Billy Bragg Movies

Woody Guthrie was a singer and songwriter who came of age in Oklahoma as the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression all but destroyed the homes and lives of many of those around him. A natural wordsmith who loved music, Guthrie turned the stories he saw all around him into songs -- some funny, some deadly serious, and nearly all dealing with his vision of a better and more just America. Guthrie roamed the country much of his life, performing with the left-wing Almanac Singers, writing a column for the Daily Worker, publishing a wildly entertaining autobiography called Bound for Glory, working as merchant seaman, and raising a family in between. A handful of the 3,000 songs Guthrie wrote have become standards (most notably "This Land Is Your Land," "Pastures of Plenty," "Deportees," and "Grand Coulee Dam"), and it's all but impossible to imagine the work of Bob Dylan or the rebirth of folk music in the '50s and '60s without his guiding influence. Woody Guthrie: This Machine Kills Fascists is a documentary which offers an honest and unblinking look at Guthrie's life and career, featuring interviews with friends, fans, and historians who offer insight into his music and the man behind it. Billy Bragg narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Nora Guthrie, daughter of folk legend Woody Guthrie, unearthed a 50-year-old, unproduced collection of her father's lyrics, she called upon British songwriter Billy Bragg to put them to music. Bragg teamed with Chicago-based, alt-country band Wilco, and in 1998 Mermaid Avenue was released to critical adulation and a Grammy nomination. Two years later, Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 was released to equal fervor and another Grammy nomination. Narrated by Nora Guthrie, this feature-length documentary chronicles Bragg's search "...for the spirit of Woody Guthrie," as he travels to Okemah, OK, where Guthrie was born, and to New York City where he gained notoriety. From there, the film follows Bragg to Chicago to meet up with Wilco, and finally to Dublin where the albums were recorded and where the creative process sometimes caused emotions to run high between Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Ted Hawkins was often called the world's greatest street singer. Abandoned by his parents as a boy and enduring a childhood that could have inspired 100 blues songs, Hawkins made his way to California in his early 20s, determined to make a career for himself as a musician. When record deals didn't pan out and paying gigs failed to come his way, Hawkins would set up on the boardwalk of L.A.'s Venice Beach, singing to passers-by for tips. On more than one occasion, success seemed to be right around the corner for Hawkins, only to leave him back at the beach. But in 1994, Hawkins was signed to a major record deal and released the widely-acclaimed album, The Next Hundred Years, which earned rave reviews and paved the way for a successful international concert tour. Sadly, just as Hawkins was enjoying a new life as a working musician, he passed away on New Year's Day, 1995. Ted Hawkins: Amazing Grace offers an in-depth look at Hawkins' remarkable life and career, with plenty of footage of Hawkins onstage (including performances with Charlie Musselwhite and Pete Seeger) as well as interviews with family, friends, and fellow musicians, including Billy Bragg and John Doe. Harry Belafonte narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Leftist songwriter Billy Bragg brings his witty and intelligent songs about the nexus between politics and everyday life to two very different audiences in this documentary. In 1989, Bragg played several dates in Virginia, where he threw his support behind a group of coal miners involved in a prolonged strike against management; this video features footage of a benefit concert where Bragg sang a number of his songs about the labor movement and discusses his political views, as well as his support of the miners. In the film's second half, Bragg and his partners tour the Soviet Union in 1987, before the collapse of Communism and before most Western performers were welcome there. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide