Blaze (2018 film)

Last updated

Blaze
Blaze.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ethan Hawke
Screenplay by
  • Ethan Hawke
  • Sybil Rosen
Based onLiving in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley
by Sybil Rosen
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Steve Cosens
Edited byJason Gourson
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • January 21, 2018 (2018-01-21)(Sundance)
  • August 17, 2018 (2018-08-17)(United States)
Running time
127 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$680,058 [2]

Blaze is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Ethan Hawke based on the life of country musician Blaze Foley. The screenplay by Hawke and Sybil Rosen was adapted from the memoir Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley by Rosen. It stars musician Ben Dickey as Foley. [3] [4] The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival [5] and was released in the United States on August 17, 2018, by IFC Films.

Contents

This was Kris Kristofferson’s final film appearance before his retirement and death.

Plot

The movie shows scenes of Foley's life and career, interspersed between two of Foley's friends being interviewed on the radio and his final performance and recording.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in and around ORWO Studios in East Feliciana, Louisiana and a small amount of photography in Mississippi in early 2017. [3]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 91 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "As lyrical and bittersweet as the music its subject left behind, Blaze takes a decidedly unconventional -- yet richly rewarding -- approach to the musical biopic." [6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [7]

On RogerEbert.com , Nick Allen raved that the film is "hands down the best movie of its kind since Inside Llewyn Davis " and added "This movie is all Foley, and the confidence in his words proves incredibly rewarding for Hawke as a cinematic storyteller himself." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethan Hawke</span> American actor and film director (born 1970)

Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, author and film director. He made his film debut in Explorers (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in Dead Poets Society (1989). Hawke starred alongside Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy from 1995 to 2013. Hawke received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Training Day (2001) and Boyhood (2014) and two for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). Other notable roles include in Reality Bites (1994), Gattaca (1997), Great Expectations (1998), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Maggie's Plan (2015), First Reformed (2017), The Black Phone (2021) and The Northman (2022).

<i>Waking Life</i> 2001 American film

Waking Life is a 2001 American rotoscoped animated film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams and lucid dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism. The series of insightful philosophical discussions at the core of the film are progressed by a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of interesting characters.

<i>The Newton Boys</i> 1998 American film

The Newton Boys is a 1998 American Western crime film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Claude Stanush and Clark Lee Walker. It is based on Stanush's 1994 book of the same name, which tells the true story of the Newton Gang, a family of bank and train robbers from Uvalde, Texas. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, who was actually born in Uvalde, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Dwight Yoakam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Linklater</span> American film director, producer and screenwriter (born 1960)

Richard Stuart Linklater is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993); the Before trilogy of romance films: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003); the adult animated films Waking Life (2001), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (2022); the coming-of-age drama Boyhood (2014); the comedy film Everybody Wants Some!! (2016); and the romantic comedy Hit Man (2023).

<i>Before Sunrise</i> 1995 film by Richard Linklater

Before Sunrise is a 1995 romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater and co-written by Linklater and Kim Krizan, and is the first installment in the Before trilogy. In the film, Jesse and Céline meet on a Eurail train and disembark in Vienna to spend the night together.

<i>Before Sunset</i> 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater

Before Sunset is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from a story by Linklater and Kim Krizan. It is the first film by Warner Independent Pictures. The sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) and the second installment in the Before trilogy, Before Sunset follows Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy) as they reunite nine years later in Paris.

<i>Tape</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Richard Linklater

Tape is a 2001 American camcorder drama film directed by Richard Linklater and written by Stephen Belber, based on his play of the same name. It stars Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman. The entire film takes place in real time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaze Foley</span> American singer-songwriter (1949–1989)

Michael David Fuller, better known by his stage name Blaze Foley, was an American country music singer-songwriter, poet, and artist active in Austin, Texas.

<i>Fast Food Nation</i> (film) 2006 American film

Fast Food Nation is a 2006 mockumentary political satire black comedy film directed by Richard Linklater and written by Linklater and Eric Schlosser. The film, an international co-production of the United States and the United Kingdom, is loosely based on Schlosser's bestselling 2001 non-fiction book Fast Food Nation.

<i>Boyhood</i> (2014 film) 2014 film directed by Richard Linklater

Boyhood is a 2014 American epic coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr. (Coltrane) from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas with divorced parents. Richard Linklater's daughter Lorelei plays Mason's sister, Samantha.

<i>Chelsea Walls</i> 2001 film by Ethan Hawke

Chelsea Walls is a 2001 American drama film directed by Ethan Hawke in his directorial debut and written by Nicole Burdette, based on her 1990 play of the same name. It stars Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Natasha Richardson, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Robert Sean Leonard. The story takes place in the historic Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan.

Shelby Shook Gaines is an American composer, musician, and writer. He is the son of novelist Charles Gaines and artist Patricia Ellisor Gaines.

<i>Before Midnight</i> 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater

Before Midnight is a 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), it is the third installment in the Before trilogy. The film follows Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy), now a couple, as they spend a summer vacation in Greece with their children.

<i>Seymour: An Introduction</i> (film) 2014 American film

Seymour: An Introduction is a 2014 American documentary film. Directed by Ethan Hawke, the film documents the career of Seymour Bernstein, a classical pianist who abandoned his rising career as a concert pianist at age 50 to retreat to a more modest, private life as a music educator and composer. The film premiered at the 2014 Telluride Film Festival, and was released on March 13, 2015, by IFC Films. As of May 2023, it has a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

<i>Born to Be Blue</i> (film) 2015 drama film

Born to Be Blue is a 2015 internationally co-produced drama film directed, produced and written by Robert Budreau. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is about American jazz musician Chet Baker, portrayed by Hawke.

<i>Before</i> trilogy Romance trilogy by Richard Linklater

The Before Trilogy consists of three American romance films directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Beginning with Before Sunrise (1995), and continuing with two sequels, Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). The films were all written by Linklater, along with Kim Krizan on the first film, and with Hawke and Delpy on the last two.

<i>Roxanne Roxanne</i> 2017 film

Roxanne Roxanne is a 2017 American musical drama film written and directed by Michael Larnell. It stars Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, and Shenell Edmonds. The film revolves around the life of rapper Roxanne Shante. It was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Adams won the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ben Dickey is an American actor and musician best known for playing Blaze Foley in the 2018 biographical drama Blaze. For his performance in the film, Dickey won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting.

<i>Tesla</i> (2020 film) 2020 film by Michael Almereyda

Tesla is a 2020 American biographical drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda. It stars Ethan Hawke as Nikola Tesla. Eve Hewson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jim Gaffigan, and Kyle MacLachlan also star.

<i>The Last Movie Stars</i> 2022 documentary series directed by Ethan Hawke

The Last Movie Stars is an American documentary television miniseries created by Emily Wachtel and directed by Ethan Hawke. All six episodes of the series were released on HBO Max on July 21, 2022. After discovering transcripts of interviews conducted at Paul Newman's request for an abandoned memoir project, a daughter of Newman and Joanne Woodward asked Hawke to tell their story, personally and as artists. Hawke assembled actors to read pieces of the interviews, conducted and edited by writer Stewart Stern, including interviews with Newman and Woodward. The marriage spanned 50 years and was often cited as one of the great Hollywood successful marriages and love stories.

References

  1. "'18 Sundance Film Festival - U.S. Dramatic Films". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  2. "Blaze (2018)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Galuppo, Mia (February 10, 2017). "Richard Linklater, Kris Kristofferson Joining Ethan Hawke's Music Biopic 'Blaze'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  4. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 18, 2017). "Ethan Hawke Helming C&W Tale 'Blaze' With Newcomer Ben Dickey". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  5. Debruge, Peter (November 29, 2017). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils Full 2018 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  6. "Blaze (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  7. "Blaze reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  8. Allen, Nick (January 22, 2018). "Sundance 2018: Blaze". RogerEbert.com.