B.B.King: The Life of Riley
Jon Brewer:
B.B.King: The Life of Riley (USA, 2012)
123 min. - English
K-12
The world was a different place when Riley B. King was born in 1925. From the perspective of our day, it is hard to imagine the modest conditions that left the boy, who was orphaned at an early age, with little choice but to toil in the Mississippi cotton fields. However, young Riley was lucky. In the Ku Klux Klan infested neighborhood he befriended his white employer who gave him his first proper guitar. In no time, Riley noticed that he made a lot more money from picking blues chords than from picking cotton.
Riley, or B.B. as he was later known, refused to let the realities of being a black musician in America drag him down. He just concentrated on his gigs. And why not, he had plenty of them, for a long time almost one a day. Nowadays, the 80-year-old blues veteran only plays every third day. The Life of Riley is a survival story that makes you marvel at the power of music.
The Life of Riley is a thorough documentary that rises to the challenge of documenting B.B. King’s long, rich, and significant life in its full. Besides the man himself, we witness the testimonies of friends, family and countless musicians he has influenced. B.B.’s importance is discussed by the likes of Eric Clapton, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and U2, and also by Morgan Freeman, who lends his godlike voice for the narration. The film is chock-full of interesting anecdotes, including the story of how B.B.’s legendary guitar Lucille got her name. This is a story scored by the blues: the way B.B. has turned the tragedies of his life into heartfelt music that will affect anyone willing to listen.
» www.bbkingthelifeofriley.co.uk
Fri 15th Nov at 5:30pm Tapio 4