ReMastered: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black

It's 1970. Johnny Cash is one of the most popular artists in America and Richard Nixon is in the White House. In order to shore up Southern votes Nixon invites Johnny Cash to perform at the White House. Cash seems a safe bet for Nixon as he seems to support the government and its policies. Nixon even goes so far as to make requests for two particular songs. Will Cash bend to the President's demands?

A documentary that's more interesting for its background information than the coverage of the central topic. The history of Johnny Cash, in particular his political and social stances is well done. How his poor, battling agricultural upbringing and his tragedies and tribulations shaped his life are also well explored.

Ditto how President Nixon's past and his current political struggles inform his actions are also well explored.

However, the main event - Cash performing at the White House - ultimately feels quite low-key. There's a degree of rebelliousness and individuality about Johnny Cash's actions but nothing extreme. It all feels a bit click-baity in the end.

Footage used in the show wasn't actually as it happened, the performance isn't the one Nixon saw, and witness accounts are fuzzy. Warm story but have to ask what is truth?

It was interesting and I love johnny cash but it was really unimportant

From the existing reviews of this documentary, I wasn't expecting much, but ended up giving it 10/10 and am writing this quick justification for that high score here.

This could be described as the story behind Johnny Cash's song "What is truth?" which at least one other reviewer picked up on, pointing out the documentary makers implied some footage of Cash performing was from his White House show when apparently it was filmed elsewhere.

Nitpicking over the veracity of some details aside, this is a great story told well. I've mainly listened to the last albums Johnny Cash made produced by Rick Rubin, dismissing his earlier work as too generic country & western.

This documentary was a huge eye opener for someone who's never heard the song "What is truth?" before, along with weaving in the stories behind "Route #1, Box 144", "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", and other Cash songs which I never realised were controversial, blacklisted from midwest radio stations in their day.

Even if you're not a Johnny Cash fan, this is a great slice of modern history, leading to interesting thoughts of Nixon's America vs Trump's America without being preachy or didactic.

It's a one hour Documentary on NETFLIX. So what? It's the story of what, to me, was an under reported event at a time when, in my lifetime, America had never been so divided.

For a number of years, the Country had been at War in Viet Nam but, unlike World War Two and Korea, was rapidly becoming divided between the Pro-War and Anti-War Factions. This resulted in often violent demonstrations around America.

Meanwhile, there were further Demonstrations associated with The Civil Rights Movement that, often as well, involved division and violence.

Today, when I hear that 'America has never been so divided,' I'm puzzled.

So...what does this have to do with 'Tricky Dick and The Man in Black'? To me...after seeing it. Everything.