My Father And The Man In Black (2013)

Saw this on a flight to Vancouver. You never hear of the back stories of the people supporting these celebrities and the crap they put the people around them through. I understand his not maybe wanting to draw his brother, mother and other family members into his documentary, it was about him and his fathers relationship. Exposing other family members may have been more hurtful. I don't think I could put myself out there as Jonathon has, but finding out that his dad was been tormented inside by the choices he was making may temper his feelings toward his father. I knew Johnny Cash had some demons/drug issues, but I think he can count him self lucky that he had a friend/manager such as Saul, to pick up the pieces.

Excellent movie!!! Even if you are not a Johnny Cash fan or a music fan, you will enjoy "My Father and the Man in Black.". It tells the "rest of the story" about Cash that goes beyond the film "Walk the Line." Although told in documentary style, the movie is spellbinding and dramatic and weaves between the story of a difficult and sometime strained father and son relationship to the little known story of Cash and his longtime manager, Saul Holiff. The movie uses actual recordings of conversations between Holiff and Cash to set up an incredible tale of Cash's rise to stardom, his relationship with June Carter, his battles with addiction, his Christian faith plus his stormy relationship with Holiff.

I was excited to see this film since I'm a huge Cash fan, I discovered his music when I was 15 and haven't stopped listening since. But the film really let me down man.The reviews said how it was great and a must see and whatever and i found the film to be completely self serving.Dude, its like if you made a film about Katy Perry's manager.Who cares? and where are johnnys kids to have a say in this film? I've got my own family troubles too, doesn't mean you make a film about it and expect it to be gold. the narration is robotic, the film is flat. only thing that saves the film is the visual effects which are interesting at first but then appear to be the directors crutch to hide the lack of content on our man in black.

Jonathan Holiff has created a wonderful documentary, exploring the torturous relationship between Johnny Cash, his father (who was Cash's manager), and himself. He's very nicely mixed real audio recordings with re-enacted scenes to put us in the middle of this complicated relationship. Full disclosure: Jonathan is my cousin. But that takes nothing away from the marvellous way he's pulled back the curtain to explore this often wonderful, often awful relationship among the three of them. The tangled web includes Saul Holiff's difficult relationship with an increasingly out of control Johnny Cash, and Jonathan's increasingly difficult relationship with his father, who was not much of a father at all and knew it.