Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 7, 2015

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, John Ridley's "Jimi: All Is by My Side" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"You really wanna change things? When the power of love takes over the love of power, that's when things will change."

The film opens up in New York City at a time when a very young Jimi Hendrix (André Benjamin, Idlewild) has started playing in the local clubs. He is already a brilliant guitarist, but no one notices his talent. The city, it seems, is too big for people like him.

Then Jimi is discovered by Linda Keith (Imogen Poots, Filth), who can tell that he isn’t like the rest of the musicians that are flooding the clubs. They are instantly attracted to each other, but both can sense that the attraction would never evolve into something meaningful, something that could last a long time.

Chas Chandler (Andrew Buckley, Skeletons), former bassist for the Animals, helps Jimi move to London and then quickly arranges a couple of small gigs for him. Soon after, Jimi begins a romantic relationship with Kathy Etchingham (Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), a trendy groupie with many colorful friends. Jimi likes the feeling of being loved, but his inability to give Kathy the attention she expects triggers a series of intense arguments. During one of them, Jimi seriously hurts Kathy.

Eventually, Jimi meets his idol, Eric Clapton (Danny McColgan), in a club. The experience is underwhelming, but after it Jimi’s life changes dramatically. Chas books a studio and they record his first track and soon after he gets an invitation to perform at the Monterey Pop Festival.

John Ridley’s film Jimi: All Is by My Side has generated some incredibly polarizing reviews, but this is hardly surprising. After all, a film about an iconic figure such as Jimi Hendrix cannot possibly please everyone -- there are too many half-truths that some people would expect to be treated as truths, and too many truths other people would demand to be treated as half-truths.

Historic accuracy aside, Ridley’s film does get the atmosphere and chaos of the late 1960s right. As the camera moves from one club to another, one can easily feel that the time is unique and that there is energy in the air that is a lot more powerful than the cheap drugs and alcohol.

There is lightness in the narrative that also benefits the film. Instead of focusing on crucial events from Jimi’s life, the film breezes past them and treats the legendary guitarist as just another guy who loves music and makes the type of mistakes everyone else around him does.

Unfortunately, the lack of copyrighted material -- Ridely was not allowed to use any Hendrix tracks in the soundtrack -- simply cannot be ignored, and at the very least the film feels incomplete. The much-critiqued visual style and editing are fine, but without at least a few of Jimi’s classic hits the film looks like an elegant vase that desperately needs a few flowers to be appreciated.

Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Ridley's Jimi: All Is by My Side arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye.

The film has the appropriate clean and smooth digital appearance, but there are various stylistic enhancements that occasionally affect clarity and depth. Also, light is captured in a variety of different ways and as a result sharpness levels can fluctuate. There is a wide range of nuanced colors that remain stable throughout the entire film. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no serious encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a very solid technical presentation of Jimi: All Is by My Side that makes it exceptionally easy to appreciate the vision of its creators. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The 5.1 track is terrific. It boasts outstanding depth and clarity and separation is excellent. There are no balance issues, though it has to be said that some of the guitar solos are frequently overexposed and there are various sound effects that blend in the dialog. The dialog is crisp and stable, but optional English SDH subtitles should have been included as some viewers will likely need them some of the exchanges are quite fluid. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Jimi: All Is by My Side. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Jimi: All Is by My Side Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is a shame that John Ridley's Jimi: All Is by My Side was not given a chance to succeed. André Benjamin is superb as Jimi Hendrix, but without at least a few of the iconic guitarist's classic hits the film simply feels incomplete. I would like to encourage you to avoid reading reviews of the film, as they have been extremely polarizing, and find a way to see it and form your own opinion. This isn't the film that Jimi's legacy deserves, but I assure you that there is a lot to like in it. RENT IT.