Fresh
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll is as long and unwieldy as its title, but it's probably the most revealing look we'll ever get of its subject, and the most loving evocation of his music.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post
Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
1987 · 2h · PG
Documentary, Music
Directed by
Taylor Hackford
Overview
St. Louis, 1986. For Chuck Berry's 60th, Keith Richards assembles a pickup band of Robert Cray, Joey Spampinato, Eric Clapton, himself and long-time Berry pianist, Johnnie Johnson. Joined on stage by Etta James, Linda Ronstadt and Julian Lennon, Berry performs his classic rock songs. His abilities as a composer, lyricist, singer, musician and entertainer are on display and, in behind-the-scenes interviews, are discussed by Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bruce Springstein, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and others. There's even a rarity for Berry—a rehearsal. Archival footage from the early 1950s and a duet with John Lennon round out this portrait of a master.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
89%
Tomatometer
Fresh
This portrait of Mr. Berry is downbeat, and in some ways incomplete; it's very different from what might have been expected. But in its own way, Mr. Hackford's film is revealing.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten
What one misses most of all are some glimpses of the earlier Chuck Berry, when the intensity of his music and his jackrabbit moves had more satanic majesty; too much of this film shows him at half-throttle.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh
It's a great concert, but it's also a fascinating character study.
Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
The film works on two levels: as a portrait of a private, bitter and streetwise man, and as a major musical talent performing with obvious delight.
Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
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