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Fox Warner Home Entertainment
Region 4 | PAL | M
Available to buy
Release Date: 7 June 2006
Extras: Yes
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
Joaquin Phoenix stars (and
sings) as Johnny Cash and Golden Globe nominee Reese Witherspoon stars
(and sings) as June Carter
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WHAT’S
IT ABOUT THEN?
This
story of the intense
relationship between country
legend Johnny Cash and fellow
country singer June Carter is
the stuff of legend and plays
like one of those great old
biopics musicals of the forties
such as The Jolson Story or
Night and Day. Joaquin Phoenix
is brilliant as Cash, who died a
couple of years ago of course,
and both he and Witherspoon come
up with the goods on the singing
front too.
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The
story starts with Cash about to
perform at Folsom Prison in 1968
before going back to his growing
up as a boy whose alcoholic
farmer father blames for the
death of Cash's older brother,
learning the guitar in the army
Cash is set on a career in music
despite now being married with a
young baby in tow and trying to
hold down a normal job in the
process, more by luck than
anything else he manages to
score an audition with Sam
Phillips from the legendary Sun
Studios who has already taken
Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry
Lee Lewis under his belt.
Phillips is unimpressed with
Cash's brand of Gospel Country
until Cash plays him one of his
own songs and he realises he has
something special.
It's
on Cash's first tour (with the
aforementioned Presley, Perkins
and Lewis triumvirate) that he
meets June Carter for the first
time, both are attracted to each
other but do nothing about it
because both are involved with
other people but as Johnny's
marriage breaks down he does his
best to win June supplying her
with regular work as part of his
touring group just to be close
to her. As the years go by and
June still won't relent Cash
sinks further into a mire of
drugs and booze, his life become
hollower as the years pass. One
of the key scenes in the middle
section of the movie sees Cash
putting up photos of June in his
den as his wife looks on, a
moment that leads to a fight in
front of their kids and the end
of their marriage. Obviously as
any Cash fan worth their salt
knows Johnny finally wears June
down and the movie ends with the
two of them pretty much living
happy ever after.
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Both
Phoenix and Witherspoon are
fantastic in the lead roles
(Witherspoon has never been
better than here in fact) and
although much was made of the
fact pre-release that both sing
their own songs rather than mime
they are so good that you just
take it for granted that it's
Johnny and June singing, Joaquin
has Cash's machine gun stance
and delivery down pat and
Witherspoon positively bursts
with energy as June. Credit
has to go to director James
Mangold too for allowing the
story to play out at length,
there maybe one or two too many
songs but Cash fans won't
complain of course, the movie is
also dressed fantastically too,
kudos to production designer
David Bomba.
Walk
The Line is a fantastic, moving,
foot-stomping, classic of a
movie. Don't miss it.
ANY
SPECIAL FEATURES?
Audio
commentary by Director James
Mangold, 10 Deleted scenes and
the theatrical trailer.
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