MYST Post #2: Leadbelly

The second movie I watched for the Movies in Your Spare Time project was the 1976 film, Leadbelly.  The film is the true story of 1920s and 30s folk singer Walter "Huddie" Ledbetter, more commonly known by his stage name, Leadbelly.  As an African American, Leadbelly's story touches much on the racial issues in the south at the time.  The movie was an interesting watch and a bit different than other movies I have watched recently.  I overall thought it was a good film and did Leadbelly justice in telling his story.  I give it 3.5/5 stars.
The movie follows the story of Leadbelly as he is introduced to music and begins his life as a musician.  The movie was very interesting to watch because I found myself in awe of what a true man Leadbelly was.  He would hop on trains, play his guitar the whole way there, hop off somewhere else, get into a bar fight and kill someone.  Not the sort of behavior modern musicians follow.  He was really living a sort of life that is impossible to live today and one can only marvel at how much simpler life was back then.
 One thing I didn't like about the movie as much however was the acting.  In the 1970s I've noticed acting seemed more obvious by nature, which is fine, but its not my thing really.  I watched the movie because I was interested in the life of Leadbelly, not because I like movies from the 70s.  The dated feel to the film made it feel more like something I would watch in school, which I didn't enjoy.  Plus, there were plenty of slow parts.  Running at 2 hours, the movie probably could have been cut a bit short.
On the other hand, the story was incredibly interesting other than the slow parts.  Ledbetter was in and out of jail for much of the film, sometimes for things he did, most of the time mainly because he was black and in the wrong place, at the wrong time.  It was a very interesting movie to watch just to see what a different life an American could have back then compared to now.
The cinematography of the film was noticeably dated.   Some close ups and use of the music seemed obvious or cheesy.  On the other hand, I did notice use of several of the camera angle techniques we learned about in class, such as a wide shot during a change of scenery.
Overall, Leadbelly was a captivating watch.  While the acting and filming may seem dated, the story was interesting enough to make it worthy for me.  He had a crazy life man.

A scene from the film, Leadbelly's introduction to 12 string guitars