Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I was 15 when Bob died and had heard several of his songs like most people but I never really listened to him...Nor did I know anything about him. This documentary changed all of that and I happily listen to his really groovy music often. What a great musician! Despite his flaws, what a great man! How did I miss this guy? He got little attention in the Southeast I suppose because he is the wrong color for a lot of people around here...(sigh) The documentary starts kind of slow but it picks up speed quickly and fills you in on a lot of fascinating info on Jamaincan culture and the young Marley climbing out of abject poverty and achieving an exceptional level of greatness. At the end I found myself (and still do days later) dealing with a sense of loss not only because of his death at 36 over 30 years ago but because I never knew the guy and I find that I really like what he was doing and what the doc and his music have told me about him.I'm very happy I watched this documentary and do recommend it to everyone.

Being a big fan of Bob Marley and very knowledgeable of the story. I was not a fan of this work. I felt like I understood the man through his music and writings much differently than this piece leads one to believe. While there is some original footage of his half-sister and cousin in here which I admit was nice it was the wrong placement and the wrong focus of the bigger storyline.I had viewed many interviews through the times and smaller documentary materials, but this one was much different. It lacked a story line that I felt ran with the time line of the man and his passions. I truly would have liked to see more of a story that gave a viewer a better understanding to his passion. A story that had a better frame work of the meaning behind his music and what his passion came from.The highlights for me was the different interviews which were unique and many of the points the interviewer had people discussing. There are some real classic moments here, but then again they don't work together to illuminate the man into a story that I feel is more central to his life.If you were to compare the book "Catch a Fire" and this movie "Marley" you would find yourself scratching your head. While a book is always looked at as the better version to a movie in the narrative world it might seem in non-fiction it would lend itself to be more truthful in the documentary, I find that not to be the case in this situation. Not the case at all in how Rasta is depicted and how the greater part of his career was examined. Decent movie, but bad depiction and wish it could have been produced differently.

Marley (2012) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Director Kevin Macdonald epic look at music legend Bob Marley follows him from his early days to his rise in music and eventually his death at the age of 36. Through concert, interview and audio footage, we get to hear from Marley throughout his life and of course there's a lot of attention given to the music but there's also a lot aimed at Marley's lifestyle and his hopes for the future. We also get interviews with his son, daughter, mother, wife as well as countless band members and others who knew him personally. At 142-minutes, this thing certainly packs in a lot of information and I think die-hard Marley fans are going to really love this thing. There's no question that nearly every aspect of his life is covered from his early childhood, to his womanizing and of course the final few months of his life. The film really does an exceptional job at giving you a complete look at the man and it doesn't shy away or try to hide his darker side or moments that aren't as good and fun. The documentary really shows him as a complete human, which is something a lot of these films miss. Those who are just mild fans or are just wanting quick look at how Marley was might find this to be a bit too long but I do feel this was made for die-hard fans who want to know everything. I really enjoyed all of the concert footage that they added because one gets a great idea of what Marley was like on stage. Of course, countless songs are on full display here, which is another major plus. Certain aspects of Marley's life gets additional attention here including the Smile Jamaica Concert and him getting shot before hand. Also, the final months of Marley's life also gets additional scenes and it's still shocking to see him dying so young.

I'll admit freely that I hadn't looked at any biography of Mr. Marley (please tell me you didn't think this movie had anything to do with that dog film starring Owen Wilson? Thanks), so maybe that helped or it didn't while watching this. But I think this is as accurate and fully explored as far as biographies go. It covers quite a lot of ground and is a really satisfying look behind the curtains of a man that more than influenced (music) history.It might be a bit too long for some, but the time is needed to explore as much as I stated above. If you like the music or music in general and don't mind documentaries, you can't go wrong with this one (throwing in a few songs for good measure).