Get On Up [Blu-ray]

Was a good movie! Enjoyed it!

The best soulful acting from the late great Mr. Chadwick Boseman.

One Could be thrilled just at the amazing way this film covered the spectacular career of one of the all time best, and how brilliantly Chadwick Boseman got into the portrayal, both emotionally and also how he replicated those dance moves. BUT to me the heart and soul of this film, which I was eagerly awaiting, was how much that little boy never vanished from the film. A key example of that was when he drove his pick up truck attempting to elude a convey of police officers, and when they finally got him, the younger version of himself got out of the car to surrender. The two scenes that brought tears to my eyes, were first the scene where young James encounters his long lost Mother, played by Viola Davis, after they had been separated for a period of time, and he calls out to her, pleading for her to recognize him, but she is there with some soldier who she has befriended one presumes to sell her body to, and this is where you see the genius of Viola Davis and her acting. (Was glad she recently won the Emmy for "Getting Away with Murder"). The soldier callously says to Voila when her son desperately reaches out due to their chance encounter "Do you know this little N word?" You see Ms Davis in some of the best acting with barely any words writhing in agony over the fact she is embarrassed to admit this is her own flesh and blood, and it pains her far more than young James, at least to my eye. That scene had me in tears and I rarely find myself crying while watching films. Then many years later Viola reappears at James dressing room when he is a full fledged star of music. She sips at champagne and is far more embarrassed and ashamed than the scene years earlier at the bordello. He suddenly asks her what she is doing there, since basically she has been a no show for most of his life. She doesn't really answer but cries profusely and it instantly occurs to James Brown his "Mom" want to get paid, she is just a hanger on, looking for a score. He gives her $100 and shoes her away, and she walks, tears streaming down, out of the dressing room with the same despair a person on death row has headed for their execution. Then we see Mr. Boseman and his incredible range of acting, when after she leaves, he is bent over at a sink weeping when it hits him how tragically sad this encounter has been. This is after he lies to her and basically says, "James Brown doesn't need anyone!!" In some ways the grown James Brown is still that little boy. (The acting by the boy who portrayed him as a child was really magnificent) His closest friend in the band comes in and James is horrified to show this level of vulnerability. He then tells him to make sure his Mom gets a cab home to Brooklyn. ~~Yes a great film on the life of James Brown, with all the highs and lows. The wife beating is repeated that he witnesses as a child watching his Dad abuse his Mom. Go to this film to remember the great music of one of the funkiest of all time, but leave with all the revelations of a very painful life. Chadwick Boseman did a terrific job in the Jackie Robinson film, and got inside that character as well. This viewing, probably my second came in very handy since I was dealing with a sad event in my life regarding a recent estrangement with a friend, and I was able to sob and weep over especially those two Boseman Davis scenes. Viola Davis has a lot of amazing film and TV roles to her credit, but I am anxious to see what Chadwick Boseman does next. This film is really to my mind worth 10 stars or more !!!

love this movie!

While it is in no way a perfect film, GET ON UP succeeds largely due to Chadwick Boseman's transcendent performance as the "hardest working man in show business," James Brown. Among the positive elements (Chadwick Boseman aside), I liked the non-linear approach to the story which differentiated it from a lot of the other biopics that I've seen. I thought it was fairly creative to have the story jump around in a way that suggests a stream-of-consciousness approach to recounting one's life. Each significant event triggers other memories, and despite how disorienting it is at first, by the end I was totally used to it. There were also some other interesting choices made, like having the young actor portraying James Brown as a child replace Chadwick Boseman in a pivotal moment late in the film for a couple of shots. And of course, Chadwick Boseman completely immersed himself in the role, to the point that I often forgot I was watching an actor instead of James Brown himself. Of course, they used James Brown's real voice instead of having Boseman sing, but the way in which he transformed himself and the physicality he brought to the role was just amazing. Another interesting choice was having Boseman break the fourth wall occasionally to narrate parts of his own story and give his perspective on different events. That being said, not everything was as good as it could have been. Despite Boseman's awesome performance, at times the film felt like more of a greatest hits compilation than a straightforward story, the non-linear aspect aside. It also glossed over some important aspects of the character of James Brown. There was only one scene in which any domestic violence was hinted at, when there was undoubtedly a lot more. I'm not saying that there should have been a lot, but it would have been more honest to address this. I also feel like the relationship with his absentee parents wasn't addressed as fully as it could have been, considering how it affected the man he became. Still, one advantage of the non-linear structure was the placement of a scene with his mother that occurs earlier in his career, but his placed towards the end of the film for emotional impact. A little manipulative? Maybe, but I don't mind being emotionally jerked around by a movie once in a while. All things considered, the filmmakers did a lot to make this stand out from all of the other biopics out there, even if it does treat its subject with kid gloves and goes on a little longer than I would have liked. Still, Chadwick Boseman's performance alone is enough to recommend this film, and there's so much great music in it that it's hard not to like.

to watch

It was an ok movie. Chadwick bosemen did an great job in portraying the godfather of soul. I just think the director did an horrible job. The timeline of events was too all over the place!!

I've been wanting to watch this movie on TV but never could get it so the next best thing would be to buy the video and I never realized his life was so abusive toward other people. The quality of the video was excellent.

I am going to make this review quite brief, because it only needs a brief review.Quite simply; 'Get On Up' is one of the finest Music Biography films EVER brought to the big screen.I thought that no other black actor could eclipse what Jamie Foxx did with his film 'Ray', the film that brought Jamie Foxx the oscar.How wrong I was.Chadwick Boseman portrayal of James Brown on 'Get On Up' IS QUITE SIMPLY, The finest portrayal of a Black Musician, I have EVER seen on the Big Screen.I can well understand why the estate of James Brown, was so guided by the rights of Bringing James Brown's story to the big screen.Spike Lee was one of the Directors who was actually going to direct this film.In the end it went to a white director (Tate Taylor), the same director who directed the film 'The Help'.I mentioned Tate Taylor being a white director, because just like Steven Spielberg directing 'The Colour Purple'; Tate Taylor's cinematic vision of depicting Black-American Life (the life that James Brown represented) is absolutely incredible.Also the way that Chadwick Boseman stares into the screen lens in some of the scenes in this film, are very moving for the viewer.It is this approach to the script and the cinematic vision, that allows us as viewers to get into the characters of James Brown's mind, that only (really) the book novel is able to do.

Enjoyed this movie from start to finish,he really was a nasty piece of work as far as his band members and his female associates, he was a talented man but very selfish, sad what a bad upbringing can do, but CHADWICK BOSEMAN, was excellent in the performance of BROWN would highly recommend this product and seller 100%.

My husband is big fan of soul and jazz so bought this DVD for him as Christmas present, we really enjoyed it, great music and movie, interesting story and of course the character himself (James Brown), do recommend, we really liked it.

I like this kind of film just to get an insight on some of the great entertainers in our lives. This was a very nice film and story,a pleasure to have bought from the seller and very fast delivery.

OK so the actor does not quite look like him but boys doesn't he (or his stunt double) dance like James Brown. Sound wise, have they used some audio trickery to make him sound like him? We will never know. But actually who cares? If you like the Godfather of Soul, you will like this film.