Cult Film Corner #2: Cowboy Jack Clement's Home Movies
I bought this hugely enjoyable DVD, appropriately enough, in Nashville. Jack Clement is a Music City legend. Not only has he worked with the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis but his Nashville home is essentially a club house for country music outsiders. Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Del McCoury have all recorded there. He is also obsessed with filmmaking. His only venture into feature films was a dodgy looking 1975 exploitation flick called Dear Dead Delila but he’s also recorded thousands of hours of home movie footage.
The brilliant and inventive Shakespeare Was A Big George Jones mixes excerpts from Clement’s home-made archive with off-beat interviews (including Jack chatting with an animated Bard). Hilarious Super 8 highlights include a stoned Johnny Cash (see video above) and Bono’s first ever welcome appearance in a documentary – drunk and doing an amusing Don Corleone impression.
Obviously the film will appeal most to those not averse to the sound of a steel guitar but it’s also a brilliant portrait of an American original. What comes across most though is what a generous soul Jack Clement is. Everybody loves this man. Watching this film makes it easy to know why.
Buy at Amazon
Shakespeare Was A Big George Fan DVD
Related Posts
Cult Film Corner #1: True Believer
Time Out's 50 Greatest Music Films
1 comments:
as one of those not averse to the sound of a steel guitar i did find this to be a top treat. never having heard of mr clement (and as pretty much a neophyte when it comes to mainstream c&w) it was educational, funny and surprisingly surreal. thanks for the introduction!
Post a Comment