BB King: the Life of Riley Riley Rules

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Published: June 19, 2013

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Published: June 28, 2013

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Published: June 6, 2013

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This week in documentaries: The Sheepdogs go from the swamp to the spotlight, plus B.B. King, bees and more By David Berry, Ben Kaplan

There's more than a few documentaries opening in major cities across Canada this week. Here are the ones we saw, and what we thought of them:

B.B. King: The Life of Riley There isn't likely to be another group of people on Earth who go through what midcentury American bluesmen did. As the last living legend of his cohort, B.B. King's story would be interesting if you just had Siri read its Wikipedia summary: born and raised literally not even dirt poor, in a virulently racist neck of Mississippi, he has bent his guitar strings with enough verve to meet the pope, to say nothing of sell out stadiums for the last 40 years. Weaving archival footage in with new interviews, and packed with characters from his past, The Life of Riley is as thorough and engaging as straightforward biographies get, laying out cleanly and (reasonably) succinctly how King ended up where he is today. The doc could definitely have traded some of the fawning over King's legacy for more time with the people who knew King way back when; that is, after all, the crucible on which his talent was formed - whatever Bono wants to think of When Love Comes to Town - and it's far more interesting, too. But it takes more than that to dampen a story this unique. ★★★; B.B. King: The Life of Riley opens June 21 at the Bloor cinema in Toronto. D.B.

Published: June 21, 2013

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BB King: The Life Of Riley Riley rules

By Norman Wilner

BB KING: THE LIFE OF RILEY (Jon Brewer). 123 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (June 21). For venues and times, see listings.

NOW RATING: NNNN

You’ll learn a lot about B.B. King but won’t hear too much music.

The only downside of BB King: The Life Of Riley is that there’s not nearly enough music in it.

Jon Brewer’s exhaustive profile of the legendary blues guitarist (born Riley B. King, which explains the movie’s title) takes the Ken Burns approach, painstakingly establishing its subject’s background and the social context in which King became famous, then proceeding to justify and investigate that fame with testimonials from such admirers as Rufus Thomas, Leon Russell, John Mayall and Morgan Freeman, who also narrates.

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True to its title, The Life Of Riley really does tell King’s entire life story, starting with the details of his birth (seriously) and tracing his long journey to beloved blues icon honoured by musicians and statesmen.

At two hours, it risks playing more like a cultural history than a biography. But if you’re a fan, all the backstory – much of it provided by BB himself in decades of interviews – just makes things more interesting.

Published: June 20-27, 2013

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BB King: The Life of Riley

Documentary 123 minutes Directed by Jon Brewer NOW Rating: N N N N

BB King: The Life of Riley really does tell King's entire life story, starting with his birth and tracing his long journey to beloved blues icon honoured by musicians and statesmen. At two hours, it risks playing more like a cultural history than a biography. But if you're a fan, all the backstory - much of it provided by BB himself in decades of interviews - just makes things more interesting. The only downside is that there's not nearly enough music in it; Brewer's exhaustive profile of the legendary guitarist (born Riley B. King, which explains the movie's title) takes the Ken Burns approach, painstakingly establishing its subject's background and the social context in which he became famous, then proceeding to justify and investigate that fame with testimonials from such admirers as Rufus Thomas, Leon Russell, John Mayall and Morgan Freeman, who also narrates. (Norm Wilner)

Published: June 23, 2013

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NXNE announces film lineup, new programs BB King, Doc Pomus and Mark Breslin are among the subjects of the first wave of titles announced for NXNE Film 2013

By Norman Wilner

BB King, Doc Pomus and Mark Breslin are among the subjects of the first wave of titles announced for NXNE Film 2013. But not together, because that would be weird.

The film component of the North By Northeast festival will host the North American premiere of BB King – The Life Of Riley, a documentary profile of the blues guitar legend featuring appearances by Eric Clapton, Bono, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and Bruce “Bruno” Willis.

This year’s festival will introduce two new film sub-programs, NXNE Art and NXNE Comedy. NXNE Art “will present movies and projections throughout the city,” according to the festival, while NXNE Comedy will screen features and shorts with a specific comedy theme.

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Among the NXNE Comedy titles announced today are Igal Hecht’s A Universal Language, which follows Yuk Yuk’s founder Mark Breslin and six comedians of varied ethnicity on a trip to Israel; Sean Patrick Shaul’s Alone Up There, which examines stand-up culture; Matt Frame’s No Joke, about failed Canadian comics who try to re-launch their careers with a U.S. tour, and the Laugh Sabbath Film Fest, a selection of comic shorts curated by the eponymous Toronto comedy troupe.

Music-oriented titles include the world premiere of Courtney James’s The Global Groove Network, an expansive look at the evolution of DJ culture over 40 years; Rob Pilichowski’s All Out War, which follows four b-boys as they pop, lock and battle to be King Of The Ring, and AKA Doc Pomus, William Hechte and Peter Miller’s salute to the legendary writer of iconic pop hits like “Young Blood,” “Little Sister” and “This Magic Moment.”

NXNE Film runs from June 13 to 16th at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and satellite locations throughout Toronto. More information can be found on their website.

Posted: May 1, 2013

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What’s better than a movie? A movie about music.

By Norman Wilner

The closing of the NFB Mediatheque, where many a NXNE movie has screened, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This year NXNE Film moves into the bigger, brighter (and boozier) Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

As in previous years, NXNE Film mixes premiere screenings with notable titles from the festival circuit. The Global Groove Network, an expansive look at the evolution of DJ culture over 40 years, and FILMAGE: The Story Of DESCENDENTS/ALL, a chronicle of the pop-punk band that gave us the hit 16-second single I Like Food, both get their world premieres June 15.

We’ll also see the North American premiere of BB King – The Life Of Riley, which profiles the blues guitar legend with the help of such admirers as Eric Clapton, Bono, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and Bruce “Bruno” Willis, and The National’s doc Mistaken For Strangers, which premiered at Hot Docs this spring.

The comedy component of the film program focuses on the world of stand-up. Sean Patrick Shaul’s Alone Up There examines the culture of comedy clubs. Matt Frame’s No Joke accompanies three struggling Canadian comics as they embark on a U.S. tour they perceive as their last chance at making it, and Igal Hecht’s A Universal Language follows Yuk Yuk’s founder Mark Breslin and six comedians of varied ethnicity on a trip to Israel.

You know, just to see what happens.

Published: June 6-13, 2013 www.hcconsultingonline.com 647. 348. 3468

NXNE Review: BB King: Life of Riley

BB King, was born Riley B King to a family of plantation workers in 1925. After losing his mother at an early age, he worked on the plantation by day and went to play blues by night. Ranked number six on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time he created a style of blues guitar that changed the genre – and guitar playing in general – forever. Now for the first time, BB King: Life of Riley looks at King’s life and influence for his perspective.

The film is crafted to be a story about BB King, not a strict bio-pic, which actually adds to the mythology of this great man. What is interesting, however, is that while much is known about the life and times of BB King (there’s a whole museum dedicated to him in Indianola, Mississippi), he has never opened up and told his own story.

Pieced together with archival footage and present day interviews with King, director Jon Brewer has created a full picture of the legend’s life, but takes time to contextualize it with family interviews and comment from other artists on his almost immeasurable impact on the music world.

In equal parts touching, moving and inspiring, it would be difficult to find a fuller and more in-depth look at the life and impact of BB King outside of a trip to the museum – and even then you won’t get it in his own words.

Is BB King: Life of Riley essential NXNE viewing?

Definitely, but in case you can’t make it to the festival screening, the film is starting a week-long run at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema so you will have lots of chances to see it.

BB King: Life of Riley screening times Friday, June 14, 2013 at 6:45 pm at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Published: June 4, 2013 www.hcconsultingonline.com 647. 348. 3468

BB King Documentary Reveals New Insight On Musical Legend

Straight from the very beginning of this film you see the aged face of an iconic Bill Cosby followed by the wisdom infused voice of Morgan Freeman’s narration. You already get the sense that BB King was a highly respected man, not just because of his music, but also due to his character. BB King: The Life of Riley is exactly what the emphasis is placed on — Riley himself. It isn’t just another doc centered entirely on King’s music career, but rather the experiences that led him to becoming the legend that he is. In other bio-pics he was never the kind of man who would open up about his life, but this doc provides an interesting viewpoint that often comes directly from his own mouth. Director Jon Brewer managed to gather recognizable faces from Bono, Bruce Willis and Cosby, along with King’s fellow band, friends and family members. When King would speak on his experiences with segregation, slavery and the hardships he faced, through a commonalty shared through a similar time period, these guests would echo his tales with their own. www.hcconsultingonline.com 647. 348. 3468

It felt plainly authentic, like that grandfather who would tell a tale in a rocking chair as the grandchild hung off of every word. To dislike this documentary in the way that it was told through aged voices and in the way that was genuinely shown with archival footage, would be to dislike a much needed history lesson.

Spanning decades, this portrait of a man and his guitar, which took him through the harshness of a civil rights era, a religious resistance period to rhythm and blues, an endless array of encounters with presidents and kings and his induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s as Morgan Freeman puts it, “survival is a word, this is a story.” Many people know the music, but few know the man in the way this documentary has attempted to expose, which is a necessary piece of film for any lover of music or history.

BB King: The Life of Riley opens in theatres on Friday, June 21 at the Bloor Docs Cinema in Toronto.

Words By. Noel Ransome

Published: June 19, 2013

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Published: June 6, 2013