B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 18, 2014

Has there ever been an artist with a more appropriate surname than B.B. King? Yet for all his renown, B.B. King the man seems oddly unknown, aside from perhaps some elements like his diabetes which have become part of the public consciousness due in no small part to King’s own efforts to raise awareness about the disease. B.B. King – The Life of Riley is an exhaustive biography of the legend, and if it tips a bit toward hagiography much of the time, perhaps that’s unavoidable with a man who has done so much to define a particular genre in popular music. (For those who don't already know, Riley is King's official given first name.)

Structurally the documentary follows accepted norms, ping ponging between interviews, archival footage and some frankly kind of poorly chosen stock footage, all cobbled together to help illuminate King’s story from an indigent youth to years of paying his dues and ultimate superstardom. King himself is on hand here and proves to be the most eloquent raconteur of a rather starry bunch (everyone from Bill Cosby to Ronnie Wood shows up to laud King). The blues are all about struggle, and what B.B. King – The Life of Riley makes clear is that for all the untold riches and fame King has amassed through the years, he began with next to nothing and created his own legacy step by step over the course of many hard won personal struggles.

B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

B.B. King – The Life of Riley is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (some of the archival footage is in various other aspect ratios). As might be expected from a documentary featuring such disparate source material, there's a rather wide disparity in video quality here. The contemporary interview segments look the best, with good fine detail, clarity and contrast. The archival footage is widely variable, with some old videotapes exhibiting bugaboos like ghosting. Weirdly, though, some of the contemporary interview segments have slight stability issues. Watch the herringbone pattern on Bobby Bland's vest and you'll see a display that alternates between moiré and aliasing. This is the exception rather than the rule, though, and overall the documentary looks very good if not totally excellent.

B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While some may lament the fact that this Blu-ray features only a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio option, the "good news" (if there is any) is that this is a documentary and not a music video. Therefore, the performance pieces tend to come in dribs and drabs, and even then only as excerpts, with the bulk of the documentary given over to interview segments and Morgan Freeman's smooth narration. The musical elements provide the bulk of the surround activity, though even that is somewhat limited. While there's nothing overly impressive here, there likewise isn't a lot to complain about, either.

B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews:

  Buddy Guy (1080p; 2:00)

  Mick and Ronnie (1080p; 2:07)

  Bonnie Raitt (1080p; 1:57)

  Derek Trucks (1080p; 2:17)

  Bobby Bland (1080p; 1:11)

  Walter Trout (1080p; 2:21)

  Susan Tedeschi (1080p; 1:53)

  Carlos Santana (1080p; 2:35)

  Joe Bonamassa (1080p; 2:06)

  Dr. John (1080p; 2:52)

  John Mayall (1080p; 1:53)

  Slash (1080p; 1:34)

  Leon Russell (1080p; 1:00)

• Live at Royal Albert Hall (1080p; 8:35)

B.B. King: The Life of Riley Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While fans of King, especially those who know a little about their idol, probably won't be overly surprised by anything that shows up in this documentary, it's still wonderful to hear King himself reminisce about his long life and various struggles he encountered along the way. Some of the other interview segments are touching (some extended family members and childhood friends are on tap), while other celebrities don't really have much to offer other than the expected, "Yeah, he's great". Overall, this is still a very worthwhile piece that any King fan should enjoy. Recommended.