Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker

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Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker

2013

1h 30m

Documentary

LGBTQ+

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Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Rare concert footage, photographs and interviews illustrate a portrait of late pianist James Booker, whose great talent masked personal struggles with substance abuse and isolation.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

07/10/2016

3/5

Bayou Maharajah is worth watching for the performance footage alone.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

07/07/2016

4/5

[A] richly enjoyable documentary tribute.

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Tom Huddleston

Time Out

07/04/2016

4/5

A sympathetic portrait of a genuinely idiosyncratic, outrageous individual.

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Mike McCahill

MovieMail

08/31/2016

Overall, though, Keber's film feels like an honourable attempt to tidy up after and make order of its subject's spiralling chaos.

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Michael Bonner

Uncut Magazine [UK]

07/14/2016

8/10

[Booker] backed a huge number of musicians.. But his solo work -- shown here in rollocking, flamboyant archive performances -- allowed him to give full flight to his infectious and innovative mix of jazz, blues and classical.

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david w

09/12/2020

there is nobody else who could play that much new orleans piano or much else of what he played, in spite of his drug issues, which were like other handicaps but nothing stops or messes up his piano playing. he was a most amazing person, and THE most amazing pianist

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09/21/2016

Saw the rough cuts 5 years ago. Great material - fantastic music.

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04/26/2016

Between being hit by an ambulance at 9 and dying tragically young at 43, James Carroll Booker III rode music life's wildest roller coaster. A brilliant pianist who could swing with ease across the spectrum from blues to classical, a gay black man who never found his perfect place, and a proud New Orleanian born and deceased in Charity Hospital, Booker gets as good a treatment as likely possible from director Keber.

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Lily Keber

Director

Lily Keber

Screenwriter

Aimée Toledano

Screenwriter

Tim Watson

Screenwriter

Mark Sperling

Producer

Lily Keber

Producer

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Synopsis

Rare concert footage, photographs and interviews illustrate a portrait of late pianist James Booker, whose great talent masked personal struggles with substance abuse and isolation.

Director: Lily Keber
Producer: Mark Sperling, Lily Keber, Nate Kohn, Stephen Rose
Screenwriter: Lily Keber, Aimée Toledano, Tim Watson
Production Co: Mairzy Doats Productions
Genre: Documentary, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2017
Runtime: 1h 30m

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