MovieChat Forums > Cadillac Records (2008) Discussion > I just watched it again on dvd

I just watched it again on dvd

posted 16 years ago by bpmct
11 replies | jump to latest

This era is one of my main interest, the blues/r&b era so i was excited to see it in the theaters, and recently bought it on DVD. while i liked it when i first saw upon second viewing i realized how poorley it was done. It sarts of amazing, on par with Ray or Walk The Line, but as soon as Etta James shows up the historical time line goes to crap, and the film becomes fictional fluff. I mean they mention The Beach Boys & The Stones, and then like 10 minutes later they mention Elvis going in the army. Um, Elvis was inducted in 1958, The Beach Boys started in the early '60s and hell the Stones didn't come to America till about 63/64 while Elvis was back and making those beach movies. I felt like the writer got her info of wikepedia andwrote the script in a rush without bothering to do any real research. I hope that the other film thats coming soon about the same story "Who Do You Love" will be better, at least it will have Bo in it..

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] oxblood 16 years ago

Martin did jump around alot. Might have been editing or maybe she didn't have enough time to fix it and it worked better that way. The general audience doesn't really care. Martin had a limited budget and did the best she could without the benefit of re-shoots. She had to lose alot of footage to come in under budget and that might have been the cause of some of the chaotic chronology as well as poor research.

It's always been part of Little Walter's legend that he killed someone. But the reason has always been disputed but shooting an imposter was supposedly one of the legends.

[–] CaptainClawdy 16 years ago

The most retarded thing about the film was when *spoilers* Chess had a heart attack at the end, and Willie Dixon said something like Chess records wouldn't let him leave. Even though i didn't know the circumstances of his death, i just knew that he didn't on the way out from leaving chess. I mean what the hell. If you are going to change history in a film, at least make it look like it didn't come out of a fictional book.

We can't stop here, this is bat country!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Kristi_Luv 16 years ago

My question is why did little Walter look like he had aged way past everybody elese when he was suppose to be much younger than the rest?! Len Chess didn't look like he had age at all on the time of his death! Are we to assume he died a very young age?!

"We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." B.Obama 1/20/09 ~

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] PVarjak 16 years ago

I think the point is that he lived really hard. Also, (although it didn't seem like this to me) they emphasized in the movie that Little Walter was like a kid in the beginning. So one would expect him to change more physically.

[–] CaptainClawdy 16 years ago

'Actually, the director said that really is how he died. Not right after Etta James sung, though '

But if he didn't die after driving away from Chess after Etta sung, like the movie, then its not how he really died. Fair enough, he had a heart attack, perhaps in his car, but not in that circumstance. Not that it matters. Film was OK, just a bit rushed.

We can't stop here, this is bat country!

[–] labrynth 16 years ago

Actually, Chess died as he was about to turn the corner from Chess Records. So yes, this one aspect of the film was entirely accurate.

As far my take on the film, after watching it on DVD, well-I HATE IT. As I said before, so say I now and again, and that is-Beyonce hogged up too much time in her performances, which lasted about a full 10 minutes. In a movie that is an hour and forty minutes long, 8-10 minutes can be an eternity.

Simply put, Beyonce sucked up too much time in the film, to where the rest of the time could've gone towards displaying Bo Diddley, who was way more instrumental in the Chess mystique than Etta James. Don't get me wrong, it was nice that Etta was spotlighted, but not as much as she was, especially with those long drawn out performances of hers.

Again, that time could've been spent wisely dealing with Bo, or some of the other established characters like Little Walter, or Howling Wolf.

With that said, after watching this on DVD, I feel that Mos Def did a terrible job in his musical portrayal of Chuck Berry. I can tell he didn't once bother to practice on the guitar, for this role, which is evident in how his fingers were positioned on the fretboard. Secondly, he didn't bother to get the duck walk down, or Berry's singing voice.

It appears as if he thought those things were secondary, whereas mimicking his speech in conversation, as well as his mannerisms, were more essential.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] ml-125 16 years ago

A low budget is no excuse for poor research and bad writing. There have been some low budget films that were really well done. This woman should have had a TIGHT script long before shooting started. As for the lousy acting...