Main Cast: John Hartford, Ralph Stantley, Terry Bulger, T-Bone Burnett, Ethan Coen
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
For their film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, set in the American South during the 1930s, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen collaborated with musician, songwriter, and producer T-Bone Burnett to compile a score that reflected the rich variety of musical influences of the rural South during the Depression. Burnett brought together a veritable who's who of American roots music for the project, and while the film was a moderate success, the soundtrack album to O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a surprise hit, topping the country charts for several weeks and helping to open the ears of a new audience to the beauty and rough-hewn poetry of bluegrass, traditional country, rural blues, and gospel music. Shortly before the film's release, Burnett assembled many of the artists who appeared on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack for a special concert at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium (the original home of the Grand Ole Opry) to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; the evening was filmed, and Down From the Mountain documents this very special night of music that celebrates America's musical past as it points to the future. Performers include Emmylou Harris, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, the Cox Family, the Fairfield Four, the Whites, Chris Thomas King, and Gillian Welch. Holly Hunter, one of the stars of O Brother, makes a cameo appearance, as does noted country music enthusiast Billy Bob Thornton. Songwriter, musician, and historian John Hartford served as master of ceremonies for the concert (and the film); sadly, he died after a long bout with cancer less than two weeks before Down From the Mountain premiered in New York and Nashville in June 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Joel Coen; Cox Family; The Fairfield Four; Emmylou Harris; Alison Krauss - Performer; Chris Thomas King; David Rawlings - Performer; Gillian Welch - Performer; The Whites - Performer
Credit
Rebecca Marshall - Associate Producer, Chris Hegedus - Director, D.A. Pennebaker - Director, Nick Doob - Director, D.A. Pennebaker - Editor, Nick Doob - Editor, T-Bone Burnett - Executive Producer, Ethan Coen - Executive Producer, Joel Coen - Executive Producer, Chris Hegedus - Cinematographer, D.A. Pennebaker - Cinematographer, Bob Neuwirth - Cinematographer, Nick Doob - Cinematographer, Bob Neuwirth - Producer, Frazer Pennebaker - Producer, Alan Barker - Sound/Sound Designer
Documentarian D. A. Pennebaker, director of such musical documentary films as Dont Look Back and Monterey Pop, co-directed Down from the Mountain.
John Hartford, who acts as master of ceremonies for the concert, is interviewed while piloting a paddlewheeler riverboat, and he talks about his time as a towboat pilot on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. It is his last filmed appearance before his death on June 4, 2001.
T-Bone Burnett is seen working with the girl trio, the Peasall Sisters, instructing guitarist Chris Sharp to increase the tempo on their number, "In the Highways", to rock and roll speed. "Can't you relate to rock and roll?" Burnett asks the bluegrass musician.
Gillian Welch explains that Harris and Alison Krauss took delight in making her sing the highest part in their trio, "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", when both Harris and Krauss have higher-register voices. Harris sang the bass part on the song, which is unusual for the singer, who is well known for her role as the "angel" vocalist in duets and backing vocals with other artists.
The concert is introduced by Holly Hunter, a cast member from O Brother, Where Art Thou?. She explains the presence of cameramen on the stage by making a joke about it being "dress-down Wednesday" at the FBI and that several agents have joined the performance that night. Another cast member, Tim Blake Nelson, is seen backstage talking to Emmylou Harris, recalling a performance she gave at a bar on her 38th birthday (she jokes that she sang "38 With a Bullet"). The Coen Brothers are in the crowd, as is Billy Bob Thornton.
Performances in the film
"Po' Lazarus" – arrangement by Alan Lomax; performed by the Fairfield Four (Isaac Freeman, Wilson Waters, Robert Hamlett, Joseph Rice and Nathan Best)
"Blue and Lonesome" – traditional; performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station
"Green Pastures" – traditional; performed by Emmylou Harris, vocals and guitar; Gillian Welch, vocals; David Rawlings, vocals and guitar; Jerry Douglas, dobro; Barry Bales, bass
"Indian War Whoop" – written by Hoyt Ming and Pep Steppers; performed by John Hartford, fiddle; Gillian Welch, vocals; Mike Compton (Musician), mandolin; Chris Sharp, guitar; Larry Perkins, bass
"Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" – arrangement by Alan Lomax, T-Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch; performed by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch
"I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)" – written by Pete Roberts; performed by the Cox Family (Suzanne Cox, vocals and mandolin; Evelyn Cox, guitar; Sidney Cox, banjo; Willard Cox, vocals and fiddle; Barry Bales, bass; Mike Compton, mandolin)
"Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown?" – traditional; performed by the Cox Family
"In the Highways" – written by Maybelle Carter; performed by Leah, Sarah and Hannah Peasall, vocals; Chris Sharp, guitar
"Down in the River to Pray" – traditional; performed by Alison Krauss with the First Baptist Church Choir of White House, Tennessee
"Dear Someone" – written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings; performed by Gillian Welch, vocals; David Rawlings, vocals and guitar; John Hartford, fiddle; Mike Compton, mandolin
"I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll" – written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings; performed by Gillian Welch, vocals; David Rawlings, vocals and guitar
"Keep on the Sunny Side" – written by A.P. Carter; performed by The Whites (Sharon White, vocals and guitar; Cheryl White, vocals and bass; Buck White, vocals and guitar; Jerry Douglas, dobro)
"Shove That Hog's Foot Further in the Bed" – written by Ed Haley; performed by John Hartford, vocals and fiddle; Mike Compton, mandolin; Chris Sharp, guitar; Larry Perkins, bass
The soundtrack album, Down from the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released to complement the documentary concert film. It has the complete versions of songs that are interrupted in the film by backstage chatter, including "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" by Chris Thomas King and Colin Linden and "Will There Be Any Stars?" by the Cox Family. Another track, "Sandy Land" by The Whites, does not appear in the film.
