imdb: The Search for Robert Johnson is a 1991 UK television documentary film about the legendary Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, hosted by John Hammond, and produced and directed by Chris Hunt. In it, Hammond travels through the American Deep South to pursue topics such as Johnson's birth date, place and parents, his early musical development, performances and travels, romances, his mythic "pact with the devil," his untimely murder in his late twenties, the discovery of possible offspring, and the uncertainty over where Johnson is buried. Throughout, Johnson's music is both foreground and background, from recordings of Johnson and as performed on camera by Hammond, David Honeyboy Edwards, and Johnny Shines.

nytimes: The Search for Robert Johnson explores for the first time the troubled life and mysterious death of this legendary bluesman. Drawing on the research of blues scholars Mack McCormick and Gayle Dean Wardlow, the film pieces together documentary footage, interviews, and music to tell the story of an elusive spirit who, according to folklore, sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads. Fellow bluesmen Jonny Shines, Honeyboy Edwards, and Eric Clapton share interviews, as does Johnson's girlfriend Willie Mae Powell. Classic tunes {&"Crossroads Blues,"} {&"Hellhound on My Trail,"} {&"Terraplane Blues,"} {&"I Believe I'll Dust My Broom,"} and many more are included. Narrator John Hammond leads the search for answers by retracing the steps of the original researchers -- crisscrossing the Delta, introducing viewers to the man who may be Johnson's long-lost son, touring the sites of Johnson's only two recording sessions in 1936 and 1937, and finally investigating the circumstances of Johnson's murder on August 16, 1938. ~ Betsy Boyd, Rovi

Size: 3.70 Gb ( 3 877 276 KBytes ) - DVD-5Enabled regions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

VTS_01 : Play Length: 01:12:41 Video: NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR Audio: English (LinearPCM, 2 ch)