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'''''My Father and the Man in Black (Film)'''"'
'''''My Father and the Man in Black (Film)'''"'


My Father and the Man in Black, is an [[Oscar]] short listed nominated documentary <ref>[http://blogs.canoe.ca/brandnewblog/entertainment/my-father-the-man-in-black-on-oscar-list-report/] ''The London Free Press''</ref>based on the stormy relationship of country music legend [[Johnny Cash]] and his manager Saul Holiff.<Ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/09/03/new-info-on-johnny-cash-will-shock-and-surprise-ducumentary-director-says/]''Fox news''</ref>It was produced and directed by Saul's son Jonathan Holliff, who was inspired to produce this documentary when he stumbled upon his fathers' storage locker filled with audio diaries, and a large assortment of other documents relating to Saul's time in the 1960s and 70s as [[Johnny Cash]]'s manager, it also included a framed gold record of " [[A boy named Sue]]"
My Father and the Man in Black, is an [[Oscar]] short listed nominated documentary <ref>[http://blogs.canoe.ca/brandnewblog/entertainment/my-father-the-man-in-black-on-oscar-list-report/] ''The London Free Press''</ref>based on the stormy relationship of country music legend [[Johnny Cash]] and his manager Saul Holiff.<Ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/09/03/new-info-on-johnny-cash-will-shock-and-surprise-ducumentary-director-says/]''Fox news''</ref>It was produced and directed by Saul's son Jonathan Holliff, who was inspired to produce this documentary when he stumbled upon his fathers' storage locker filled with audio diaries, and a large assortment of other documents relating to Saul's time in the 1960s and 70s as [[Johnny Cash]]'s manager, it also included a framed gold record of " [[A boy named Sue]]" which went on display at [[The Grand Theatre]] during the running of their play "Ring of Fire"


This film has been nominated and has won a number of awards on the indie film circuit.
This film has been nominated and has won a number of awards on the indie film circuit.

Revision as of 12:52, 15 November 2013

My Father and the Man in Black (Film)"'

My Father and the Man in Black, is an Oscar short listed nominated documentary [1]based on the stormy relationship of country music legend Johnny Cash and his manager Saul Holiff.[2]It was produced and directed by Saul's son Jonathan Holliff, who was inspired to produce this documentary when he stumbled upon his fathers' storage locker filled with audio diaries, and a large assortment of other documents relating to Saul's time in the 1960s and 70s as Johnny Cash's manager, it also included a framed gold record of " A boy named Sue" which went on display at The Grand Theatre during the running of their play "Ring of Fire"

This film has been nominated and has won a number of awards on the indie film circuit.

This movie has a strong nostalgic feel to it through historically accurate flashbacks. Starting with how Saul Holiff met Johnny Cash when he hired him to sign autographs at his "Sol's Square Boy" drive-in located in London, Ontario[3] Saul went on to sign Cash to a number of other music gigs and Cash hired him to be his manager, with the contract being written on the back of a napkin.

This movie has won a number of awards on the film festival circuit.[4][5]

This film received an 80 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com[6] And has had mixed reviews by well known critics. LA Weekly describes this movie as a "fascinating documentary" despite what it called the "Warning signs of a vanity project"[7] on Roger Ebert.com, the movie is described as a alternately "frustrating and powerful" documentary.[8]

The film is narrated by Jonathan Holiff, interlaced with authentic audio by Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff.

The structure of the movie interlocks the relationship of Cash and Saul, but also pans back often to the relationship of Saul with Jonathan. His son often resenting his father's time on the road.

A review in The Village Voice points this out by stating "it's as much about family,as it is about show biz craziness."[9]

There is an emphasis of the rift caused between Cash and Saul, due to Cash's status as a Born again Christian and Saul as an Atheist And how this caused the relationship to spiral out of control. A reviewer with The Daily Telegraph notes the number of dramatic confrontations between Cash and Holiff, backed up with authentic audio of phone exchanges between the two. [10]

The film has an overall feel as a type of catharsis for the son/director who tries to come to terms with his father's suicide.

Variety.com notes how the unique structure of this film: "Documentaries as expressions of filial trauma usually fail to generate audience empathy. But with its posthumous, anguished, first-person confessional revolving around the larger-than-life Man in Black this one partly transcends its inherent self-indulgence."[11]

Popular Metacritic also notes the fresh take on a documentary: "Refreshingly, My Father and the Man In Black does not slip into the realm of tabloid. It’s an intense personal adventure with universal themes and appeal that just happens to feature one of 20th-century music’s great icons"[12]

A reviewer from the UK website "Film Forward" states that the movie is a type of answer song to the movie "Walk the Line[13]and it covers a number of themes not mentioned in Walk the Line, like the racism Cash faced by the KKK when they believed Cash's first wife was African American, also the anti semitism Saul faced.

Historical Accuracy

A number of the movie props are genuine articles given to Holiff by Cash.[14]

Accolades

Soundtrack

Official Website

  • Johnnyandsaul.com[13]

References

Category:Show business memoirs Category:Films about music and musicians Category:Films set in the 1960s Category:Johnny Cash Category:2010s documentary films Category:Musical films based on actual events Category:Nonlinear narrative films Category:Films about drugs