Marley - DVD

Film: Scottish director Kevin Macdonald has already demonstrated his very special talent for gripping and engagingly staged documentaries with films such as A Day in September, Life in a Day and Falling into the Void. And with his biography Marley, the celebrated filmmaker is once again on a qualitatively very high level. Thirty years after his death, Bob Marley has hardly lost any of his fascination. His records still sell very well and his impact on fans, other musicians and pop culture in general is unbroken. His songs are literally burned into the collective memory of an entire generation and his message of love, peace and freedom is just as relevant and relevant today as it was when Marley was alive.

But Kevin Macdonald does not (only) want to pay tribute to the legend Bob Marley. Rather, he wants to explore the man behind him in his film, trace his life and illuminate his effect on fans, friends and also the people who saw in him a political threat. For this purpose, the filmmaker set out to Jamaica, Ghana, Japan, England, the USA and finally even Bavaria to talk to people whose lives were influenced, shaped or touched by Bob Marley in a very special way. Family members like his wife Rita, his son Ziggy, his half-sister Constance or his mother Cedella Marley Booker have their say, as well as his first teacher, musicians of the Wailers or friends and Waltraud Ullrich, who was his nurse during Marley's hospital stay in Germany.

They all draw a very comprehensive picture of the reggae icon, which could have been a bit more critical in some moments. But even if - which is not surprising with the participation of so many family members and friends - the positive aspects dominate, it also becomes clear again and again that Bob Marley had other sides that did not always make it easy to deal with him. So one can accuse the film of lacking a certain critical distance, which could also be due to the fact that David Ziggy Marley was also involved in the making of the film as a producer. But a one-sided picture of the artist and man Bob Marley can not be accused of the film, which could not arise due to the number of different interview partners.

For the probably most honest moment Marley's daughter Cedella is responsible, who reports finally how much she had hoped to have her father at least on his way to death once for himself and not to have to share him with the public. Here it becomes clear how difficult it must have been, especially for his children, to admire their father on the one hand for his commitment, his courage and his artistic legacy, but to have to do without purely family moments almost completely.

What makes the film apart from the interviews so particularly worth seeing, however, is the mass of partly previously unpublished archive material that Macdonald was able to gather for his documentary. In this way, a highly interesting contemporary testimony about the political history of Jamaica, about the Rastafarian culture and reggae music was created. All these different aspects make Marley an absolute must for fans, even if some biographical aspects might already be known. But also everyone who is interested in stirring biographies and music documentaries in general should not miss this film. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Since the film makes use of a lot of archive footage, it cannot be assumed that the picture quality is first class throughout. However, even though some dirt or blurring can be discerned in the old footage, some of which is still in black and white, the DVD's picture leaves a very good impression overall. Especially the actual footage and interviews, but also the numerous photos that are played again and again, can score with a high sharpness and very good coloration. In terms of sound, the interviews and the music are of course tone-setting, which the 5.1 mix very well coordinated sound from the boxes.

Extras: As a bonus there is an interesting audio commentary by Kevin Macdonald, who is later still supported by Ziggy Marley. The optional German subtitled commentary is an interesting and definitely worth listening to addition to the documentary. This also applies to the three bonus songs from the concert at the Manhattan Center (approx. 10 min.), which fans will be especially happy about. The trailer for the film rounds out the concise but good bonus offerings.

Conclusion: Marley is a very comprehensive and engaging documentary that explores both the music legend and the man Bob Marley through extensive archival footage and actual interviews with Marley's relatives, friends, and companions. Even though fans should be familiar with many of the aspects discussed here, the great realization with numerous previously unreleased material makes the documentary a must for all Bob Marley fans and music lovers. The DVD is technically very well implemented, the bonus material is clear, but especially the audio commentary is very worth listening to. For this, there is a bottom line: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp