RIFF 2014: Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty Review

Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty

Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty chronicles the highs and lows in the life of a blues icon and a man who certainly never looked the part that he played so well on stage.

Through interviews with friends and contemporaries likes Joe Perry, James Cotten, Susan Tedecshi, Billy Gibbons and Tommy Shannon and a myriad of archival footage, we see the highs and lows of the life of Johnny Winter. From the first time he played with BB King, to his issues with heroin and methadone that nearly killed him, to the epic records that he produced with Muddy Waters, it’s a look at an uneasy life that was rebelled in.

Johnny Winter Down and Dirty

Best known for his look at Motorhead front man Lemmy in the documentary of the same name, director Greg Olliver gets an unvarnished look at this blues legend that music fans will eat up.  While it isn’t a film that broaches any new filmmaking groung, it still thrives with Winter himself making a great protagonist. When you’ve had as interesting a life as that man had, it’s easy to sit down, shut up and listen.

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It’s a celebration of a late legend and the hard life that influenced the music, and Winter certainly died doing what he loved: singing the blues and playing guitar. (Dave Voigt)

Screens

Tuesday, October 14th, 7:00pm, The Royal



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