Johnny would have stomped this movie
Julianne Shapiro
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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I'd rather watch Joaquin Phoenix pretend to be Jim Morrison on "The David Letterman Show" than sit through the documentary "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" ever again.
Less than a handful of songs - "I Got Stripes," "25 Minutes to Go" and "Cocaine Blues" from the live show Cash recorded at the prison on Jan. 13, 1968 - were played in the documentary, and even then they were ruined by childish animation.
If you're expecting to rock out to tunes in the aisle, you're better off heading over to Rasputin Music for the live album - or borrowing it. If you're expecting specifics about the actual gig, you should research it yourself because most of the documentary doesn't even get into specifics about the show - what a downer.
My other issue with the documentary is that its flow is unorganized, and for an organization freak, it was one of the most irritating mistakes a director can make. Instead of learning vast amounts of information about Cash's visit to Folsom Prison, as I expected from the film's title, it jumps around to footage of the modern-day prison and testimonials of ex-inmates that didn't flow with the black-and-white photographs of Cash and other old footage.
I dug some of the graphics, except a lot of the transitions in and out of the shots inspired nausea because of all the spinning effects. A documentary should not be treated as a trip to Great America.
I also expected more video interviews of Cash. Instead, there were way too many voiceovers played over photographs and b-roll footage. I did get a chance to see the incredibly boring place where Cash grew up in Arkansas. There was a tacky sign by a road in the footage that was an advertisement for Johnny Cash T-shirts, which I felt really added to the atmosphere of the documentary.
Interesting information is buried deep within the documentary. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of it.
For example, Cash translated the first flight of the first Russian jet bomber to take off into the sky through Morse code while in the Air Force. He also ripped off the song "Crescent City Blues" by Gordon Jenkins and made it into his song "Folsom Prison Blues." Maybe the director will consider a Johnny Cash trivia game to coincide with the film for those who are actually interested in Johnny Cash.
Interviews with Cash's daughter Rosanne and son John Carter Cash were compelling, along with interviews with his bandmates from the Tennessee Two and Tennessee Three.
However, the documentary lost its direction by getting sidetracked with Cash's relationship with Folsom inmate and eventual touring buddy Glen Sewell. The documentary also spent too much time on the life of Millard Dedmon, which addressed why he was in the prison and how his son got involved in crime. I really don't care. The last time I checked, the name of the documentary was "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" and not the sagas of Dedmon and Sewell.
If you really want to see it, "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" plays on Friday at the Camera 12 Cinemas at 12:15 p.m. I know it's hard, but don't confuse it with "The Shawshank Redemption."
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