Jerry Lee Lewis: The Story of Rock & Roll

Rating:
Summary: He just keeps on goin!
Review: I purchased the DVD last week and I wasn't disappointed (maybe slightly as it could have been longer) it features the killer on top form, i have other documentaries of him and this one features stuff i have neverseen before. It has the Steve Allen Show (Whole Lotta) but apart from that I havent seen any of the other clips. I thought it would be more of a documentary, but it is just videos of him singing his songs. There could have been more of him doing the Granada TV special, as the full version is something I really would like to own. To anyone who is interested in finding out about the killer, or to a fan who hasnt got this then my advise is to go and get it, nice one.

Rating:
Summary: Awful! Why does Amazon make me give it even 1 star?
Review: Talk about a rip-off. When I learned that D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus were behind this I wasn't expecting much. But how could I have known it would be this bad? First of all, it's only 60 minutes. Anyone who's interested in Lewis is bound to want more than 60 minutes run time devoted to his life and music. Hey, what's with the subtitle? One would assume that this bio is one in a larger collection. Well, it isn't. Probably half of it is devoted to showing him give a minor performance at Toronto's Rock 'N' Roll concert in 1969. There is zero footage of friends, family, and admirers talking about him. Zero footage of him talking about his music. His richest period creatively (1963-1975) is barely even covered (unless one counts his relatively dull Toronto performance). His best country and rock recordings get no attention. You hear the same boring songs that are always associated with Jerry Lee -- his overrated Sun recordings. These Sun recordings aren't what makes him a legend in popular music; the stuff he cut after leaving Sun is what makes him a legend. What about "Corrina, Corrina," "What'd I Say," and all his masterful live performances where he takes any old song and totally makes it his own? None of them are here.

The only reason this documentary was made was so Pennebaker and Hegedus could use Lewis as a kind of archetype to drape their own tired observations over. They had no interest in what is intrinsically interesting about him . . . HIS MUSIC. There is no intelligence or taste at work here.