Samuel L Jackson Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: Paramount Home Entertainment Salesrank: 21783 Released: June 26, 2007
		Our Price: $8.64
		Used Price: $6.50
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: HD DVD

Editorial Review:
When ex-blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds the town nymphomaniac Rae (Christina Ricci) left for dead on the side of the road, he vows to nurse her back to health…and cure her of her wickedness. Until then, she’ll be chained to the immovable radiator in his home. But Lazarus has demons of his own: his wife just left him for his own brother. While Lazarus and Rae struggle to fix their broken lives, the situation threatens to explode as Rae's boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) — a roughneck soldier just back from Iraq — comes searching for his missing lover.

Description of Black Snake Moan [HD DVD]:
The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones--several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humor. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. --Bret Fetzer

Beyond Black Snake Moan

The Soundtrack

More Music Stars on DVD

More DVDs with Samuel L. Jackson

Black Snake Moan [HD DVD] Reviews:
More than what the ads promised
2008-12-23 - I expected "Black Snake Moan" to be a kind of guilty-pleasure movie, something along the lines of a "Death Proof", "Planet Terror", or "Kill Bill". You know, trashy fun. But it's really much better than that. Yes, it has a half naked girl chained to a radiator. But it also has two damaged people reaching out to one another, a rich array of supporting characters, a couple of serious themes (in particular, how past abuse informs everything a person does for the rest of their lives), wonderful music, and top-notch acting. Sure, there's some trashy fun to be had, but it's a shame that the film's marketing team only played up that aspect in the ads and ignored the richer stuff. The film might have done a little better in theaters.

"Black Snake Moan" looks and sounds great on DVD, and there's a full array of extra features. Writer/director Craig Brewer is featured prominently in the extras, and he's an interesting guy to listen to. He's grounded, creative, and has a great sense of showmanship... but not at the expense of knowing what's really important in a film. I'll have to check out his earlier movie, "Hustle & Flow", now that I've seen what he can do.

Strange Tale of Sin and Salvation
2008-10-27 - Craig Brewer's second film Black Snake Moan is a strange tale of sin and redemption in the new South. The film which could have been merely a lurid sexploitation film about a young nymphomaniac and the aging bluesman who attempts to heal her turns into an interesting if flawed exploration of the power of love and music to heal broken people.

The films leads Samuel L.Jackson and Christina Ricci do surprisingly good work in this film. Ricci plays Rae with feeling and compassion. She gives a performance that allows her to break free from her usual roles and play a character that while hard to believe at times comes across as broken and likable. Jackson steps out of his usual tough guy role into that of bluesman Lazarus who makes it his job to save Rae. It is in his showing of unconditional love that he leans the power of music to heal.

The disc I watched was standard definition but was quite good in both picture and sound quality. The musical score by Scott Bomar is quite good and reflects the blues roots of the source material. The dis includes a quite well done commentary by Brewer and three featurettes on the making of the film and its soundtrack.

All in all not a bad film and certainly better thann expected. Well worth a rental.

Well acted unexpectingly good movie
2008-09-30 - I first saw this film when it aired on Showtime, never having wanted to see it before as I didn't quite get what the film was about. My first time watching it, expecting that I wouldn't like it, just the opposite happened. The film is wonderfully acted by all actors.. Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, ect. The story to me is a sad one, with a very moving and happy ending. You feel for the characters, and I think Ricci shines in this difficult role. A movie with a more serious underlying note, definitely worth seeing. Great soundtrack too. Am glad to have a copy of this film in my collection.

A Strange Yet Rewarding Film
2008-09-30 - This is a strange yet rewarding film. Samuel L. Jackson and the actor who plays R.L. do a very good job of making a semi-ridiculous film seem semi-believable. I believe that Christina's character being tied up in chains by a black man is meant to represent one of the strongest fears that white men had about black men down south; that they were more masculine, overtly sexual and were out to steal and rape "their" women. Of course, Jackson's character, Lazarus, does no such thing. Instead, he takes care of Rae, Ricci's character, and helps cure her of her disease. For those who know nothing about the Blues, this film can be a little misleading. For instance, Blind Lemon Jefferson's recording of "Black Snake Moan" has nothing in common with the version Jackson performs, save the lyrics. The original is much more convincing, musically complex, and features superior vocals. There is also a very strong emphasis on Hill Country Blues in this film, as we can see by the presence of Kenny Brown and Burnside's grandson, who is an excellent drummer. Hill Country Blues is not the form of Blues that is usually thought of when one hears the word "Blues". Instead, the Delta Blues of Muddy Waters or Son House is often pictured. Hill Country Blues was not even known about until Lomax went down south and discovered the magnificent "Mississippi" Fred McDowell. R.L. Burnside, who was a McDowell disciple, has his music prominently featured in this film, though he is not historically important at all. Even at his best, he is a second-rate Fred McDowell. If those who worked on this movie knew more about the Blues, they would have taken out a lot of the Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside music and included songs more representative of the Blues as a whole.

Worth viewing
2008-09-10 - I enjoyed the movie. It was a little different but good. Some reviewers say the "black snake" reference was sexual......maybe but if you actually watch the movie Laz is playing the guitar and refers to what he calls "the black snake moan". It shines light on a taboo subject, sexual abuse. It gives insight on why a lot of "loose" women behave as they do. If nothing else I'm sure it provokes thought about that. It does require you to think while watching the movie so if you like simple movies it's not for you. Some parts are stereotypical but the story overall is good....Worth checking out.