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Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars 2017 2h 15m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
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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Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

Critics Reviews

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Paul Byrnes Sydney Morning Herald 02/14/2018
3.5/5
Photographs carry the story here, along with voices, rather than filmed interviews. Actually, it works. Go to Full Review
Mikael Wood Los Angeles Times 02/14/2018
Clapton simply hasn't anything profound or insightful to say about these episodes that you don't already get from his music. Go to Full Review
Godfrey Cheshire RogerEbert.com 02/09/2018
3/4
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. Go to Full Review
Benjamin H. Smith Decider 04/04/2018
... Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars is a laborious viewing experiance, its glacial pace heightened by the film's over-reliance on still photography. Go to Full Review
Kong Rithdee Bangkok Post 03/30/2018
[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. Go to Full Review
Craig Mathieson The Sunday Age 02/20/2018
3/5
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 04/01/2024 An very well made and entertaining documentary but it's not full of substance See more isla s 09/03/2022 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. See more @Lakeman 11/05/2021 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 See more 12/06/2018 Very informative, and pulls no punches See more 07/09/2018 Great warts and all documentary of a uniqueness talent See more 04/30/2018 I LOVE ERIC This was pretty good if you've read his autobiography, then there isn't much here you don't already know. But, if you've read the book, then you're the type to need to see this. Personally, I felt that they spent equal time on his music and problems with addiction, which, like so many films about artists, who are human, they tend to dig deep into the tragedy, which is fine, but when the takeaway is the struggle, (instead of the work, which, in turn, eclipses the man, the artist) it leaves you still wondering more about the artist. Or not. See for yourself. See more Read all reviews
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

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Movie Info

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
Producer
John Battsek, Stephen "Scooter" Weintraub, Larry Yelen
Screenwriter
Stephen "Scooter" Weintraub, Larry Yelen
Distributor
Showtime Documentary Films
Production Co
Passion Pictures, Abramorama
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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