Janis: Little Girl Blue
Janis: Little Girl Blue
| 27 November 2015 (USA)
Janis: Little Girl Blue Trailers

Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.

Reviews
Omer Levent

It has not been a different life than the other 27's. It has not been a different life than other real stars. Filmin structure was not good. I guess they did it without much effort. He did not elaborate after Janis's death. No special music was made for the film. I did not like your director very much. The film has not succeeded in dramatic places as well. It was not nice without Janis. There was an air of sadness. Although a girl who was excluded in her childhood and adolescence was given a nice star, she had not been given any details when necessary.

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realitycomments

Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get enough Janis. I have read a biography on her and watched other films, as well as attended the stage play "Love, Janis" and I'm always wanting for more. I rated this a nine because a near perfect documentary about Janis would be at least four hours, imho. There could have been more interviews with her sister and brother and others who knew her intimately. It focused on her person and her heart more than other things I've seen. I was only ten years old when she died and my family was as straight laced as Janis' and Port Arthur, so I don't remember any fan fare regarding her. I didn't fully experience her music until I was eighteen and I fell hard as a Janis fan.Interesting point to younger generations is that the media always focuses on the San Francisco scene when it talks about the 60's and the hippy era, when most of the rest of the world at the time was really closer to Port Arthur. Strongly recommend this gem for any Janis fan. You won't be bored and you will find another little piece of her heart you may not have known about before. I imagined that she had a big heart for people in general, and this documentary solidified that belief.A comment in the film about the level of emotion she reached in her singing was at a high price and that was a prefect summation of the art that was Janis Joplin.

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morrison-dylan-fan

Whilst I have heard some of her hit singles and the tragic history of being part of the "27 club" I for someone have never got round to giving a good listen to Janis Joplin.Taking a look at reviews on IMDb's European Cinema board,I spotted a fellow IMDber praise a Joplin doc that they had seen on the BBC.Finding the movie on BBC iPlayer,I decided it was time to uncover the pearl.The outline of the doc:Growing up in a small town,Janis Joplin finds herself being an outcast in university, with her fellow students voting her "Ugliest Man on Campus." Feeling a strong connection to Blues music,Joplin decides to leave her small town for the free-wheeling spirit of California.As she puts all of her emotions into her music,Joplin finds herself struggling to get a grip on her own blues. View on the doc:Bringing Joplin's notes and lyrics off the page and onto the screen, the great musician Cat Power gives a soulful narration as Joplin,with Power's voice getting the deeply emotive words of Joplin smoothly across.Uncovering unseen performances,director Amy Berg keeps the narration in the background and allows Joplin to do the talking,by washing the screen in explosive footage from gigs which are placed in the era with Berg scattering hand-made posters and ripped concert tickets across the stage.Interviewing Joplin's band mates and family members,Berg strikes a fine balance in giving everyone an equal say,which allows for the lack of a dividing line between Joplin the person and Joplin the performer to be fully displayed,as Janis Joplin sings the Blues.

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subxerogravity

Of course I know who Janis Joplin was, who doesn't, but I was never a huge fan of her work, so I did not know anything about her life story. And what a great story it was, told by those who knew Janis the most, the Documentary was loaded with interviews from the people closet to her who were there for the ride that was her life. Mixed in with a lot of archive footage of Joplin as well as a touching voice over of letters Joplin wrote to her family back home being read during the film.But most importantly, lots of music was played. I've seen docs and other movies about major rock icons where the music was not center stage simple because of legal rights. Does not feel like Little Girl Blue had that problem, and I'm thankful, cause as much as her life was interesting, it's all about the music.It was funny, entertaining, and centered on the rock and roll as they told the story of one of the greatest icons in music history.

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