SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

evening1 I'd expected a black-and-white concert film here (though admittedly this doc dates to 2008), but found more than that.This film takes us back to the Sixties when Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, and their band performed in the sprawling dining hall of Folsom Prison. It was Johnny's attempt at a comeback and he could not have had a more appreciative crowd in this place where, as a former inmate put it, "everything is limited and restricted...You're not a human being decent enough to be talked to in a decent manner." Cash wasn't an ex-con himself but he was empathic to the prisoner's plight and a surprising number of his songs tried to provide the jailed man's perspective. (He draws applause when singing the controversial line "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die...") The film takes an intriguing detour into the checkered life of Glen Sherley, a career criminal who aspired to songwriting. Cash sang one of his songs at the Folsom concert and got Sherley an early release -- only to get scared by some of the violent things the ex-con started saying. (Cash sent Sherley packing and Sherley killed himself years later.) The movie says some thoughtful things about imprisonment, rehabilitation, and the futility of trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved. And the music is superb -- particularly when Cash and June Carter perform together. If it has one flaw, it's that there's too much talk here and not enough of Cash's unique artistry.Still,this film is well worth seeing and remembering.

paul2001sw-1 I like the music of Johnny Cash, but I can't help but feel that since his death, there's been something of a tendency to over-lionise him. The story of his album recorded at Folsom prison, told in this documentary, is a case in point. Cash had started playing in prisons - he clearly sympathised with those behind bars - on one occasion he recorded his show - and that's really the whole story. It nay have been a great performance, but it's still hard to see what the narrative is really supposed to be, and this documentary doesn't help by being loaded up with talking heads who assert that (but don't illustrate how) Cash was a great but troubled man. The story of a prisoner he tried to help is a better (though more tragic) story, but feels like a side-track in the overall film. Best thing is to sit back and enjoy the music; but don't expect too much insight.

Ron in LA This is a documentary that uses Johnny Cash's 1968 Folsom Prison performance as the pivot point for telling his life story, with interesting subplots about two of the inmates present at the concert, notably country music artist Glen Sherley who was essentially discovered by Cash as part of the concert event. There was no actual video of the concert, so we get interviews with Cash's and Sherley's kids, as well as with back-up musicians, etc., with still photographs, archival footage, and some interesting animation sequences.I caught an afternoon showing at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and it is hard to imagine that this film will generate a lot of excitement in any theatrical release. It will work well on television, and if you get a chance to see it you will be rewarded with a balanced and engaging account of a complex and interesting man.

V I'm not a raging Johnny Cash fan, but I like his stuff, and I particularly like his Live @ Folsom album. I was really looking forward to a "behind the scenes" look into the making of this album, and going into it I assumed there would be a bunch of archival video from the actual event.Instead, the film makers delivered a biography of Cash with particular emphasis on his advocacy for prison reform, and how this concert played into that theme of his life. Unfortunately, even this theme wasn't very focused, and it wasn't apparent what point they were trying to get across until well into the film.It wasn't *bad,* per se, it just wasn't as good as i'd hoped. Perhaps a case of misplaced expectations.Even more unfortunate is that there were people in the audience who've never heard the album before, and though the album itself is superb, this film doesn't leave that impression with someone not familiar with Cash's work. I think die-hard Cash fans will appreciate this most, while it doesn't really have a whole lot to offer for the common viewer.