Songcatcher

I have used this movie for student viewing in American Music and World Music (North America) undergraduate classes. It provides an excellent introduction to the problems that early ethnographers encountered in working with informants in the Appalachian mountains. Aside from the mountaineers' (justified) suspicion of outsiders, the scholars themselves had to grapple fiercely with their own class-based prejudices, not to mention the rapacious designs of the coal company owners, "establishment" religious organizations, and more. (That such entities often considered themselves the natural allies of the ethnographers, and expected reciprocal recognition for it, created yet another obstacle for serious, unbiased research.) All of this is subtly but accurately put forth in the movie, which doesn't prevent it from also containing GREAT MUSIC and a reasonably accurate view of Appalachian "hill" life at the turn of the previous century. I hope this doesn't make it sound too much like a sociological tract, because it's also a very entertaining and moving human drama, and a well-made film. Read more

Love the movie !!! Read more

I purchased this on a friend's recommendation, thoroughly expecting to not be excited about it. Once Lily leaves the city and begins the trek up the mountain, I was HOOKED!! I grew up with mountain folk music all around me, and was forced to listen/learn it, causing me to ignore this portion of the spectrum of musicology for many of my almost 60 years. I was able to thoroughly embrace the music and the story line, and deeply appreciate the side-lessons about differences in society that were sprinkled throughout this movie. It has earned an A++++ from me. I do not watch much in the way of TV or movies (I did not have any TV for 17 years, so this is all new to me), but this is definitely added to my re-watch stack. As for all of the earlier comments (from 4+ years ago) regarding the quality of the DVD itself: the manufacturer must have listened as I had no problems at all with my copy. Read more

Without question one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life! I’ve watched movies more days than I haven’t in my life so I should know a great one when I see it. This is a great one. Excellent casting, music, photography, I mean everything!! Read more

I happened to watch this movie several years ago and loved it. I decided to buy it now because I happened to see it on amazon. I love the characters and the music, which is the real star of this movie. The story is very basic. There are oddities, such as the main woman character who is a PhD in music and teaches at a college in the early 1900s and then all of the "mountain people". Because I have always lived in Missouri with the Ozark Mountains and the stories in literature about these people, I am also fascinated with stories about the Appalachian Mountains and people. If for no other reason, you should see this movie for Pat Carroll's character. If you don't remember her, she was in many TV shows back in the 60s and 70s, including the movie "Cinderella" with Leslie Ann Warren as the title character. Pat was one of the stepsisters. She sings a really funny song called "Single Girl" to a woman who just had a baby and had a wandering husband. Great characters, beautiful setting, and wonderful music. Love it! Read more

Beautiful music sung in the fresh mountain air. Fine acting, interesting story for early in the 20th century. Shows what our early technology stood back then. Also show some of the closed attitudes of that time. Read more

This wonderful movie takes place in the deep Appalachian mountains. It tells about the old ballad songs and how they got started by handing down from family members to the next generation. The countryside and music of the Appalachian mountains is absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend this movie for those that love old ballad songs! Read more

My wife and I rented Songcatcher not knowing what to expect, but the basic story sounded interesting. Well, we loved it so much we bought the DVD. It's a good story, well told...and the only nit I will pick happens late in the movie--when an ongoing lesbian relationship is discovered (a "local" sees the women kissing passionately). The relationship had already been strongly hinted-at, so the "discovery" seemed gratuitous. And I have read criticism of the story's opening sequence--and the event that sets the table for the whole film: A female college professor being denied tenure, and resigning, to visit her sister who runs a school in the Appalachian mountains. It is argued that a female would never have been considered for tenure in the early part of the 20th century. But rather than debate that, I will only remind of the concept of "willing suspension of disbelief"...an aesthetic theory coined by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817. Songcatcher is a rewarding, lyrical and heartwarming time spent in the world of cinema. Read more