Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

Released Nov 24, 2017

2h 15m

Documentary

Music

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Eric Clapton is the only ever three-time-inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is an 18-time Grammy Award winner and widely renowned as one of the greatest performers of all time. But behind the scenes is restlessness and tragedy. Clapton's quest to grow his artistic voice left fans surprised as he constantly quit successful bands. His isolated pursuit of his craft, and fear of selling out, served as a catalyst for his evolution as an artist.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Photographs carry the story here, along with voices, rather than filmed interviews. Actually, it works.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 14, 2018

Full Review

Mikael Wood

Los Angeles Times

Clapton simply hasn't anything profound or insightful to say about these episodes that you don't already get from his music.

Feb 14, 2018

Full Review

Godfrey Cheshire

RogerEbert.com

One of the saddest moments I've ever seen in a film comes more than halfway into Lili Fini Zanuck's Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 9, 2018

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Benjamin H. Smith

Decider

... Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars is a laborious viewing experiance, its glacial pace heightened by the film's over-reliance on still photography.

Apr 4, 2018

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Kong Rithdee

Bangkok Post

[Eric] Clapton emerges here as a person who has gone through hell and back and his storm-tossed journey, which is also a journey of music of the past 50 years, still rings with pathos and relevance.

Mar 30, 2018

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Craig Mathieson

The Sunday Age

Has all the usual signifiers of a baby boomer icon, but there's a remoteness at work that is both cold and diminishing. "It took all the pain away," Clapton says of discovering the blues as a child in 1950s England, and negation would become a pattern.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 20, 2018

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Liam D

An very well made and entertaining documentary but it's not full of substance

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

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Robin B

I thought it was great!! It brought me to tears several times. Clapton allowed us in his personal struggles. That took bravery! The music was the end result of what he experienced in life! When your honest with the world it shows how vulnerable you can be and that is especially difficult when you're a celebrity!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

isla s

I very much enjoyed the music side of this documentary - the catchy guitar riffs/solos and so on. It provides a good insight into his musical career, although there were perhaps aspects of his earlier life that we didn't get to learn too much about. Its always nice to hear contributions from other, famous musicians or celebrities in general about such a revered person, although it does bother me a bit when such 'sound bites' are played over the end of a live performance shown of a musical number (keep the 2 separate please!). I thought the library/archive footage was interesting and its certainly an insightful watch - one I'd recommend for fans of blues/jazz from the 1950s onwards and of course, suffice to say, the musician himself.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not sure about some of these reviews. This is a fine doc, imo. The early coverage of his screwed up family issues along with the loving grandparents was pretty interesting. The stretch about he and Patti Boyd being all googly-eyed over one another and how he couldn't live without her while she was his 'best friend's' wife goes on too long until it becomes melodrama. Boy, ol' slowhand did some SERIOUS drug intake! Should've put down the bottle a decade sooner. It's more than a little pathetic how he amazingly got over Boyd being his great romantic love, his destiny. I wasn't much interested in the last section, say 20-some min. or so. The best bits are all about the music, with some great video I hadn't seen before to my recollection. 3.4 stars

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

Very informative, and pulls no punches

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Great warts and all documentary of a uniqueness talent

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/09/18

Full Review

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Lili Fini Zanuck

Director

Eric Clapton

Self

Duane Allman

Self

Ginger Baker

Self

Chuck Berry

Self

Pattie Boyd

Self

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Synopsis

Eric Clapton is the only ever three-time-inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is an 18-time Grammy Award winner and widely renowned as one of the greatest performers of all time. But behind the scenes is restlessness and tragedy. Clapton's quest to grow his artistic voice left fans surprised as he constantly quit successful bands. His isolated pursuit of his craft, and fear of selling out, served as a catalyst for his evolution as an artist.

Director: Lili Fini Zanuck
Screenwriter: Stephen "Scooter" Weintraub, Larry Yelen
Distributor: Showtime Documentary Films
Production Co: Abramorama, Passion Pictures
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 24, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 11, 2018
Runtime: 2h 15m

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