tom scruggs who ever reviewed this should first know something about the subject. Could I Imagine Jimi saying dig it? are you insane have you ever recordings of the man. The interview sequence was almost verbatim to the actual interview.Wood Harris did an excellent job as Jimi he was so believable I forgot he wasn't him. Thats called acting.He must have spent weeks studying the moves mannerisms and speech of jimi.And as far as the strumming being off. He is actually playing the right parts on Hey Joe and some other lead guitar jams. The only thing that was not copied exact is the Monterey guitar was the wrong color I feel this was due to licensing thing with Fender guitars as the headstock's also did not have a Fender Logo.The performance of Wild Thing and the Star spangled Banner were spot on right down to the exact movements and stage clothes.Whoever did the vocals did an excellent job alsoThe script may have been weak but for Hendrix fans it was magical to watch Wood Harris recreate the most revered guitar player of all time who was actually as much visual as he was musical.My son and I played the actual Monterey performance right behind the Wood Harris performance and they are almost identical.More movies should pay attention to detail and continuity.I own the DVD and watch it a couple of times a year.

tanjadr I didn't see the beginning and came upon this movie just by "zapping through", in the scene where Faye Pridgeon (Vivica A. Fox) tells Jimi "The Village ain't no neighborhood for a black man, Jimi, you'll see!" What follows then (not surprising for a made-for-TV movie) is a ridiculous medley of some terrible acting, really bad wigs and wannabe sixties set productions, reminiscent in parts of Oliver Stone's Doors movie. I guess I was watching for a little while just for amusement, when it occurred to me that Wood Harris as Jimi was catching my attention. He is giving a consistent performance throughout this inconsistent movie, channeling "his" Jimi Hendrix, who comes across as curious, vulnerable, friendly, pacifistic, bottled up, addictive, selfish, self-destructive, sad and complicated. That for me is an accurate enough description of the real-life Jimi to be satisfied. Also Harris looks a hell of a lot like Jimi and has the only talented wardrobe person on the set working for him (I wouldn't be surprised if he himself chose some of his own wardrobe). It is a hard task to begin with for an actor to portray a legend like Jimi, also performing on stage, making us believe he plays the guitar like one of the most unusual virtuosos of our time. On top of that, the concerts he is required to reenact are some of the most viewed (and admired) Jimi Hendrix performances: Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock etc. but I think he does it really well. The moment where he addresses the crowd at Monterey and tells them something like "I can't tell you 'thank you', 'thank you', 'thank you' enough - I just want to hug you all, squeeze you, like, uh..." you get this fuzzy feeling of a Hendrix who was not a cool and distant rock-star but a boyish, tripping (he just dropped acid), loving musician who did manage to transcend some of that love through his music. Wood Harris stands up to any close-up shots. He has a vast repertory of emotions going through his face, his eyes becoming more and more distant and blind throughout the movie, indicating effectively the disillusion with life and inability to 'understand' and cope that tormented Jimi Henrix. I do like also that the use of drugs is subtly indicated and not used in a melodramatic way. After all, they were the 'chosen' remedy against the disillusion and not its cause. There is a scene where Chas Chandler says goodbye to Jimi who talks but isn't really there. During the conversation he feeds his void, constantly swallowing pills, flushing them with alcohol, taking a drag off a pipe, while saying things like "Yeah, I'm cool man" in this almost, but not quite convincing tone. The drug use is indicated as barely noticed by Jimi himself, but very much noticed by his surroundings, unable to stop it or even address it. There is another scene which sticks with me: The "Plaster Casters" are visiting Jimi to make a cast of his penis. They show him the cast of Keith Moon's penis which is apparently not quite matching up to Jimi's size. The laugh with which Jimi responds is not one of an arrogant rock-god, but eerily confused, part what he feels is expected of him, part surprise with the seriousness of the "Plaster Casters" and part amusement with him winning this "contest" without having actually done anything. The movie seems so plump and with no real direction for the actors that it is beyond me how Wood Harris managed to give such a versatile performance. I wonder if he will be equally stunning in portraying completely different characters or if he just managed to channel Jimi Hendrix so well. I will certainly keep his name in mind and hope he will get interesting parts offered in more serious, important and artfully done movies. The worst part of "Hendrix" is the ending - no symbolism, no poetics, no mystery, just a text appearing informing us (what we already know ) how he died and this quote of his about transcending love and spirituality - well, dear director, that is exactly what your movie was supposed to do, to SHOW us what is in this quote, leaving no need to SPELL it out in the end....

kssmith00 I found the movie to be very good! I have been a causal admirer of Hendrix for a while, but the movie really gave me real interest for him. I really like Wood Harris in the roll...he looked and acted much like the Jimi that I have seen. The story seemed accurate from additional reading/research that I have since done. But keep in mind it is a movie and subject to someone's interpretation, just as all stories are.As far as the comment about the money hunger family...Because they have been duped for so long I think they have a right to do as they please. However, no one really knows any of those details! It really would be par for the course if no one even bothered to ask them.I recommend this movie.

gunatilakes I dont like how Jimi Hendrix was portrayed in this music, showed him as a druggo with all these naked women, doesnt show his real passion for music. Couldve showed more on his bringing up, like showing him pretending to play guitar or a broom stick, because he was too poor to afford one at that time (which really did happen). It was all going too quick as well,showing the business side of things more than the actual emotion. He also only took drugs because in those days it was normal to take drugs, especially for rock stars at that time. The acting was great though,by Wood Harris, the only good thing in this movieOverall very poor,If u want to know something bout Jimi Hendrix was like, dont watch this, rent a documentary or something, there are quiet a few good documentaries out there. Itll be more entertaining than this movie, with more varing music and more of an insight to what he was really like.