Songcatcher (1999)

Hauntingly beautiful folk music and stunning Appalachian scenery take center stage in this winner of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for outstanding ensemble performance. Musicologist Dr. Lily Penleric has a deep love of English folk ballads. After a humiliating failure to make full professor, she heads off to visit her sister's tiny school in rural Appalachia and finds herself in folk music central. Lily is entranced, but the locals are suspicious of the outlander's motivations. Issues of tolerance, clashing cultures, and Big Bad Men abound, but Songcatcher wisely focuses on the music. Janet McTeer does fine with the "repressed academic gets in touch with the earth" role, but her truly outstanding work is in revealing scholar Lily's rapture in her discoveries. McTeer leads a truly great cast, including the wonderful Pat Carroll, and a just-for-the-hell-of-it cameo by bluesman Taj Mahal. Songcatcher has a healthy respect for the mountain people it portrays, and an absolute reverence for their music. --Ali Davis Amazon.com

Nice Movie with PC agenda

The other reviews are accurate. This is beautifully crafted film. The plot however turns around a lesbian relationship. Lesbians are compassionate and wonderful, Christians are small minded, ignorant, and repressive. Unless you want to be fed pro homosexual, anti Christian propaganda skip this film, no matter how well made it is. November 19, 2008

Review of the movie "Songcatcher"

This was one of the best movies Ive seen in a while. It was clean and fun. This movie depicted some of our American heritage showing where some of our music originated and how it was preserved over time. It was a delightful and entertaining movie. I liked the movie so much that I bought movie and the soundtrack. If you a lover of music at all this is a movie not only worth watching but also worth owning. October 28, 2008

Charm, Innocence & Life

This movie took me completely by surprise! Such a moving story of a womans refusal to submitt to inaffectual male domonance and fear. I found this movie uplifting, entertaining and certainly educational.
As a professional musician myself, I found it filled in a lot of gaps not taught in most college music courses. Absolutely charming, indeed. October 9, 2008

Good story, even better soundtrack. A must have for musicologists of every ilk.

I used to live in this part of North Carolina, so the scenery was a treat for me. The history behind that wonderful, culturally rich music was quite fascinating, and the music itself was entrancing. Janet McTeer is superb in her role. Anyone who has seen her portray Vita Sackville-West in Portrait Of Marriage will appreciate the heart-wrenching twist in this story. Colorful, true to life characters will win your heart. September 25, 2008

Excellent

Ordered to replace a stolen copy. Excellent condition for both DVD and packaging. This one doesn't have a bad spot the original had, either! Was in the process of moving and it came before I had to even worry about it. Thanks! Great job! September 25, 2008

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