Watch Outkast's Andre Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in the trailer for Jimi: All is By My Side.
Jimi: All is By My Side is the Jimi Hendrix biopic from writer/director John Ridley (writer of notables like 12 Years a Slaveand Three Kings). It stars Andre Benjamin in the title role, as well as Hayley Atwell, Burn Gorman, and Imogen Poots. The film chronicles Jimi's rise from the London and New York club circuit while on the path to stardom.
Folks expecting to hear tunes like "Purple Haze" will be disappointed, as the Hendrix estate didn't grant the rights for Jimi's recordings to be used in the film. Jimi: All is By My Side has already been making the rounds of the festival circuit, and will see wider release in the UK on August 8th and the US on September 26th. Watch the trailer here. For comparison, we've thrown some footage of the actual Jimi down below, too.
This looks entertaining enough, although there's been some angry chatter about the film's accuracy. The problem is that many musical biopics simply aren't very good. They're heavy on the sensationalism (a charge which has already been leveled against this film), and any attempt to depict a musician's creative process on screen usually results in the middle acts becoming a series of hokey vignettes. The best reason to watch usually comes solely from seeing how well the lead actor can channel the performer in question (something that, for example, Jamie Foxx did quite well in Ray).
Andre Benjamin looks like a pretty reasonable Jimi Hendrix and he's got that laid back body language down, but he's got the deck stacked against him. Part of the brilliance of Jimi's showmanship was in the effortless cool he radiated while performing what looked like physically and sonically impossible feats. No amount of camera trickery or editing will duplicate the thrill one gets from watching old footage of Hendrix seemingly defying the laws of nature with his guitar.
Anyway, the film doesn't get into the "superstar years" of Hendrix's career, instead ending with his emergence as a force to be reckoned with at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival. Here's his performance of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" from that show. Turn it up and drown out the fireworks.
And just because it happens to be the Fourth of July, here's that iconic performance of the Star Spangled Banner from 1969.
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