Beware of Mr. Baker
Beware of Mr. Baker is a 2012 American documentary film by Jay Bulger about the jazz and rock drummer Ginger Baker.
Beware of Mr. Baker | |
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Directed by | Jay Bulger |
Produced by |
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Written by | Jay Bulger |
Starring | Ginger Baker |
Cinematography | Eric Robbins |
Edited by | Abhay Sofsky |
Production company |
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Distributed by | SnagFilms |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Background
For Bulger's article "The Devil and Ginger Baker" in Rolling Stone magazine, Bulger lived with Baker in South Africa where Baker had spent the previous decade living in seclusion.[1] The article and the numerous hours of interviews Bulger captured on film became the premise for the film, and in the spring of 2010, Bulger returned to South Africa with a small film crew to finish making the film.[2] It premiered at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary.[3] The title is a reference to a sign outside his South African compound, and also indicative of Baker's combative personality displayed in the film.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gave the documentary film an approval rating of 98% based on 48 reviews; the average rating is 7.8/10.[4] The consensus reads, "Free of the hagiographic overtones that dog many documentary profiles, Beware of Mr. Baker presents a clear-eyed, thoroughly gripping look at one of rock's greatest – and most personally problematic – musicians."[4] The film won several awards and was nominated for the 'Grierson Award' at the 2012 London Film Festival.[5]
Baker said of the film himself, "Some of it is very good and some of it is very annoying."[6] He elaborated that he was frustrated with the inclusion of some of the people on the film but was pleased to see Eric Clapton and Charlie Watts had taken part.[6]
References
- "The Devil and Ginger Baker: Behind Our New Feature". Rolling Stone. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- Coronado, Kris (3 March 2012). "Washington native Jay Bulger's first documentary film, about drummer Ginger Baker, will premiere at South by Southwest Film Festival". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- Murphy, Mekado (14 March 2012). "'Beware of Mr. Baker' and 'Gimme the Loot' Win Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "Beware Of Mr. Baker". Rottentomatoes.com. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- "Beware of Mr. Baker (2012) : Awards". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- Doyle, Patrick (11 October 2013). "Q&A: Ginger Baker on Why 'the Rolling Stones Are Not Good Musicians'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 October 2019.