Walk the Line (DVD, 2006, Widescreen)

Love is a burnin' thing. This was a 2005 Academy award winner for Reese Witherspoon portraying June Carter Cash. J.R. Cash takes an early interest in music while growing up on an Arkansas cotton farm in the Great Depression. He is very close to his elder brother Jack, who dies in an accident involving a table saw in 1944 when J.R. is out fishing. His guilt about this event is not helped when his father blames him as well, so it comes as a welcome escape when he is old enough to enlist in the air force and is sent to Germany. Inspired by a film he sees there, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison he composes a song, "Folsom Prison Blues." Leaving the air force Cash marries and attempts to succeed as a door-to-door salesman in Memphis, Tenn. but his heart is in music and he succeeds in an audition with Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Soon Johnny is touring and meets June Carter, who has been a country star since childhood. Although they are drawn to each other, they are married to others. Touring takes a toll on Johnny's marriage, and in the 1960's he becomes addicted to amphetamines. His marriage ends and June helps him beat the drug dependency. Reading fan letters from prisoners inspires Cash to perform a concert at Folsom Prison, which leads to a very successful album. June finally accepts Johnny's proposal of marriage given as they perform together on stage in Ontario in February, 1968.

Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dallas Roberts,
Directors: James Mangold
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Region: Unknown.
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: February 28, 2006
Run Time: 135 minutes

DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround)
Commentary by co-writer and director James Mangold
10 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by James Mangold
Trailers: Love Me Tender Special Edition
Theatrical Trailer

In WALK THE LINE, Joaquin Phoenix shows that he's come a long way since his role as the crazy Caesar in GLADIATOR.

Those going into WALK THE LINE thinking it's a comprehensive film bio of Johnny Cash may perhaps come out slightly disappointed. While there's a relative brief sequence of his early years growing up on an Arkansas cotton farm, an even briefer sequence of his time in the Air Force in the early 50s, the film really begins in 1955 when, failing as a door-to-door salesman and wannabe gospel singer, he cuts a rock 'n' roll record for Sun Studios in Memphis and his career as a CW crooner takes off. The film ends with his marriage to June Carter in 1968. In between, against the backdrop of early hits, it focuses on his failed marriage to first wife Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), his self-destructive abuse of amphetamines, and rocky relationship with singer/actress Carter (Reese Witherspoon), a twice-divorced single mother of two.

The real treat of WALK THE LINE is watching Phoenix and Witherspoon amaze with Oscar-caliber dramatic performances. Who would have suspected that the latter was capable of anything other than light comedy?

In case you haven't seen the film and you're wondering, Phoenix and Witherspoon themselves sing the Cash/Carter material; they're surprisingly effective. Mind you, I've never been such a Cash fan that I've possessed any of his albums, and I've only previously downloaded one of his songs ("City of New Orleans"). Indeed, when Phoenix and Witherspoon recreate the Cash/Carter duet of "Jackson", my first thought was: Didn't Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood do that?

Coming out of the screening, my wife remarked that Phoenix sounded very much like Johnny himself. My response was a non-committal but prudent "Mmmm". Back home at the computer, I downloaded a couple more Cash songs, including his "Jackson" duet with Carter. To my ears, the real Cash had a singing voice that was slightly hoarser, and with a more pronounced slow drawl than Joaquin's version. While that doesn't detract from the actor's performance, it may cause purists to grumble.

The film's opening scene is of two guards on a tower at Folsom Prison listening to the bass "thump, thump, thump" washing over the prison yard from the hall in which Cash is about to perform his famous concert before the inmates. My wife and I were sitting in the front row of the studio screening theater and the sound reverberated through our bones. I knew then that WALK THE LINE was going to be an exceptional film.

Walk The Line is no doubt destined to someday be dubbed a classic. Few movies reach into the heart and soul and touch ones deepest emotions.
Walk The Line examines, with great accuracy, the life and times of The Late Great Legendary Man In Black, Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash was able to verify most of the film, before passing away, and held nothing back in his human mistakes along the way and lessons learned.
For Instance: His struggle with drugs puts you in the same room with him as he fights withdrawals.
His compassion for the down and out in society.
The guilt and raw emotions from the accidental death of his older brother when they were kids...
The rise to stardom and the sacrafices and self-disipline that come with walking the line.
This is a movie you won't just want to rent, you'll want to own it and play it on special occasions.


The Director, James Mangold, does a brilliant job in accomplishing the tone in every facet of the life of Johnny Cash. You certainly will not find yourself worrying about the length of the film, quite the opposite, you will not want it to end!!!

Johnny's undying love for June Carter is very much felt from the time he meets her till the end.
I was fortunate to see Johnny Cash and June Carter several times in Nashville while I lived there and I will always remember how their love for each-other and how it truly glowed!!!
Walk The Line makes you feel that love, the desperation, isolation, and desire.
If I were to classify this movie, what would I say??? Its a Drama, Romance, Comedy, Musical, Suspense. Do yourself a favor and own Walk The Line, I promise you will never grow tired of watching it!!!


Some interesting Facts:

The film also reveals something that many have never realized and thats how Johnny, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis all ended up at practically the same time in the famous Sun Records in Memphis TN. and all became superstar legends!!! Something they also shared was they knew they would be stars, there existed no doubts in their minds.
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon performed all of the songs themselves, without being dubbed. They also learned to play their instruments (guitar and auto-harp, respectively) from scratch.
June Carter Cash died before production began on the film, so Reese Witherspoon's research included looking through Carter's closet for inspiration.

Johnny Cash chose Joaquin Phoenix to play him in the film on the basis of his performance in the movie Gladiator (2000). June Carter Cash also reportedly chose Reese Witherspoon for her role in the film.

The film took alot of hard work to even get the ball rolling and it is sorrowful that they could not see the final product. Sony, Universal, Focus Features, Paramount, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Bros. insanely passed on the project. Johnny Jr continued to push the film as he knew this was a story that needed to be shared. There is light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to walk the line.

J.R. Cash takes an early interest in music while growing up on an Arkansas cotton farm in the Great Depression. He is very close to his elder brother Jack, who dies in an accident involving a table saw in 1944 when J.R. is out fishing. His guilt about this event is not helped when his father blames him as well, so it comes as a welcome escape when he is old enough to enlist in the air force and is sent to Germany. Inspired by a film he sees there, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) he composes a song, "Folsom Prison Blues." Leaving the air force Cash marries and attempts to succeed as a door-to-door salesman in Memphis, Tenn. but his heart is in music and he succeeds in an audition with Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Soon Johnny is touring and meets June Carter, who has been a country star since childhood. Although they are drawn to each other, they are married to others. Touring takes a toll on Johnny's marriage, and in the 1960's he becomes addicted to amphetamines. His marriage ends and June helps him beat the drug dependency. Reading fan letters from prisoners inspires Cash to perform a concert at Folsom Prison, which leads to a very successful album. June finally accepts Johnny's proposal of marriage given as they perform together on stage in Ontario in February, 1968

This biopic follows the life of Johnny Cash from the beginning of his career through his ten-year-long romantic pursuit of June Carter. The strength of any biopic rests in its ability to pull you into the story whether or not you know, or even like the main character. This film clearly accomplishes this. But it also does much more, in part, by using great music not just as an ego trip for the actors, but as an integral component of the plotline. Each song moves the story forward by showing us how Cash and Carter’s relationship changes over time. And key to making this work are the commanding performances from Phoenix and Witherspoon. Who knew these actors can belt out a number with the best of them? They so completely take over their roles that they turn familiar music into something fresh and exciting, as if it’s happening live and you’re hearing it for the first time. ¶ But this movie is more than just about music. It’s about redemption and salvation, as Cash discovers when he becomes lost in a drug habit and finds himself descending into hell. Terrified and alone, he looks up and sees June Carter standing by his side, offering her hand to help pull him out of the flames. ¶ You may not have paid much attention to Phoenix and Witherspoon before now. After seeing this compelling picture, I think you’ll agree both of these actors have just crossed the line and moved onto the A-list.