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Can't You Hear the Wind Howl

Can't You Hear the Wind Howl
Directed by Peter Meyer

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This ambitious mixture of dramatic reconstruction with traditional documentary affords excellent insight into legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's life, the enduring power of his music, and the myth which surrounds him. Can't You Hear The Wind Howl transcends its genre of "docudrama," providing the well-researched information we'd expect from a conventional documentary with the dramatic impact we could hope for from a Hollywood film.

Contemporary bluesman Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore) plays Johnson, and Danny Glover narrates, but the real star is Robert Johnson's music. The film's strength is its power of suggestion; we never see the Johnson character up close, never hear him talk. As if in a dream, he flits in and out of scenes, whether courting his girlfriend or stirring a juke joint to mayhem. But you'd be hard put picking him out of a police lineup. We never see him such that we can know him, which is an accurate representation of the elusive musician, according to the interview footage with Johnson's proteges and peers--among them Johnny Shines, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Honeyboy Edwards. Keb' Mo', who has included Robert Johnson songs on each of his three CDs, says that portraying Johnson had a lasting effect. "It's an internal thing," says Mo'. "In playing him, you pull in some of the spirit. The spirit of a juke joint, the spirit of the south at that time." This film falls nicely between an homage and an explanation. --Sam Sutherland



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Can't You Hear The Wind Howl?
This was not just a film about the life of Robert Johnson, but a look at the time and place that he lived in and what influenced him as a musician and a man. I felt a better understanding of Robert Johnson, not just the liner notes I've read in the past about the meaning of the songs, or style of guitar he played. This film put me in the Delta when RJ was growing up and in Texas when he was recording the records.

Keb Mo' was beautifully understated in the reenactments. In fact since he's lip syncing, and the lighting was so dramatic and mysterious, at moments I thought I was seeing the lost footage of Robert Johnson.

The interviews were enlightening and personal. Johnny Shines had me in tears one moment and laughing the next. What a pleasure for the world to find out the relationship Johnnny and Robert had. Any fan of the Blues or Rock N' Roll should see this film.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Pretty good but....
I feel this is a fine film. Although there are no real new insights to the music or the myth the story is told in a nice cinematic way. I prefer The Search for Robert Johnson with John Hammond Jr. but this is still a fine addition to any music collection. I have the DVD and highly recommend it.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - I want my money back
If you are familiar with Robert Johnson's bio then you may not find this very insightful. I am a big fan of both he and Keb' Mo. I bought the video and found nothing in it about RJ that was not included in his box set and I saw very little of Keb' Mo. The limited time Keb was in shown playing was amazing but I wouldn't buy it again. I will sell you my copy if you really think you want it.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Don't buy if you know the basics of Johnson's bio
I was hoping to gain a better insight into RJ's life, but was dissappointed to find that the insert in the musical boxset I purchased was the same info. I also am a big fan of Keb' Mo and hoped to see a lot more of him so don't buy the video for that reason. I'll sell you my copy if you want it.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Every true Robert Johnson fan should own this film!
This film is worth it's weight in platinum just for the rare photo's of Johnson and the people in his life. The majority of the photos are the same one's you see in the liner note booklet of the "Complete recordings" box set. There is also a rare performance by legendary bluesman: Son House!The major thing that sets this documentary apart from the documentary:"The Search For Robert Johnson" is that "Wind" had a much larger budget, which obviously is why you hear many of Johnson'sactuals recordings, and see many of the photos and actual props from Johnson's era in this film. "Wind" also has interviews from a few people who knew Johnson who didn't appear in "The Search" and a few very significant facts that I didn't know. I think it's safe to say that whatever is not covered in "Wind" is covered in "The Search". Also, "The Search" is more personal than "Wind" in that it adheres more towards a traditional documentary style while "Wind" leans a little more towards the docu-drama style. I think this will probably be the last documentary we will ever seeon this subject because mostly all the info has been covered between these two documentaries and many of the people who knew Johnson may not be around for another interview. There are only two things I didn't like about "Wind". 1) I didn't particularly care for the stand up segments by Danny Glover as the Narrator, I thought the film could have stood on it's own without these. 2) I was very disappointed in the quality of the footage that was shot on film on the segments outside. All these segments were very grainy. I own the DVD and don't know if something happened in the transfer, or if the error was made by someone else. It is a sad testament to Johnson'slife because all those segments were key figures who will probably never be captured on film again to tell their story about Robert Johnson!



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The magic, spirit, mystery and talent of R. Johnson
Having been a part of this project, what I experienced was a trip back in time to see what this elusive character and musician did to influence soo many of our musician of today and in every example I can honestly say that without Robert Johnson there would never have been an Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger or BB King etc. His talent went beyond just the blues but a lifestyle few of us can even recognize, life on the Delta, where singing the blues meant everything to those people, spoke of poverty and racism. Johnson made that pact with devil, they say, I believe that when you're that talented it might seem like you're a man possessed. It will always stay with me.




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