Blu-ray: New Orleans Music In Exile

STUDIO: MVD | DIRECTOR: Robert Mugge
RELEASE DATE: 11/18/16 | PRICE: Blu-ray $14.99
SPECS: NR | 118 min. | Documentary/music | 1.78:1 widescreen | stereo

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie  | Audio | Video  | Overall

“Documentary filmmaker and music aficionado Robert Mugge (Rhythm ‘N’ Bayous: A Road Map To Louisiana Music) is no stranger to the Louisiana music scene. After Hurricane Katrina ripped through the heart of New Orleans in August 2005, Mugge was compelled to document the devastating effects the storm had on the thousands of musicians who give the city its cultural identity.

The result is New Orleans Music in Exile, a poignant and thoughtful music-filled documentary which examines the displacement of the town’s Cajun, Blues, R&B, Jazz and Zydeco musical acts. Picking up two months after the leeves broke,  Mugge focuses his attention on the artists who had to flee the city, the places where they found refuge and how New Orleans began to rebuild its musical community when so many of its artists were unable to return home.

The film is packed with rousing performances by many famous musicians including Kermit Ruffins, Dr. John, The Rebirth Brass Band, John Cleary, Papa Grows Funk, Theresa Andersson, Irma Thomas and The Iguanas, many of whom also provide stirring personal stories about how Katrina affected their lives and the cost it had on their city. Mugge also works in insightful interviews with New Orleans club proprietors, the publisher of Offbeat Magazine, a Basin Street Records executive, the general manager of the popular radio station WWOZ, the staff of the charitable Tipitina’s Foundation, and officials of the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Iguanas perform in New Orleans: Music In Exile

I admit to be a lover of all things New Orleans—the food, the culture, the buskers, the parades and especially the music. My first visit to the city came a few years after the storm and I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of musical venues and performers, each exhibiting immeasurable passion for their craft no matter how large the crowd. Parts of the city were still struggling, but the pride and resilience emanating from the community was infectious and still is after my seventh trip more than a decade later. New Orleans is music; the city would not be the same without it.

Eleven years after the storm, New Orleans Music in Exile is just as relevant as it was when it first debuted in 2006. It is historical marker that shined a spotlight on a segment of the city that was vital to retaining its cultural history and rebuilding its economic growth. Ultimately, the film is a celebration of the rebirth of America’s greatest music city.

Making its Blu-ray debut the disc includes a wealth of bonus features: public radio executive David Spizale’s illustrated story of rescuing stranded residents from the New Orleans flood waters; Jon Cleary performing a personalized history of New Orleans piano styles; six bonus musical performances; and seven extended versions of performances—all of them shot and mastered on HD video.

Buy or Rent New Orleans Music In Exile
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