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Songcatcher

Corbin Bernsen (Actor), Dee Wallace (Actor), Maggie Greenwald (Director) Rated:
PG-13
Format: DVD
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 935 ratings
IMDb7.3/10.0
Genre Drama
Format Closed-captioned, Color, Multiple Formats, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled, NTSC
Contributor Corbin Bernsen, Paige Moss, Maggie Greenwald, Dee Wallace
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 49 minutes

Product Description

After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.36 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2223655
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Maggie Greenwald
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Closed-captioned, Color, Multiple Formats, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 49 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 19, 2004
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Corbin Bernsen, Dee Wallace, Paige Moss
  • Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ French, English, Spanish
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Lionsgate
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000092T3Z
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 935 ratings

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
935 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Annette Jacobsen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Old timey music in the backwoods of Appalachia
    Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Beautiful music sung in the fresh mountain air. Fine acting, interesting story for early in the 20th century.
    Shows what our early technology stood back then. Also show some of the closed attitudes of that time.
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  • Jeff Blanton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mom says it’s a good movie
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I bought it for my mother, not my sort of movie.
    Mom is happy with it, that’s all that matters.
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  • R. Gawlitta
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely film, very fine...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    There aren't many musical films that are successful, lately. This one works on many different levels. This year, the film version of "Phantom of the Opera" was released, and, arguably, the best thing about it was Emmy Rossum's performance."Songcatcher" features her film debut, and she sings wonderfully, though in a considerably different style.She definitely displays her future greatness. This is another film about misunderstood cultures, set in 1907. There are the expected "strange" characters, who endear themselves. Unlike other reviewers, I'm not going to blab away the plot. I must say that Janet McTeer was wonderful (haven't seen her lately); Aidan Quinn was solid, as were Jane Adams & E. Katherine Kerr and a powerfully snakey, evil delivery by David Patrick Kelly. The great Taj Mahal has a chance to show his stuff, especially on the DVD extras.The wonderful Iris de Ment also has a chance to shine. Musical director David Mansfield put this all in perspective, and since music controls this film, it's success is very much to his credit. My favorite element of the film was the appearance of Pat Carroll, hard as nails, sweet as sugar...as her own agenda required. A truly complex and well-layered performance. She was the best.Director Maggie Greenwald should be very proud, presenting a fine, entertaining film. I look forward to her future endeavors.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • D. Wilmot
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Movie!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This wonderful movie takes place in the deep Appalachian mountains. It tells about the old ballad songs and how they got started by handing down from family members to the next generation. The countryside and music of the Appalachian mountains is absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend this movie for those that love old ballad songs!
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  • TLK-KC
    4.0 out of 5 stars Little known, but wonderful movie
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I happened to watch this movie several years ago and loved it. I decided to buy it now because I happened to see it on amazon. I love the characters and the music, which is the real star of this movie. The story is very basic. There are oddities, such as the main woman character who is a PhD in music and teaches at a college in the early 1900s and then all of the "mountain people". Because I have always lived in Missouri with the Ozark Mountains and the stories in literature about these people, I am also fascinated with stories about the Appalachian Mountains and people. If for no other reason, you should see this movie for Pat Carroll's character. If you don't remember her, she was in many TV shows back in the 60s and 70s, including the movie "Cinderella" with Leslie Ann Warren as the title character. Pat was one of the stepsisters. She sings a really funny song called "Single Girl" to a woman who just had a baby and had a wandering husband. Great characters, beautiful setting, and wonderful music. Love it!
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Scribe Lynn
    5.0 out of 5 stars I purchased this on a friend's recommendation, thoroughly expecting ...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I purchased this on a friend's recommendation, thoroughly expecting to not be excited about it. Once Lily leaves the city and begins the trek up the mountain, I was HOOKED!! I grew up with mountain folk music all around me, and was forced to listen/learn it, causing me to ignore this portion of the spectrum of musicology for many of my almost 60 years. I was able to thoroughly embrace the music and the story line, and deeply appreciate the side-lessons about differences in society that were sprinkled throughout this movie. It has earned an A++++ from me. I do not watch much in the way of TV or movies (I did not have any TV for 17 years, so this is all new to me), but this is definitely added to my re-watch stack.

    As for all of the earlier comments (from 4+ years ago) regarding the quality of the DVD itself: the manufacturer must have listened as I had no problems at all with my copy.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • barbara ireland-davis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Enjoyed the story line and the music. Purchased a second one for a relative that plays the fiddle and they enjoyed the movie as well.
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  • beverly marsh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Movie
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024
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    Great movie!!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie
    Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I haven’t watched this CD yet. But seen the move more than once and loved it. Wanted the CD to watch whenever. So glad you had it.
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  • JeeP
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pour les amateurs de musique folk américaine
    Reviewed in France on March 20, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Un film qui retrace de manière très romancée les recherches de la musicologue américaine Olive Dame Campbell dans les états du sud des Appalaches au début du XXème siècle. On y croise furtivement le musicologue anglais Cecil James Sharp qui, à la même époque, effectuait des recherches similaires afin de retrouver des chansons traditionnelles britanniques oubliées.
    En effet, y compris lors de la guerre civile, les habitants de ces régions difficiles d'accès des monts Appalaches vivaient pratiquement en autarcie depuis l'établissement des premiers colons britanniques au XVIIIème siècle et avaient conservé leurs coutumes et demeuraient attachés au folklore de leurs ancêtres.
    Il était temps car la découverte de charbon dans ces régions à la fin du XIXème siècle et l’extension des mines au début du XXème siècle mit fin à cet isolement. Beaucoup de paysans/chasseurs pauvres quittèrent alors leur isolement montagnard et rejoignirent les villes minières pour y travailler et découvrir une misère plus citadine.
    Un film pour les amateurs de musique folk. On y voit l'excellente chanteuse de country/folk Iris DeMent.

    Remarque: à la suite de leurs recherches, Olive Dame Campbell et Cecil James Sharp ont édité en 1917 un catalogue (partitions et textes) de chants dont on peut trouver et acheter (sur AMAZON) un fac-similé sous le titre "English Folk Songs From The Southern Appalachians" édité chez "Kessinger Publishing".

    Attention: ce DVD zone 1 ne sera visible qu'avec un lecteur multi-zones.
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  • tracykilleen
    1.0 out of 5 stars Wrong country code
    Reviewed in Australia on February 21, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    It was in wrong country code, so i can't even watch it. This should be clearly explained before purchase can be finalised.
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  • R. Shin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Außergewöhnlich
    Reviewed in Germany on August 26, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Dieser außergewöhnliche Film hat seinen ganz eigenen Reiz und wurde zurecht beim Sundance Film Festival ausgezeichnet. Eine Musikwissenschaftlerin (Janet McTeer)stößt zufällig in den Appalachian Mountains auf uralte irische und schottische Balladen, die von den Bergbewohnern in ihrer ganz eigenen Weise interpretiert werden. Durch ihre Hartnäckigkeit gewinnt sie schließlich Zugang zu den Einheimischen und kann die alten Überlieferungen dokumentieren. Während dessen verliebt sie sich in einen einheimischen Musiker (Aidan Quinn). Doch die Geschichte nimmt eine dramatische Wendung...
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  • Mike Weatherley
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Movie
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    Janet McTeer followed her Oscar nomination in the
    movie 'Tumbleweeds' with this delightful tale (based
    partly on a true story) of a New England musicologist
    Dr. Lily Penleric, who sets out to rescue the folk-
    music of the Appalachian mountains before it is all
    lost to the inexorable march of economic progress.
    She finds, in these hills, the descendants of those
    original Irish & Scottish immigrants to colonise the
    area. And in their geographical isolation, they have
    preserved the European folk-music brought with them,
    centuries before, from their homeland. Lily realises
    that it's a race against time to rescue these songs
    for posterity (on the primitive wax-roll recording-
    devices of the time - the turn of the 20th century)
    before they are lost forever. There is a certain
    urgency to her mission, due to the fast-creeping
    industrialisation of the society and the steady
    leaching of the population of the mountains down
    to the expanding cities, where steady work beckons.

    Lily gains the trust of the locals, and they agree
    to let her record and transcribe their very personal
    music. She makes friends within the community, and
    eventually finds love, quite unexpectedly, after
    winning-over one of the natives who is initially
    the most resistant to her presence.

    This is a story about the passing of an era, and
    has a message which is constant for all time: that
    of preserving what's good from the past in the face
    of innevitable social and economic 'progress', as,
    once it's gone, it's lost forever.

    Anyone who liked the George Clooney movie:'Oh Brother,
    Where Art Thou?' - made in the same year as this was
    (2000) will also like 'Songcatcher', for it's noble
    attempt to resuscitate American folk-music and
    popularise it for a modern audience.

    Mike
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