." Half Mile A Day is a revealing documentary about "The Man In Black" as told by special friends, including Waylong Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Bob Thornton, Marty Stuart and Rodney Crowell.

Songs:
Folsom Prison Blues
Big River
Five Feet High and Risin'
Cry, Cry, Cry
I Walk the Line
Orange Blossom Special
Ring Of Fire
Jackson
The Man In Black
A Boy Named Sue
Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
If I Were A Carpenter
Daddy Sang Bass
Bird On A Wire

System Requirements:
Running Time: 143 Min., Color.
This film is presented in "Standard" format.
Copyright 2002 Image Entertainment.

Format: DVD VIDEO

Customer Reviews:

poor quality piece, but..........2006-03-02

i was extremely disappointed with this dvd, in both content and quality.

i expected a wider range of archival video footage from his preformances and some selections are in fact taken from same performances. fourteen live performace songs is an extreme understatement of his ability to capture his audiences, be it for a television broadcast or live concert. the anthology is padded with distracting talking head video footage taken from the documentary and the fades between frames were less then desired.

but...
the "bonus" documentary was redeeming. "half mile a day" is definitely the stronger half of this dvd; perhaps the documentary should in fact be the primary material with the anthology being the "bonus" selection.

i ranked this dvd at two stars because i purchased it for the performance footage and not the documentary.

Too much talk, not enough music.......2005-11-19

Five stars if this is a referendum on Johnny Cash, three stars for this premium-priced dvd.

The songs are good - Cash was a great entertainer, and the chance to see him through almost fifty years of performances is welcome. The `Half Mile a Day' documentary is informative and somewhat adoring, with a number of performers and record-industry folk attesting to Cash's greatness. It gives you a sense of the man behind the music. A peek rather than a critical examination, but satisfying enough.

Still, `The Anthology' pretty much repeats everything in `Half Mile a Day.' The songs are presented complete in Anthology, chopped up in Half Mile. Some of the talking head comments appear in both programs, as well.

Half Mile includes a bit of Cash singing `Turn! Turn! Turn!' with Judy Collins, which kind of indicates the dvd producers had access and rights to Cash's old television program. As a fan with extended demands for premium priced dvds, I'd have appreciated maybe another dozen songs - from the television show, or somewhere - and that much less talking heads.

Mon père a adoré.......2005-07-19

C'est un cadeau qui a bien plu à mon père pour la fête des pères.

Excellent.......2004-12-15

I can't get enough of Johnny Cash, I'm glad I purchased this DVD.
Lots of Johnny in his younger days. A lot of his hits uninterrupted
This is a must for any Johnny Cash fan.

Thank the Lord for the Man In Black.......2004-01-17

Didn't think I'd ever hook up the DVD player I got for Christmas, until I just got this and David Allan Coe's DVD for my Birhtday and that meant I had to hook it up and fast! I've watched them over and over. This is wonderful.

Johnny Cash : Anthology Of The Man In Black

Average customer rating:

Johnny Cash : Anthology Of The Man In Black

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Track Listing: Folsom Prison Blues, Big River, Five Feet High & Risin', Cry Cry Cry, I Walk The Line, Orange Blossom Special, Ring Of Fire, Jackson, The Man In Black, A Boy Named Sue, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, If I Were A Carpenter, Daddy Sang Bass, Bird On A Wire.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Dust to Dust

Zero Woman: Final Mission

The Champions - Vol. 2 - Reply Box 666 / Experiment / Happen

DVD: More Dogs Than Bones

Die fantastischen Vier - Das Weltraummonster