Deep Blues

Released Apr 1, 1992

1h 31m

Documentary

Music

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Deep Blues: Trailer 1

3:01

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Tomatometer

7 Reviews

95%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

In 1990, commissioned by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, veteran music film director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches, and parlors of Holly Springs, Greenville, Clarksdale, Bentonia, and Lexington. Along the way, they visited celebrated landmarks and documented talented artists cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry. The resulting film expresses reverence for the rich musical history of the region, spotlighting local performers, soon to be world-renowned, thanks in large part to the film, and demonstrating how the blues continues to thrive in new generations of gifted musicians.

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Though Palmer does give us some background on things like juke joints and old Beale Street, Deep Blues reminds us that it's not a movie about the history of delta blues but rather about its tradition, one that has never gone away.

Nov 9, 2021

Full Review

Marie Asner

Phantom Tollbooth

Watching the documentary, Deep Blues, is like going back in time.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 23, 2021

Full Review

Neely Swanson

Easy Reader (California)

At least we have the music, and that alone is worth the price of admission.

Oct 13, 2021

Full Review

Alan Ng

Film Threat

If you want to know more about blues music, this is the place to start.

Rated: 8/10

Oct 12, 2021

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

An invaluable artifact of an authentic American music form, and well worth tracking down for aficionados.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 24, 2021

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Audience Member

Absolutely essential (you know who you are). On second viewing the goosebumps increased.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Visually lackluster but aurally intoxicating.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Phenomenal performances of the Mississippi Hill Country Blues Bluesmen (and women) in their Natural environs. They truly lived what they wrote about and played, and this film does a wonderful job of incorporating the spooky yet beautiful landscape and lifestyles (steeped in Southern traditions and superstitions) into the background, without taking focus off of the incredible music. R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Jack Owens, and "Blind Bud" Spires were among my favorites. They threw away the mold after these guys were made. Most of them are long gone now, but their influence may be heard in today's music and will live on forever. And, oh yeah....Dave Stewart, the guy with Robert Palmer (the other Robert Palmer not the one from ELP) in first 20 minutes of the film? That's Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some of the earliest blues in the US

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie introduced me to the Delta Blues- and a whole new wonderful world of music that doesn't get its just due.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great documentary showing a bunch of unknown blues musicians playing at their homes in rural Mississippi. A must see for anyone that likes blues music.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Robert Mugge

Director

Big Jack Johnson

Actor

Roosevelt 'Booba' Barnes

Actor

Junior Kimbrough

Actor

Jessie Mae Hemphill

Actor

R.L. Burnside

Actor

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Deep Blues: Trailer 1

3:01

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Synopsis

In 1990, commissioned by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, veteran music film director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches, and parlors of Holly Springs, Greenville, Clarksdale, Bentonia, and Lexington. Along the way, they visited celebrated landmarks and documented talented artists cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry. The resulting film expresses reverence for the rich musical history of the region, spotlighting local performers, soon to be world-renowned, thanks in large part to the film, and demonstrating how the blues continues to thrive in new generations of gifted musicians.

Director: Robert Mugge
Production Co: Oil Factory, Radio Active
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 1, 1992, Original
Release Date (DVD): Dec 17, 2007
Runtime: 1h 31m

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