Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Release Date:

9 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

The Whole World Knows the Music. Nobody Knows the Man.

Plot:

This documentary covers the concert at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, to celebrate Chuck Berry's sixtieth birthday...

Plot Keywords:

John Lennon | Concert Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Chuck Berry	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ingrid Berry	...	Herself
Eric Clapton	...	Himself
Robert Cray	...	Himself
Bo Diddley	...	Himself
Ahmet Ertegun	...	Himself - DVD only
Don Everly	...	Himself
Phil Everly	...	Himself
Etta James	...	Herself
Johnnie Johnson	...	Himself
Steve Jordan	...	Himself
Bobby Keys	...	Himself
Chuck Leavell	...	Himself
John Lennon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Julian Lennon	...	Himself
Jerry Lee Lewis	...	Himself - DVD only
Little Richard	...	Himself
Roy Orbison	...	Himself - DVD only
Keith Richards	...	Himself
Robbie Robertson	...	Himself - DVD only
Linda Ronstadt	...	Herself
Joey Spampinato	...	Himself - Bass Player (Bass Player)
Bruce Springsteen	...	Himself

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

East St. Louis, Illinois, USA

Company:

Delilah Films

Trivia:

Shot in 1986, not released until 1987.

Quotes:

Keith Richards: We spent 12 days rehearsing, this goes here, this goes there, go onstage and boom out the window. Wing it!

Sweet Little 60

I saw this a few years after it came out. The concert footage was filmed in Berry's hometown of St. Louis at the Fox theater on October 18, 1986 on his 60th birthday. It was also the same year the Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in it's inaugural class. Assembeled for the concert are musicians Chuck Levelle, Bobby Keyes, Joey Spampinato and Steve Jordon along with Berry's longtime collaborator and pianist Johnnie Johnson under the musical direction of Keith Richards. Guest performers are Eric Clapton, Etta James, Linda Ronsdat, Robert Cray, Julian Lennon and the guest of honor himself Chuck Berry. Interviews on his career are provided by his rock and roll contemporaries Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers. Additional interviews on his inspiration come from Bruce Springsteen and an older clip from John Lennon. Taylor Hackford directed. Hackford won an Academy Award in the short film category with the first project he ever did. In 1980 he began directing feature films and has since only directed 10 films but they include Against all Odds, An Officer and a Gentleman, Delores Claiborn and Ray. As a producer he also did the documentary When We Were Kings. The cinematographer is Oliver Stapleton who had only photographed some Indy films before Haill Haill Rock & Roll but would go on to do such films as Earth Girls Are Easy, The Grifters, The Cider House Rules, Buffalo Soldiers and Pay it Forward. We see Chuck Berry being his controlling, difficult ornery self here and this likely would have been an amazing film if director Hackford was allowed free reign with his camera and Chuck would have allowed a more introspective view into what is Chuck Berry but Berry calls the shots and rocks and music director Richards reels. This is a good documentary and Chuck Berry and 50's rock & Roll fans should check it out. It's amazing to think that this is 20 years gone already and Chuck Berry will be turning 80 this fall. I would give it an 8.0 out of 10.