Wild Man Blues

Wild Man Blues
Film poster
Directed by	Barbara Kopple
Produced by	Jean Doumanian
Starring	Woody Allen New Orleans Jazz Band
Cinematography	Tom Hurwitz
Edited by	Lawrence Silk
Production company	Sweetland Films Magnolia Productions
Distributed by	Fine Line Features
Release date	January 1997
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	French, English, Italian

Wild Man Blues is a 1997 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition, sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong, and recorded (among others) by each of them. It depicts Allen's love of early 20th century New Orleans music by preserving performances on the 1996 tour in Europe by his New Orleans Jazz Band. Allen has played clarinet with this band for over 25 years.^[1]

The musicians are:

• Dan Barrett, on trombone
• Simon Wettenhall, on trumpet
• John Gill, on drums and vocals
• Greg Cohen, on bass
• Cynthia Sayer, on piano
• Eddy Davis, band director, and on banjo
• Allen, on clarinet

Although their European tour is the primary focus, the film was also notable as the first major public showcase for Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.^[2]

Formats published

Since the deletion of its original, contemporaneous VHS releases, the film has had only an afterlife on DVD. In April 2012 the film was featured as a bonus disc on an Australian box set of Allen's films, and similarly appeared as an extra in a UK Region 2 box set in July 2014. Although the film is not available as a standalone DVD in any of the main English-speaking countries, it has been released singly in various Region 2 pressings around Europe, with relevant (optional) subtitles.

• The film soundtrack was released on RCA Compact Disc and later digitally

References

External links

• Wild Man Blues at the Internet Movie Database