Journey into the heart of blues country--the hills of northern Mississippi and Tennessee--with filmmaker Robert Mugge and music scholar Robert Palmer, as they visit porches, parlors and honky tonks to talk and listen to veteran blues artists. Roosevelt "Bubba" Barnes, R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough and Bud Spires are among the performers. 157 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; outtakes; bonus audio tracks; interview; song access.

Average Customer Review: ( 28 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

In this eponymous documentary, Palmer assumes the role of the proverbial veteran "tour guide," casually offering us expert commentary, laced with entertaining anecdotes and served up with dry Southern wit. While we do hear and see a great deal of Palmer, the film never loses its main focus-- the blues and the musicians who keep this important element of American musical heritage alive and kicking. Each of the featured artists performs one or two songs in their entirety-- in sharp contrast to so many other music documentaries, which par down their musical selections to excerpted sound bites to make room for talk, talk and more talk.

Here we find everything from down-home guitars and mouth harps being played on farm house porches to full bands--influnced by the modern Chicago-style, yet still distinctly "Pure Delta"--playing in dark, smoke-filled juke joints. True to the blues tradition, the music is hot and sweaty. You can't watch this film and sit still--you gotta shake something. Highlights: cane fife player Napoleon Strickland (you can hear more of this wonderful pre-blues tradition on TRAVELING THROUGH THE JUNGLE: NEGRO FIFE AND DRUM MUSIC FROM THE DEEP SOUTH, an album on the TESTAMENT label, and several ARHOOLIE compilations); the totally stylin' Jessie Mae Hemphill (granddaughter of Blind Sid Hemphill, the pre-blues style fiddler/quills [panpipes] player documented in the Lomax field recordings); harp player Bud Spires telling a folktale about the devil, accompanied by Jack Owen's soulful guitar picking in the cranky, individualistic Bentonia style, popularized by the early bluesman, Skip James; and Lonnie Pitchford's intense singing as he accompanies himself on the diddley bow (a raised metal string nailed to the side of a house, which you pluck with a plectrum and note with a slide).

25 of 27 found the following review helpful:

Essential and indispensable, not to mention entertaining.Jul 26, 2000

The film covers some of the same territory as Alan Lomax's excellent "The Land Where the Blues Began," apparently a few years down the line. It offers so much--the leisurely, respectful cinematography of Robert Mugge; the enthusiastic, informed, perceptive commentary of the late, lamented Robert Palmer; the riveting performances of Jessie Mae Hemphill, Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes, Junior Kimbrough, and others. The sequence featuring Big Jack "The Oilman" Johnson, particularly on "Catfish Blues," is worth the price of the ticket in itself. It's one of the best juke joint performances ever captured on film. This film is essential, indispensable, and downright captivating.

18 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Deep Blues - A Blues PilrimageApr 27, 2000
By William A. Houston "blues guitarist"
This is a great documentary on blues music. The DVD version is packed with alot of extras, from the usual outtakes that most DVDs offer, a interview with producer Dave Steward (of EURYTHMICS) to bonus audio tracks. I have DEEP BLUES on VHS but the tranfer to DVD is great, this what a DVD version of any subject should be like. I had the chance to meet and see the late Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes play, one of the artist featured, and seeing his performance took me back to that day. If you love the blues, you'll love this movie.

14 of 17 found the following review helpful:

can the impact of "deep blues" be measured?Jun 25, 2003
By dreschrode
Bankrolled by rockstar superstar Dave Stuart and presented by Robert Palmer, author of the superb book of the same name, this film was a very timely voyage into the blues of missisipi. Timely because a number of the cast have died since this film was shot, including the presenter.

Traditional old blues haunts such as Memphis, Clarksdale and Greenville are visited, and fine artists relatively unknown at the time were recorded such as Big Jack Johnson, Booba Barnes and Lonnie Pitchford. Delta old timers Jack Owens, Bud Spires and Booker T. Laury also turn in fine, spirited performances. But for me the highlight is the attention given over to the more obscure "hill country" blues of north missisipi, featuring Jessie Mae Hemphill, R. L. Burnside and the late great Junior Kimbrough and his original juke joint in Holly Springs. Here the music extends from country blues to "drum and fife", a hypnotic musical form that predates blues all the way back to the revolutionary war, but which now faces extinction since the passing of Othar Turner (not featured here, but a close friend of Hemphill). The bonus items are very welcome, especially the extra performances by honkytonk genius Booker T. to the drunk audience comprised of Stuart and Palmer, and Lonnie Pitchford's demonstration of the diddly bow. Also included are extra audio tracks that were originally only available on the soundtrack album (now deleted).

This film helped to revive not just interest in country and acoustic blues in general, but the careers of all of the artists featured. This film is well shot, sounds great, and shares the passion and emotion of some great bluesmen and women. After this, try the "Feelin' Good" CD by Jessie Mae Hemphill. Not only is that a beautiful album, but Jessie's an invalid now who desperately needs the cash!

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

ElectrifyingMar 31, 2002
By David Bonesteel
The late journalist Robert Palmer and director Robert Mugge toured the South and successfully documented some incredible blues performers, most of whom had never been recorded before. They open a window into a world of juke joints, fish frys, and country folk for whom the blues remains a vital part of their lives. There is some truly amazing music; for me, the highlights were Booba Barnes and Junior Kimbrough. Between the songs, there are short segments that provide some background and an opportunity for the performers to speak for themselves. Eurythmic Dave Stewart's on-screen involvement is mercifully brief--the juxtaposition of carefully styled Euro-rocker with authentic, down-to-earth rural types is jarring to say the least. The contrast inadvertantly reminds us of a major aspect of the appeal of the blues--it's purity as opposed to the way so many other genres have been shaped by concerns over saleability and fashion.

See all 28 customer reviews on Amazon.com