DVD Review: Walk the Line

Writer: Gill Dennis
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick,
Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 25, 2008

20th Century Fox must know a money maker when they see it because this is the third release of the movie about the man in black. I did not catch this movie prior to the Oscar ceremony. I should have known that it would be good with the cast and the buzz surrounding the film. Of course, buzz can be wrong and since I was not a huge Cash fan (I was a little young to feel him the way older folks might) I had no reason to jump right out and go see it. However, when I did, I promptly kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. I fell in love with this movie and have seen it several times since that day.

This Walk the Line: Extended Cut has added more playing time to the film, though the moments are not so much that if you have the film already (or the other two, I should say) you aren’t going to need to rush right out and buy this one. The supplemental additions are interesting, but not mandatory. Likewise, there are some pretty decent special features here, but many of these have been on the other releases, so there is not any need to assume that you need to rush out and purchase this one unless you really desire the material that is new on this cut. Of course, if you’re buying this for the first time, this is definitely the way to go and it comes highly recommended, for reasons you already know if you’ve seen it, and will understand later in this review, if you haven’t.

Release Information:
It is hard to dispute the validity of a movie that has won Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and even Grammy Awards. Walk the Line has received excellent reception from nearly all critics. In fact, the ones that have something to say are usually commenting on the fact that the film is not altogether accurate. While there are some inaccuracies according to Cash’s biography, they are few and far between and do not affect the movie as a whole or change the course of Cash’s life in any way. The basic elements of his life and story remain intact and are elegantly portrayed throughout the movie.

A fan favorite amongst a number of Cash and Carter fans, this film also garnered much interest in people that do not like country music and who may not be familiar with the Man in Black and his fiery companion. The proof to the fans love is in the pudding and within a year this film had earned over $186 million. Furthermore, during the first release on DVD as many as three million copies were sold on the first day alone. This third DVD incarnation was released by 20th Century Fox on March 25, 2008. You can pick this up at all major retailers including Amazon, where it is available for $20.

The Walk the Line Plot
The essential plot line for this biopic has to do with the rise and fall and eventually piecing together and re-rise of Johnny Cash, as portrayed by the enigmatic Joaquin Phoenix (Hotel Rwanda). Phoenix, as was Cash in real life, is complimented by the interesting and strong willed June Carter, played by the beautiful and talented Reese Witherspoon (Fear). At the heart of this movie there is a beautiful love story that is so powerful that when one lover dies, the other soon follows. However, as a love story alone this would have been limited. When you add in stellar performances depicting music, fame, fury, anger, drug addiction, possible abuse, and more you have a hit that won’t soon leave your mind after you see it.

The movie opens to Cash (Phoenix) about to perform at Folsom Prison. The album he would make would become one of the greatest selling live albums ever and it was in a prison to boot. As Cash prepares to go on stage he is standing in the prison workshop, eyes focused on a table saw as it shakes from the sound of the nearby music playing the instrumentals for the song Johnny will soon be singing.

This scene was done to further the story and did not really occur, as when Cash waited to go on, he was actually in the prison kitchen not the workshop. However, as the movie soon shows us, Johnny’s brother Jack (Lucas Till) was killed by a table saw accident as a child, making it the perfect lead-in for a flashback.

The flashbacks take us to the childhood of Cash (Ridge Canipe – The Santa Clause 3) where he lived with his parents and siblings. The family, living in a rural Arkansas area, were cotton sharecroppers and were anything but wealthy. Due to the fact that the family was always in need of money, the oldest boy, Jack, would often split wood and do other jobs to help out. One day, this would bring an end to Jack’s life. The loss was hard on everyone, especially Johnny who is berated by his alcoholic father (Robert Patrick – Bridge to Terabithia) who often asks why the good son was taken and the other was left behind. As you might expect, Johnny is scarred by this and spends much of his young life feeling like he should have done something to prevent Jack’s death.

During this time, Johnny garnered a love for music thanks to his momma (Shelby Lynne) and her gospels and this love for music is something that would stay with him, eventually making him famous. The movie gets into full swing once the adult John Cash (Phoenix) head out to join the Air Force. Stationed in Germany, he works as a decoder of Morse code. He spends quite a bit of time speaking to his future wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin – Big Love) during this time, despite having only dated her for a few weeks prior to his leaving. We also see him starting to compose his own music and picking at a guitar in his spare time.

When he gets out of the force his real career begins. After an unsuccessful attempt for Cash to try being a door-to-door salesman, in 1954, he ends up getting his band together, consisting of Luther Perkins (Dan John Miller – Leatherheads) and Marshall Grant (Larry Bagby) and auditioning for Sun Records head, Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts – The L Word). It would be this audition that would lead to a record contract and the eventual stardom of the late, great Johnny Cash.

Things start out good with Johnny going on tour with legends like Elvis (Tyler Hilton – One Tree Hill), Roy Orbison (Johnathan Rice), Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne), Carl Perkins (Johnny Holiday), and naturally June Carter. The obsession that Johnny seems to have with June is noticed nearly immediately. In some ways, it seems (at this point) that June would be better suited for Johnny than Vivian, as she understands show business and all that it entails. On the other hand, Vivian wishes to let all that go when Johnny finally comes home. As the story goes, there comes a point when Vivian cannot stand the drug abuse, the absence of her husband, and his obsession with another woman. So, she finally takes their girls and leaves him.

Throughout the film we watch Johnny lose control and succumb to an addiction to pills. June becomes his saving grace in many ways, as the only time he truly seems at ease is when he is with her and when they are on stage together. As the movie progresses, the Folsom concert goes on and the lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter come together like a somewhat twisted, but certainly loving fairy tale.

Considering the biopic angle of the film, the interesting storyline was already in place. The goal of the director was to bring the actors together and bring out the best in them. The dialogue is not where the strength in this movie comes from. In many ways, it is not even the music, though that is a powerful portion of this film. The true power comes from the non-spoken, emotional path that is taken with the close-ups of Witherspoon, Goodwin, and Phoenix throughout various scenes in the film. This gives the viewer a chance to see the pain and other emotions that are so prominently displayed as the actors seem to channel the real life personas they are playing.

The director, James Mangold, who has previously been responsible for such films as Copland and Girl, Interrupted, hits the mark dead on with Walk the Line. He manages to bring out a purity and childhood innocence in a confused man and a connection in two actors that set the screen on fire. While I didn’t really recognize his name or follow his career before, this has convinced me to be on the lookout for him. The same could really be said about Phoenix and Witherspoon, as well.

The singing is done beautifully and the acting is a credit to two of the most promising, younger Hollywood actors out there. So many actors would have wanted to play Cash as he is most remembered. However, this film is not about the legendary, larger than life, Cash that he ended up being. Instead, it is about a younger, puppy love obsessed, screwed up Cash that he had to evolve from into the greatness that he was. Phoenix gives us this man hook, line, and sinker. He is absolutely perfect. Meanwhile, Witherspoon is funny, beautifully, enigmatic, and screwed up in her own way. She seems enamored with Cash early on and yet afraid of what he is capable of. These emotions are clearly portrayed in Witherspoon’s every action. It would be hard for you to find another biopic movie that is nearly as good as Walk the Line.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Walk the Line looks absolutely fabulous. The transfer is stunning. I did not notice any visual errors in this 2.35:1 transfer. The colors are balanced with perfection and I could not find one single problem with the video quality that was offered here. Whether or not it has been enhanced in any way since the previous releases, I do not know, as I have not seen the previous two DVDs.

The audio is available in your choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS, 5.1 Surround, and even a passable Dolby 2.0 track. Each of these sound excellent, but obviously the 5.1 DTS blows the others out of the water. In addition to all of the English tracks the DVD includes French and Spanish 3.0 Surround tracks. Subtitles and closed captioning round out the audio offerings with the subtitles working in both English and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Before I get to the point where I list the special features, I want to talk about the extended scenes that were added. I have not viewed this on the previously released DVDs though I have viewed it on television. The original movie comes in at 135 minutes and the extended cut adds close to 20 minutes of footage. This previously deleted footage is not necessary for the film to do what it has always done best, but fans of the movie will find these scenes interesting. They do not hurt the movie and it never feels too long. If the director were going for a time save, it made it obvious that these scenes got cut, because many of them just reitterate what we already know. I found the presence of these scenes welcome, but if you already own this disc in a previous format, I do not feel it’s necessary to double dip.

The added scenes include “Jack’s Funeral”, “Cry, Cry, Cry”, “Broken Record”, “Ezra & Maybelle Carter”, “I Still Miss Someone”, “On the Phone”, and “The Sermon”. In addition to these previously deleted scenes, there are a few scenes that didn’t make it back into the film and are put in a deleted scenes section of the special features.

Static features from previous releases include the director’s commentary, the theatrical trailer, “Celebrating the Man in Black: The Making of Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire: The Passion of Johnny & June”. Of the two, I really enjoyed “Ring of Fire” the best, as it provided many thoughts and interviews with everything from Kris Kristofferson to the actors as well as June and Johnny’s son.

The Johnny Cash Jukebox: Walk the Line Extended Musical Sequences features some new introductions and eight extended performances of the stage performances that you saw in the movie. The songs include (in no particular order), “Get Rhythm”, “Rock and Roll Ruby”, and “Cocaine Blues” by Phoenix as Johnny Cash, “Jukebox Blues” by Witherspoon as June Carter, and “Jackson” by Witherspoon and Phoenix as Carter and Cash. Other songs include “Lewis Boogie” (Waylong Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis), “You’re My Baby” (Johnathan Rice as Roy Orbison), and “That’s Alright Mama” (Tyler Hilton as Elvis).

Finally, this extended cut includes five brand new featurettes. The featurettes include “Becoming Cash/Becoming Carter”, “Sun Records & the Johnny Cash Sound”, “The Cash Legacy”, “Folsom: Cash and the Comeback”, and finally, “Cash and Faith”. All of these are worth watching without a doubt, though if I had to pick favorites I would highly recommend “Becoming Cash/Becoming Carter”, “Sun Records & the Johnny Cash Sound”, and “Folsom: Cash and the Comeback”.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Walk the Line: The Extended Cut is currently one of the best DVD offerings of the year. It is a breathtaking movie that is filled with special features. It doesn’t get better than it does here. That being said, if you own this movie already you will likely be just fine with the release you have. This extended cut is dedicated to those who either do not have the movie or are such huge fans that the extra special features will be absolutely necessary to complete their collection. Any way you slice it, this one is as highly recommended as they come.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Special Edition, Walk the Line, Reese Witherspoon, June Carter, Johnny Cash, Joaquin Phoenix

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.