Blaze (film)

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Movie
Original title Blaze
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2018
length 127 minutes
Rod
Director Ethan Hawke
script Ethan Hawke,
Sybil Rosen
production Ethan Hawke,
Ryan Hawke ,
Jake Seal ,
John Sloss
camera Steve Cosens
cut Jason Gourson
occupation

Blaze is an American drama film directed by Ethan Hawke , which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018 . In the biography , Ben Dickey plays the musician Blaze Foley .

background

The film is an adaptation of the biography Living in the Woods in a Tree by Sybil Rosen about the American singer and songwriter Michael David Fuller, who became known under his stage name Blaze Foley . Rosen is Foley's ex-wife and was his muse. Self-destructive Foley began his career in Texas as a member of a gospel band, but later made a name for himself as a singer-songwriter of country music. During his eventful career, he lived at times in a tree house and drank a lot. In 1989 he was finally shot dead by his friend Concho January's son under mysterious circumstances. Foley was only 39 years old.

production

Directed by Ethan Hawke , who together with Rosen adapted their book for the novel. Hawke had read the biography of Sybil Rosen and explained his fascination with his music: “His songs are so simple. Cold Cold World feels like it's been there forever. It's so perfect that it must have existed. He couldn't just be born. ”The film's framework is a radio show in which two of Blaze's musical companions remember the musical genius and his ruined life.

The main role of Blaze Foley was cast with the young actor Ben Dickey . Kris Kristofferson plays his father, Alia Shawkat his partner Sybil Rosen. Foley's friend, the musician Townes Van Zandt , is played by Charlie Sexton .

Filming took place in Louisiana and Mississippi in early 2017 .

To accompany the film, Attic Records released a soundtrack on September 21, 2018 as a download, on CD and vinyl. The album features new recordings of Blaze Foley's songs and also the original Lucinda Williams song Drunken Angel in a version by Alynda Segarra. The piece Blaze & Sybil's Lullaby in a version by Ben Dickey and Alia Shawkat is also included on the soundtrack. The album comprises a total of 23 songs.

The film premiered on January 21, 2018 as part of the Sundance Film Festival . In March 2018 he was presented at the South by Southwest Film Festival. In May 2018 there was a screening at the Montclair Film Festival, where the film First Reformed was shown, in which Hawke can be seen in the lead role. It was released in selected US cinemas on August 17, 2018. In August 2018 the film was also shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Also in August 2018 there was a performance at the Locarno Festival , where Hawke received the Excellence Award. In October and November 2018 it was shown at the Viennale . At the end of June and beginning of July 2019 he was presented at the Munich Film Festival in the CineMasters competition.

reception

Reviews

The film has so far won over 95 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and received an average rating of 7.9 out of a possible 10 points. In addition, the film came second in the 20th Annual Golden Tomato Awards in the category Best-Reviewed Musicals / Music Movies 2018 .

Jordan Ruimy of The Playlist says that if Blaze Foley wanted his legend to live on, not just some popularity, Ethan Hawke would have helped him in that regard, because he made a film that writhes and fights across the finish line, just as Foley would have liked.

Magdalena Miedl writes on the ORF website that Blaze is not only a loving musical portrait but also the story of a great love between two artists and how this love breaks apart.

Awards

Munich Film Festival 2019

  • Nomination for the ARRI / OSRAM Award in the CineMasters competition

Locarno Festival 2018

  • Nomination in the Piazza Grande section ( Ethan Hawke )

Louisiana International Film Festival 2018

  • Award in the Best Narrative Feature category (Ethan Hawke)

Sundance Film Festival 2018

  • Nomination for the Grand Jury Prize in the US Dramatic Competition (Ethan Hawke)
  • Received the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting ( Ben Dickey )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a15860595/ethan-hawke-interview-blaze/
  2. https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/filmfestival-locarno/ethan-hawke-in-locarno-wer-benzin-auf-sich-schuettet-erhaelt-eine-grausame-weisheit
  3. https://www.moviepilot.de/movies/blaze
  4. https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/ethan-hawke-suche-nach-jenem-einen-augenblick-ld.1409701
  5. https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/filmfestival-locarno/ethan-hawke-in-locarno-wer-benzin-auf-sich-schuettet-erhaelt-eine-grausame-weisheit
  6. https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/filmfestival-locarno/ethan-hawke-in-locarno-wer-benzin-auf-sich-schuettet-erhaelt-eine-grausame-weisheit
  7. https://orf.at/viennale18/stories/3091221/
  8. http://deadline.com/2017/01/ethan-hawke-blaze-foley-ben-dickey-country-music-legend-1201888750/
  9. https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/filmfestival-locarno/ethan-hawke-in-locarno-wer-benzin-auf-sich-schuettet-erhaelt-eine-grausame-weisheit
  10. Richard Linklater, Kris Kristofferson Joining Ethan Hawke's Music Biopic 'Blaze' In: The Hollywood Reporter, March 22, 2017.
  11. Soundtrack Album for Ethan Hawke's 'Blaze' Announced. In: filmmusicreporter.com, July 25, 2018.
  12. 2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced In: sundance.org, November 29, 2017.
  13. Program of the Sundance Film Festival 2018 In: sundance.org. Retrieved January 13, 2018 (PDF; 258 KB)
  14. Blaze. In: miff.com.au. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  15. Ethan Hawke to receive the 2018 Excellence Award. In: locarnofestival.ch. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  16. Blaze. In: viennale.at. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  17. Blaze. In: filmfest-muenchen.de. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  18. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blaze_2018
  19. https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-musicals-music-movies-2018/
  20. Jordan Ruimy: 'Blaze': Ethan Hawke Delivers A Raucous, Unconventional Musical Biopic In: The Playlist, January 29, 2018.
  21. https://orf.at/viennale18/stories/3091221/
  22. Kate Erbland: 2018 Sundance Film Festival Awards Winners: 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post' and 'Kailash' Win Grand Jury Prizes In: indiewire.com, January 27, 2018.