The Miles Davis Story
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Movie Reviews of The Miles Davis Story
Movie Review: Good intro to Miles, but his fans deserve a boxed-set.
Summary: 4 Stars
This fast-paced two-hour documentary is probably the best introduction to the life of Miles Davis available, considerably more expansive than the hour-long 1986 PBS documentary MILES AHEAD. Nonetheless, being that this product is a companion to the 2-CD career overview ESSENTIAL MILES DAVIS, that's a warning to Davis fans not to expect too much in the way of details or extensive video footage. STORY provides a balanced presentation of his musical and personal life, from his upbringing in East St. Louis to his death in 1991...somewhat ala Ken Burns' JAZZ series (sans Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch, of course), but much more concise due to the time constraints. Those fans who are familiar with Miles' career won't find much new here, especially if you've read John Szwed's new bio SO WHAT. For one, Miles' succession of musical achievements are alluded to but not examined in depth. As with Szwed's book, STORY benefits by the participation of family members, from ex-wives/partners Irene Cawthorn & Frances Davis to daughter Cheryl and youngest son Erin (who briefly joined Miles' band in 1990). For the most part there is an uplifting sense of joy in the retracing of Miles' steps offered by both these participants and an impressive but too-short list of musicians newly interviewed (from Jimmy Cobb to Marcus Miller). Many still-living sidepersons are conspicuous by their absence: one wonders did they decline to be interviewed...or were they not asked? In addition, STORY lifts some interview segments from the 1984 CBS promo video, the above-mentioned PBS documentary, and other 1980s sources...so the voice of Miles and other greats who either have passed (e.g., Gil Evans, Dizzy Gillespie) or unavailable for this latest project (e.g., Keith Jarrett), are heard.
For Miles fans the big frustration will be in seeing every performance clip shown for only a few seconds before there is a voice-over or cut to the next segment. However, in trying to cover the life of an artist who was artistically productive for most of his adult life, one has to accept that Davis' story cannot be told in two hours without moving quickly through each period of his career. Otherwise they might as well turn it into a multi-volume project (which btw is a great idea--ala the Beatles ANTHOLOGY video). I was disappointed that no one from Miles' last band was interviewed (except for Erin), and surprised that no mention was made of the 1991 `Miles Plays Gil" Montreux concert (the 1991 Paris "reunion" show two days later IS covered), or of Davis' last "significant other" (Jo Gelbard). Hopefully Legacy will soon compile a video series that presents the wealth of available video footage in an unabridged form. For now, STORY provides a concise overview of the life of Miles Davis that touches on rather than digs into the details.
Movie Review: The Man and very little horn
Summary: 4 Stars
Rather than focus on what it is not I prefer to focus on what it is; a documentary that utilizes people from Miles Davis life and Miles himself to comment on his eclectic life. I for one found it interesting to hear his ex-wives and fellow musicians making commentary on the lives and times of Miles. It is pretty funny listening to everyone tell stories in mock wispy Miles voice; it seems as though everyone tries to imitate his throat box whisper. The sequence of events are interesting as everyone recalls what he was like at a given point in time. Most interesting of all is Miles telling his own story as he tells little stories about different parts of his life.It is a shame there is not more music but when there is it is amazing. It is especially amazing to see the events of his life unfold in conjunction with the music. The various phases of his life are covered in depth and the pace is fast enough to keep you invloved throughout the disc. The narrative speakover is typical of documentaries in that it grabs you and demands you to pay attention. The musical snippets are brief but the story is well told. The concert material is worthwhile although not nearly long enough. The fusion period is very captivating both as a story and as performance.If you are into Miles Davis you will like having this added to your collection. It is a part of the total picture that will help make your collection complete.Movie Review: Very informative!
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with the reviewers that commented that this DVD is NOT A CONCERT, it is a DOCUMENTARY. It covers the various decades of Miles' life and the evolution of his music. Many facts that I didn't know about the man and his music are covered here. Did you know he was supposed to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix before he died? WOW! Very entertaining and still leaves a certain mystique surrounding the man with the horn. Very insightful interviews with his sidemen as well (Hancock, Jarret, DeJohnette, Corea, Zawinul, Liebman).
Trust me, if you primarily want to see Miles' in concert buy "Miles Electric: A different Kind of Blue", I highly reccomend it. If you want to know more about Miles' life and his ifluences as well as the people he influenced and his place in jazz as well as music history this is the movie to buy.
Movie Review: Are they stupid, or what?
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm wondering if all the people who gave this DVD a low rating because it contains "too much talking and not enough music" understand the meaning of the word "documentary?" This is not a concert performance, it is a documentary. As such, it did exactly what it should have. It tells the story of Miles Davis from his early youth to his untimely death. I bought it exactly for that reason and was not disappointed. Perhaps the critical reviewers would have saved themselves a great deal of frustration if they had simply read the description of the DVD on the back cover. Talk about dumb!!!Movie Review: More music would be nice.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a fine biography, but like most biographys of artists it has too little of the artists work and too much focus on the people around the artist.
And in the "You can't depend on Google" department, the song "Time After Time" that Miles recorded is credited in the Amazon review to Cyndi Lauper. She did write a song with that title, but "Time After Time" is a jazz standard written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne that first appeared in the 1947 movie "It Happened in Brooklyn", long before Ms Lauper was born.