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Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
(click on broll or dschwartz for all his posts)
In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey
Haunting and heart-breaking, “In Search of Blind Joe Death” is a biography of legendary musician/composer John Fahey. In less than one hour producer/director John Cullingham tells Fahey’s life story of music, triumph, and tragedy—relying on the man himself to tell most of his story.
Cullingham’s film is a standard-bearing cinematic biography. This is one of those documentaries that made me feel, ‘Where have I been?!’ I’d heard Fahey’s name just a few times in the far background of my life. I knew he was a musician, and that was it.
Seeing Fahey’s biography, hearing his music, it became clear his life and work deserve much more attention than they have received. Cullingham’s film is a kind of seed planted in the viewer’s life. All who see this film will, sooner or later, find themselves seeking Fahey’s work.
The film’s relatively short running time is balanced by its special features. The additional interviews, in my view, are a part of the film. D. Schwartz Nov 12, 2013