Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Paramount
EAN: 0097363461944
Format: Closed-captioned
Item Dimensions: Array
Label: Paramount
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Paramount
MPN: PARD346194D
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-06-26
Running Time: 115
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 2007-03-02

When ex-blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds the town nymphomaniac Rae (Christina Ricci) left for dead on the side of the road, he vows to nurse her back to health…and cure her of her wickedness. Until then, she’ll be chained to the immovable radiator in his home. But Lazarus has demons of his own: his wife just left him for his own brother. While Lazarus and Rae struggle to fix their broken lives, the situation threatens to explode as Rae's boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) — a roughneck soldier just back from Iraq — comes searching for his missing lover.
The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones--several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humor. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. --Bret Fetzer

Beyond Black Snake Moan

The Soundtrack

More Music Stars on DVD

More DVDs with Samuel L. Jackson

Stills from Black Snake Moan (click for larger image)

Customer Rating:
Summary: Strange Tale of Sin and Salvation
Comment: Craig Brewer's second film Black Snake Moan is a strange tale of sin and redemption in the new South. The film which could have been merely a lurid sexploitation film about a young nymphomaniac and the aging bluesman who attempts to heal her turns into an interesting if flawed exploration of the power of love and music to heal broken people.

The films leads Samuel L.Jackson and Christina Ricci do surprisingly good work in this film. Ricci plays Rae with feeling and compassion. She gives a performance that allows her to break free from her usual roles and play a character that while hard to believe at times comes across as broken and likable. Jackson steps out of his usual tough guy role into that of bluesman Lazarus who makes it his job to save Rae. It is in his showing of unconditional love that he leans the power of music to heal.

The disc I watched was standard definition but was quite good in both picture and sound quality. The musical score by Scott Bomar is quite good and reflects the blues roots of the source material. The dis includes a quite well done commentary by Brewer and three featurettes on the making of the film and its soundtrack.

All in all not a bad film and certainly better thann expected. Well worth a rental.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Well acted unexpectingly good movie
Comment: I first saw this film when it aired on Showtime, never having wanted to see it before as I didn't quite get what the film was about. My first time watching it, expecting that I wouldn't like it, just the opposite happened. The film is wonderfully acted by all actors.. Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, ect. The story to me is a sad one, with a very moving and happy ending. You feel for the characters, and I think Ricci shines in this difficult role. A movie with a more serious underlying note, definitely worth seeing. Great soundtrack too. Am glad to have a copy of this film in my collection.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Strange Yet Rewarding Film
Comment: This is a strange yet rewarding film. Samuel L. Jackson and the actor who plays R.L. do a very good job of making a semi-ridiculous film seem semi-believable. I believe that Christina's character being tied up in chains by a black man is meant to represent one of the strongest fears that white men had about black men down south; that they were more masculine, overtly sexual and were out to steal and rape "their" women. Of course, Jackson's character, Lazarus, does no such thing. Instead, he takes care of Rae, Ricci's character, and helps cure her of her disease. For those who know nothing about the Blues, this film can be a little misleading. For instance, Blind Lemon Jefferson's recording of "Black Snake Moan" has nothing in common with the version Jackson performs, save the lyrics. The original is much more convincing, musically complex, and features superior vocals. There is also a very strong emphasis on Hill Country Blues in this film, as we can see by the presence of Kenny Brown and Burnside's grandson, who is an excellent drummer. Hill Country Blues is not the form of Blues that is usually thought of when one hears the word "Blues". Instead, the Delta Blues of Muddy Waters or Son House is often pictured. Hill Country Blues was not even known about until Lomax went down south and discovered the magnificent "Mississippi" Fred McDowell. R.L. Burnside, who was a McDowell disciple, has his music prominently featured in this film, though he is not historically important at all. Even at his best, he is a second-rate Fred McDowell. If those who worked on this movie knew more about the Blues, they would have taken out a lot of the Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside music and included songs more representative of the Blues as a whole.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Worth viewing
Comment: I enjoyed the movie. It was a little different but good. Some reviewers say the "black snake" reference was sexual......maybe but if you actually watch the movie Laz is playing the guitar and refers to what he calls "the black snake moan". It shines light on a taboo subject, sexual abuse. It gives insight on why a lot of "loose" women behave as they do. If nothing else I'm sure it provokes thought about that. It does require you to think while watching the movie so if you like simple movies it's not for you. Some parts are stereotypical but the story overall is good....Worth checking out.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . ."
Comment: An excellent, underrated movie betrayed by its atrocious theatrical poster, BLACK SNAKE MOAN works on just so many levels. Samuel L. Jackson is Lazarus, a farmer and natural blues guitarist living in rural Tennessee. Lazarus' wife has left him for his brother, and the bitter Lazarus veers like a skirling wind between self-pity, world-weariness, emotionally-charged violence, and religiously-fueled hopefulness.

One morning, he finds Rae (Christina Ricci) lying beaten, bloody, and naked in the road near his house. Rae is the girl in town with the "reputation"; the least perjorative way to describe her behavior is that she uses her sexuality as both a weapon and a shield, closing herself off from a trauma-scarred childhood. Consequently, Rae manipulates men and is victimized by them. Her boyfriend Ronnie has just been deployed with the Tennessee National Guard, and in her lonely misery, her evening companion has attacked her and dumped her off.

The lonely Lazarus takes Rae in, but realizing that she is delirious both from the beating and a raging fever, he chains her inside the house so she will not wander. Although Rae first tries to get away, she soon finds in Lazarus a kindred spirit, and the two become friends.

Unfortunately, the image of Lazarus holding the panty-clad Rae by a length of chain is the image the promoters chose to market this film. This sexually-charged, racially stereotyped symbolism undoubtedly ruined this film's reception. And it's a shame, because BLACK SNAKE MOAN is a splendid film with great depth. Of course, the mostly-naked Ricci is sexy in a trailer park way (it's said that she put herself on a diet of junk to acheive the sallow, sunken-eyed look which typifies Rae), but the relationship between Lazarus and Rae develops into a profoundly moving father-daughter bond as the film progresses.

It is not one-sided. Both Rae and Lazarus are able to collect the shards of their shattered self-esteem and rebuild their lives. In the Hollywood manner, all their complex problems are resolved by the end of the third reel, but nonetheless, BLACK SNAKE MOAN gives us a wonderful portrait of two deeply wounded people finding themselves in each other's eyes.

There are many women like Rae; and there are many men like Lazarus. It is the reality of their shared experience that hits home with such force. We know these people. On some level, we are these people. A film can accomplish nothing finer nor more meaningful and lasting than that. The blues soundtrack is a perfect underscore to what we see onscreen.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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