Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

ebiros2 Very complete biography of Miles Davis through the eyes of his family, band member, influences etc..To me Miles Davis is modern jazz. He's the scientific doctor who invented this new science in music. His legacy is so obvious, but there wasn't a complete biographical movie done about him until this one. Miles was different in many ways from other black musicians. He was from a middle class family, he was very smart, and started his musical career at a school brass band.To me he is the first "intellectual" jazz musician. He constructed his music from an idea perspective that nobody else have done. Often this approach is too cold for me, but it's clean and beautiful like no one else's music.This is a great documentary on life of Miles Davis. It shows the many sides of the complex man. Although how he was able to create his music remains elusive, we do get to see the path Miles have taken as a musician, and that's a worthwhile addition to anyone's musical library.

sevketakinci Even though I was very happy seeing rare footage of his concerts in the 60's and 70's I was very much dissatisfied with the documentary and felt it as an incomplete film about the life of a music genius. I wish there was more about his life as a musician than about his life as a father or husband and more of him as "The Figure." I don't think the documentary conveys very well why Miles Davis is regarded as a genius by musicians and listeners around the world. Instead of watching this documentary I would recommend reading his excellent autobiography. By the way, as another reviewer pointed out the music he made in the 70's with Chick Corea and Keith Jarret is not at all "noodling". Miles and his group were pioneers of a music that inspired many musicians for decades like Weather Report and even the late 90's electronic dub and drum and bass music. If one listens carefully, one will find a texture of sheer excellence and musical genius that revolutionized Jazz. Because Jazz is about transformation and also a renewal of the self as well as the sound.

stuhh2001 If I couldn't stand this man before seeing this film, this is the coup de grace to my revulsion of the "Miles Industry", and the man(this is a "man"?) it represents. Miles Davis was a good bebop trumpet player in the 50's, when he played with Charley Parker. Although he knew that technically he couldn't handle Parker's blistering tempi, and tried to quit the band, Parker spurred him on and Miles sounded beautiful, especially on "Bird Gets the Worm", which was based on "Lover Come Back To Me". Then, I guess Miles started reading the critics about his "genius", and creativity. What followed from the 70's on, was the "fusion", rock influenced, synthisized, no chords, modal mishmash that almost killed jazz. The chief cuplrits and abbetors were Keith Jarret, and Chick Corea. I'll say they were young, and maybe they were in awe of Miles, but those endless concerts of "noodling" around their instruments are there on record for you to make up you own mind. The film is very watchable because it puts many people we've read about for years to tell their own "Miles" stories. And the women!! THE POOR SUFFERING WOMEN!! I'm going to be a good boy and softly say, to conclude, this was not a nice man.

david-925 Somehow, this documentary about Miles manages to include very little music and no complete tunes. Though Miles appears in the film, 95% of the interviews are other folks, not Miles. There are huge chronological gaps, many aspects of his life (his childhood prodigy, his drug addiction) are skipped or glossed over, and you'll learn little about what made the man and his contribution to music so groundbreaking. Skip it.