Beware of Mr. Baker

Last updated
Beware of Mr. Baker
Beware-of-Mr-Baker-poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Jay Bulger
Written byJay Bulger
Produced by
Starring Ginger Baker
CinematographyEric Robbins
Edited byAbhay Sofsky
Production
companies
  • Insurgent Media
  • Pugilist at Rest Productions
Distributed by SnagFilms
Release dates
  • 10 March 2012 (2012-03-10)(South by Southwest)
  • 28 November 2012 (2012-11-28)(United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Beware of Mr. Baker is a 2012 American documentary film by Jay Bulger about the jazz and rock drummer Ginger Baker.

Contents

Background

For Bulger's article "The Devil and Ginger Baker" in Rolling Stone magazine , Bulger lived with Baker in South Africa where Baker had spent the previous decade living in seclusion. [1] The article and the numerous hours of interviews Bulger captured on film became the premise for the film, and in the spring of 2010, Bulger returned to South Africa with a small film crew to finish making the film. [2] It premiered at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary. [3] The title is a reference to a sign outside his South African compound, and also indicative of Baker's combative personality displayed in the film.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gave the documentary film an approval rating of 98% based on 48 reviews; the average rating is 7.8/10. [4] The consensus reads, "Free of the hagiographic overtones that dog many documentary profiles, Beware of Mr. Baker presents a clear-eyed, thoroughly gripping look at one of rock's greatest – and most personally problematic – musicians." [4] The film won several awards and was nominated for the 'Grierson Award' at the 2012 London Film Festival. [5]

Baker said of the film himself, "Some of it is very good and some of it is very annoying." [6] He elaborated that he was frustrated with the inclusion of some of the people on the film but was pleased to see Eric Clapton and Charlie Watts had taken part. [6]

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References

  1. "The Devil and Ginger Baker: Behind Our New Feature". Rolling Stone . 12 August 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. Coronado, Kris (3 March 2012). "Washington native Jay Bulger's first documentary film, about drummer Ginger Baker, will premiere at South by Southwest Film Festival". The Washington Post . Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  3. Murphy, Mekado (14 March 2012). "'Beware of Mr. Baker' and 'Gimme the Loot' Win Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW". The New York Times . Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Beware Of Mr. Baker". Rottentomatoes.com. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  5. "Beware of Mr. Baker (2012) : Awards". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. 1 2 Doyle, Patrick (11 October 2013). "Q&A: Ginger Baker on Why 'the Rolling Stones Are Not Good Musicians'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 6 October 2019.