Bolden

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2:21

Bolden

R

Released May 3, 2019

1h 42m

Biography

History

Drama

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

New Orleans cornet player Buddy Bolden becomes a key figure in the birth of jazz, influencing countless musicians for decades to come.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's not brilliant, but it does give us a bit of a history about this figure who we know very little about.

Sep 28, 2019

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Keith Uhlich

The Hollywood Reporter

Most of the time, the imagery feels busy and labored, edited into elliptical shards and superimpositions as a way of distracting from the movie's overall hollowness.

May 7, 2019

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Nadine Matthews

Shadow and Act

It's a film that is simultaneously beautiful and disturbing to watch.

May 6, 2019

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Carla Renata

The Curvy Film Critic

With an original soundtrack by Wynton Marsalis, Bolden sheds light on the tragic, tortured life of The King of New Orleans Jazz...Buddy Bolden. Reno Wilson and Yaya DaCosta are revelations and totally worth the watch!

May 3, 2019

Full Review

Clay Cane

BET.com

Considering how so many Black biopics are botched and exploitative, this film was a proper salute to the late, great Buddy Bolden.

Rated: A

May 2, 2019

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Kam Williams

Sly Fox

Don't miss this overdue tribute to a forgotten jazz pioneer!

Rated: 4/4

Apr 30, 2019

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Michael G

Having read Gary Krist's book "Empire of Sin" helped me to understand the story line. Without this background, I would have been confused by the movie's presentation of the facts about Bolden's life.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

At times fascinating, at others completely and utterly disorienting. The film is Buddy Bolden's life as seen through his eye's via flashback. While there is nothing inherently flawed with this narrative device, these are the recollections of a man suffering a schizophrenic devolution. So, the film has a very disorienting and surreal effect at times. But I learned a lot about a musical pioneer that I didn't know before, and that made the film well worth the hour. Not to mention that the actors cast for Bolden and Armstrong were perfect, and the film as a period piece was highly effective, giving insights into Southern Black culture in the early 20th century.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

Movie jumps around way too much hard to follow story line

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

Very disjointed. I learned very little about this important jazz figure. Some good music, though.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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LindaH

I loved the movie, because I love music, Jazz. I hate the movie was not released in all theatres!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/04/19

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Ana

I loved this movie. the music his history, I had never heard of Bolden til then.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/03/19

Full Review

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Dan Pritzker

Director

Gary Carr

Buddy Bolden

Erik LaRay Harvey

Bartley

Yaya DaCosta

Nora Bolden

Reno Wilson

Louis Armstrong

Karimah Westbrook

Alice Bolden

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Bolden: Trailer 1

2:21

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Synopsis

New Orleans cornet player Buddy Bolden becomes a key figure in the birth of jazz, influencing countless musicians for decades to come.

Director: Dan Pritzker
Producer: Jonathan Cornick, Dan Pritzker, Michele Tayler
Screenwriter: Dan Pritzker, David Rothschild
Distributor: Abramorama
Production Co: King Bolden
Rating: R (Language|Brutal Violence|Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Sexual Content)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2019
Runtime: 1h 42m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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