Great Balls of Fire! (film)

Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis - A Life for the Rock'n'Roll ( Original Title: Great Balls of Fire) is an American biographical film of 1989 was directed by Jim McBride, the screenplay by Jack Baran. Jim McBride based on a book by Myra Lewis and Murray Silver Jr. and starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder.

Action

Jerry Lee Lewis grew up in the 1940s in Louisiana, where he secretly steals in attended by blacks Kaschemmen to hear their music. As a young man he moved to his religious cousin to make in the big city career. With Crazy Arms he lands a first hit. In the second half of the 1950s, he is a well-known musician. His song Great Balls of Fire is reaching ever higher places of the chart lists. When he gets a check for $ 40,000, he thinks for a moment, it would be $ 4000 - which already seemed to it to be a very large sum of money. The female fans scream and cheer.

Lewis spends more and more time with his cousin Myra Gale Lewis, who is only 13 years old. When he picks her up after school, the students dancing in the street.

Lewis married Myra secretly. When her father, a member of the music group learns of the wedding, he wants to shoot Lewis. The manager of the group calms him and points to the expected high revenue.

The group comes to the UK, Myra flies despite concerns of the manager. The wedding should be kept a secret though, but one of the reporters found Myra's role already at the airport out. The lie that she was 15 years old does not help, and will soon be exposed. The public image of the musician suffers, on the first concert he gets booed. There is debate over his expulsion from the United Kingdom. Lewis has to cancel the tour.

In the United States, the same students who have danced in an earlier scene on the road to the back contact, him. The next song by Lewis disappears from the hit list. The singer appears in front of a small audience, he drinks a lot of alcohol.

Lewis spends a night after the concert with a woman; at the same time he calls Myra and accuses her of being unfaithful. He beats upon our return. As Lewis calmed down, he learns that Myra is pregnant. At the end of the film the picture with their son is shown.

A cousin of Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, is a preacher. He calls in a sermon to choose between a quick buck and the rocky road to God. Myra shows moves. Lewis says he's a musician who can play in hell and leaves the church. Myra follows him.

Reviews

Roger Ebert criticized in the Chicago Sun - Times of 30 June 1989 that the film show no real image of the musician. He cited the film writers who had opted "for the Legends'. The scene in which the earlier dancing on the streets people Jerry Lee Lewis condemn WOULD "forced" and "wrong." Ebert praised the portrayal of Dennis Quaid.

The lexicon of international film mentioned the " rapid cutting sequence " and wrote that the film does not try to be the " historical truth ". The presentation by Dennis Quaid has been praised as " demonically brilliant."

Kissing Mermaids "In addition to Dennis Quaid was the then 17 year old Winona Ryder that their breakthrough the following year with offers " better "and " Edward Scissorhands "had. Director Jim McBride does not see his film as a way "biography": It is a fictional story based on known facts. Well, the best stories but wrote down our lives. Conclusion: Biography Grelle with wild soundtrack "

Background

  • The shooting took place in Arkansas and Memphis ( Tennessee). The film played in theaters in the USA a 13.741 million U.S. dollars.
  • The soundtrack to the film was released on 18 April 2001 entitled Great Balls of Fire in the trade. It contains all the songs for the film and a duet by Dennis Quaid and Jerry Lee Lewis.
  • Winona Ryder won the 1990 Young Artist Award.
1989 in film Film score Affonso Beato Chicago Sun-Times Memphis (Tennessee)
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