Chuck Berry – Hail! Hail! Rock N’ Roll Blu-ray

Region A Bluray so a Region A Blu-ray player is required to use or it is useless

Hackford’s original film, now issued with a crisp, anamorphic transfer and digital sound, occupies Disc One. A parade of classics are heard during the climactic concert, performed by Berry and a superb band (led by Keith Richards and featuring guitarist Robert Cray and Johnny Johnson, Berry’s original pianist, among others), with guest shots by Eric Clapton (smoking on the slow blues “Wee Wee Hours”), Etta James, Linda Ronstadt, and Julian Lennon (whose dad was an unabashed Berry fan). There are revealing offstage glimpses, too, like Berry confessing that he only took up music full-time because there was more money in it than in housepainting, or a weary, wasted Richards admitting that “I was mad to take the gig” but gamely standing up to his idol at every turn (watch for a memorable moment during the very first song of the concert, when Chuck attempts to change key in mid-tune and Keith sternly shakes him off).