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Blaze

Play trailer 2:14 Poster for Blaze R Released Aug 17, 2018 2h 7m Biography Drama Music Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 94 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
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Blaze

Blaze

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Critics Consensus

As lyrical and bittersweet as the music its subject left behind, Blaze takes a decidedly unconventional -- yet richly rewarding -- approach to the musical biopic.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Nashawaty Entertainment Weekly Dickey looks like a big, shaggy dog with a wounded paw who's been left out in the rain overnight. And he's a real revelation. Rated: B+ Dec 26, 2018 Full Review Tim Grierson Screen International A songwriter making his major acting debut, Dickey captures the burly, vulnerable quality of Foley's lyrics and vocal delivery, creating a palpable sense that the songs were excavated from the darkest corners of his soul. Dec 26, 2018 Full Review Barry Hertz Globe and Mail Hawke is more fascinated with passion than profile. And here, that's more than enough. Rated: 3/4 Dec 14, 2018 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Director Ethan Hawke does the memory of Blues singer/songwriter Blaze Foley justice in this transfixing biopic. The life of a troubadour is always a difficult one. Blaze Foley was up to the challenge. Rated: FIVE STARS Sep 2, 2024 Full Review Ryan McQuade InSession Film Blaze is a very unique story and experience and proves that Ethan Hawke doesn’t just have to act in order to impress audiences. Rated: B+ Apr 4, 2024 Full Review M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut Blaze is wonderfully rich, heartbreakingly real, and told with overwhelming intimacy. Ben Dickey’s portrayal of Blaze Foley is a sight to behold. Go and seek out this film! Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 16, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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miguel s A great movie about a wonderful time and place (Austin Outlaw Country) that ended before we knew how great it was. A nearly unknown singer songwriter among many that created some songs that should be classics just like an untold number of his fellow troubadour. Some like Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell survived to be acknowledged as great, some like Townes Van Zandt burned up and out in their fame and many others like Blaze died or faded away anonymously with the era that created them. What a wonderful look into that world of starving strung out geniuses that turned on Nashville and stuck with the bluegrass cowboy folk music built on lyrics and musicianship vs the sold out cynically formulaic wasteland of today inhabited by the likes of Taylor Swift and countless cowboy hat wearing pretty Back street boys. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/11/23 Full Review Audience Member His character will win you over, and the layout of the storyline works well. I really liked the tone of the film. It plays like one of his songs, of which you’ll definitely get a taste. FREE advice: Turn on the subtitles. I don’t think the sound mixing was top-notch and the way they speak is a little tricky to pick up. Once I did, the film was much more enjoyable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/16/21 Full Review Audience Member I'm stumped. Why everyone adores this film has me scratching my head. I can see the positives... the colors, the mood and the acting in particular. But through most of the film, everyone is drunk or mumbling...I can't understand a word that's being said...or sung for that matter. Is the moody mumbling passing as gravitas? The songs are just okay, nothing special. They're your basic country or folk song patterns with lyrics that are decent (provided you can hear them), but worthy of a biopic that deifies the guy? No. Absolutely not. As a singer songwriter myself, I've known a dozen or so solid artists over the years who TRULY had great songs and never made it either... that's what happens in the music biz 99 percent of the time. While it's nice to see one plucked from the obscurity bin by a Hollywood elite, why Hawke picked Foley when there are so many better unknown artists to focus on is a mystery. I barely made it to the end as I was simply bored. Put it this way: when you turn to your cat and ask, "Do YOU like this movie?" and she starts pawing at the treats bag, and THAT'S what you find entertaining, you know the film is dull. I'm a huge fan of just about everything Hawke does but he lost me with this one. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member We need more movies made about the not-so-well-known legends. Beautiful movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review georgan g Hard to follow plot as it switched continuously from past, present & day of his death. Had to see how long his beard was to know what time period was happening! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I've watch this movie several times starting out in the Theater. Last night I watched it with some family members who thought it was a little. I love the days of the treehouse. The filming is beautiful. This is a melancholy film I wouldn't call it a bit but I would call it charming. If you love music and artistic independent films this is the movie for you. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Blaze

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
Director
Ethan Hawke
Producer
John Sloss, Jake Seal, Ryan Hawke, Ethan Hawke
Screenwriter
Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen
Distributor
Sundance Selects
Production Co
Ansgar Media, Village Studios, Cinetic Media
Rating
R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Biography, Drama, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 17, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 23, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$698.6K
Runtime
2h 7m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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