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Lightning in a Bottle
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 1 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary | Musical
Written by:
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 22, 2004
DVD: March 8, 2005
Running Time: 103 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for brief strong language
Starring B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Chris Thomas King, Dr. John, Honeyboy Edwards, Shemekia Copeland, and Natalie Cole
On February 7th, 2003, renowned artists across multiple music genres and generations commandeered the stage at New York Citys Radio City Music Hall to pay tribute to their common heritage and passion - the blues. This documentary captures the nights magic and weaves a history of the blues through the juxtaposition of performances, backstage interviews, rehearsals and archival clips of some of the greatest names in American music. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On Metacritic
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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
See it with an open heart and a tapping toe.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Lightning in a Bottle has breadth, both in its multitude of perspectives and its spectrum of performances.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
A movie which, like all the best blues, makes good times out of bad times, makes smiles out of hurt, makes tears taste like honey.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
When Lightning In A Bottle steps back and simply lets the old-timers ply their trade, the result is consistently riveting.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
Like all good concert films, it's the next best thing to being there.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Richard Harrington
Cinematographer Lisa Rinzler beautifully frames the performances, capturing a night of brilliant blues.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Joel Selvin
The end result is something like the best blues festival anyone could have thrown last year, although Lightning in a Bottle falls a fair piece short of its own lofty goal.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Comes alive with the more relaxed performances from its senior set.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Howard Cohen
If you haven't caught Lightning on PBS already, find a theater with a good sound system, sit back and be grateful the music endures.
Read Full Review >New York Post Megan Lehmann
A joyous, toe-tapping celebration of a musical style born of sorrow.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Fuqua's passion for the music comes through in the clear, unobtrusive style of the film, which mixes generous footage of the event's performances with interviews and archival footage, all adding up to a luscious historical snapshot of one America's original art forms.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Despite some iffy moments, Lighting is the closest one to get to the music from which, as Hubert Sumlin notes, "there is no retiring. You stay with it until the end."
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown
The music's sensational, but you keep waiting for the pledge number to flash up.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
You'd have to be a real curmudgeon not to enjoy a show with Ruth Brown, Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke...
Read Full Review >Film Threat Phil Hall
A documentary which wobbles and weaves as much as often as it soars.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
It's as hard not to ask what former New York Doll David Johansen is doing in their company, prancing his way through an irrelevant version of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," as it is not to wonder why the audience is so overwhelmingly white.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Bernard P. gave it a 10:
One can't top Solomon Burke, India Arie, Angelique / Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland's performances...this movie is pure heaven...the cover of VooDoo Child by buddy guy & ANgelique is the best cover since SRV and sung with a dead on spritual understanding of the piece...and Solomon Burke rocks the house front to back and top to bottom - even if you are a wanna be blues lover or musician - you better not miss this baby, don't cha miss it at all!!
