Synopsis:  On 13 January 1968, Johnny Cash recorded his legendary live album at Folsom State Prison in California.  40 years later, the album hasn’t lost a bit of its power.  His children, former colleagues, and even some ex-prisoners and guards look back.  Archive footage of life in the prison back then is interspersed with footage of how it is now, as well as still photography of the performance.  The son of a poor cotton farmer in Arkansas, Cash often ended up in trouble because of his excessive drug use, so he’d been through the metaphorical mill and felt a clear connection to the men behind bars.  And the feeling was mutual.  By performing for Society’s outcasts, for those whom the state had reduced to a number, he wanted to make a contribution to reforming the American prison system and bringing the lives of the condemned out into the open. 

Review:  This was a really good film.  Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is incredibly interesting and incredibly well done.  The surprising thing is that video footage of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison concert was not taken, so director Bestor Cram put together a film about an event for which no film existed.  Not an easy task.  Yet Cram pulled it off so well that the concert footage is not missed. 

To put the film together without concert footage, he employs still photos, live music from the concert (an album was recorded) and narration from Cash himself.  The result is a fascinating portrait not only of Cash, but of the concert that had such a great impact on everyone involved.

I find Johnny Cash to be a really interesting character.  And unlike a lot of celebrities, Cash seemed to continue to get more interesting as he aged.  Even when he was extremely ill and entering the final phase of his life, Cash put together an album that many people feel was the finest of his career.  Not an easy feat. 

But Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is interesting, even for those who did not follow his life or career.  The film delves into the details of not just Cash, but also inmates and prison officials.  It paints a vivid portrait of the concert and the effect it had on those in attendance, from Cash himself, to his bandmates, inmates, and even prison officials.

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is an incredibly made film about an incredibly interesting man and an event that continues to touch people’s lives 40 years after it happened.  This film is a must-see for fans of the late singer as well as those who just enjoy a good documentary.

 (4.0 out of 5.0)

Film website:  http://www.johnnycashatfolsomprison.com/

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