Johnny Cash's America

Johnny Cash's America (2008)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Very good documentary taking a look at the life and career of Johnny Cash. Through TV appearances, concert footage and various interview segments, we hear comments from Cash himself as well as his daughters, son, sister and musicians including Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Tim Robbins, Snoop Dogg, Loretta Lyne, Kris Kristofferson, Al Gore and many more. Fans of Cash are certainly going to enjoy this documentary even though the majority of die-hard fans will probably know the stories. Just about every aspect of Cash's life is explored from his early days, which included his brothers death, to the drugs, his relationship with the Carter family, his political views, his days going to Folsom Prison and everything leading up to his final masterpiece Hurt. I think that overall the documentary really gives you a good insight to the times of Cash, how he wrote his music and just his overall feelings about life in general. The documentary does shy away from some of the darker moments but it does look at the various drug problem he had over the years. It was especially entertaining hearing from his sister as well as a daughter when she shares her thoughts about the first time she saw the video for Hurt and what her dad told her. The relationship between Dylan and Cash is looked at in some detail and we get some studio stuff that the two did for Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" album. I think the diverse interviewees just shows how many different types that Cash's music reached.