:
Nora Guthrie,
Natalie Merchant,
Corey Harris,
more...
:
Kim Hopkins
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Palm Pictures
: Documentary, Music, Documentary, Music
: 89 min.
: English
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When Nora Guthrie, daughter of folk legend Woody Guthrie, unearthed a 50-year-old, unproduced collection of her father's lyrics, she called upon British songwriter Billy Bragg to put them to music. Bragg teamed with Chicago-based, alt-country band Wilco, and in 1998 Mermaid Avenue was released to critical adulation and a Grammy nomination. Two years later, Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 was released to equal fervor and another Grammy nomination. Narrated by Nora Guthrie, this feature-length documentary chronicles Bragg's search "...for the spirit of Woody Guthrie," as he travels to Okemah, OK, where Guthrie was born, and to New York City where he gained notoriety. From there, the film follows Bragg to Chicago to meet up with Wilco, and finally to Dublin where the albums were recorded and where the creative process sometimes caused emotions to run high between Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
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| Unheard Woody Guthrie
by Cinenaut
April 26, 2004 - 11:26 AM PDT
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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Woody Guthrie left over 1000 complete lyrics behind when he died. At Nora Guthrie's request, Billy Bragg and Wilco took some of those lyrics, wrote music for them and made two fantastic CDs: Mermaid Avenue Vol. I (1999) & II (2000). This documentary does a fine job of exploring the creative process behind the creation of the Mermaid Avenue CDs while providing very personal insights into the life of Woody Guthrie from his daughter, Nora Guthrie. Thanks to the good sense of humor of everyone involved, it's not a stuffy, dry documentary. My only complaint is that the songs are not performed in their entirety, but I suppose that's what the CDs are for.
Mermaid Avenue was the street the Guthries lived on in Coney Island. |
| must see for folk music buffs
by RRappe
January 27, 2003 - 10:42 AM PST
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5 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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| this is a must see for fans of the guthries/wilco/billy bragg. the songs are wonderful and nora guthries insights into her family are great to listen to |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.74)
34 Votes
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