Capturing the life, career, persona and phenomenon that was Janis Joplin in the space of a less-than-two-hours-long documentary is a daunting task. Amy Berg makes a crucially important decision in Janis: Little Girl Blue, opting to let the performances speak for themselves. There’s not a lot of talking head analysis of Janis’ music; Berg instead gives us a few well-chosen, extended clips of that otherworldly voice in action (as well as a good many selections backgrounded in the mix). Berg also focuses on Janis’ inner life, and boy, does that pay off. With the full cooperation of the estate and interviews with many of Janis’ intimates, including her two siblings, the marvelous Dick Cavett, and the one man with whom, in another universe, she surely found lifelong happiness, Berg is able to dig deep into who Janis actually was behind the raucous stage persona. Most effective of all is Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power), reading from Janis’ diaries and letters with the simple delivery of a born performer. It’s as if Janis is narrating her own life story, and it’s pure magic
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 — October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter from Port Arthur, Texas. As a youth Joplin was ridiculed by her fellow students due to her unconventional appearance and personal beliefs. She later sang about her experience at school through her song “Ego Rock”. Early in her life, Joplin cultivated a rebellious and unconventional lifestyle, becoming a beatnik poet. She began her singing career as a folk and blues singer in San Francisco, playing clubs and bars with her guitar and auto-harp.
Janis Joplin first rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic-acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her more soulful and bluesy backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. She was one of the more popular acts at the Monterey Pop Festival and later became one of the major attractions to the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour.
Janis Joplin only charted five singles in her life but her hits and other popular songs from throughout her short four year career include “Down On Me”, “Bye, Bye Baby”, “Coo Coo”, “Summertime”, “Piece of My Heart”, “Turtle Blues”, “Ball ‘n’ Chain”, “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)”, “Maybe”, “To Love Somebody”, “Kozmic Blues”, “Work Me, Lord”, “Move Over”, “Cry Baby”, “A Woman Left Lonely” “Get It While You Can”, “My Baby”, “Trust Me”, “Mercedes Benz”, “One Night Stand”, “Raise Your Hand” and her only number one hit, “Me and Bobby McGee”.
Joplin was well known for her performing abilities and her fans referred to her stage presence as electric. At the height of her career, she was known as “The Queen of Rock and Roll” as well as “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul” and became known as Pearl amongst her friends. She was also a painter, dancer and music arranger.
JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE is the new Janis Joplin documentary that explores the life and music of the psychedelic queen of the blues. Director Amy Berg shares the film with clips and the trailer, discusses Janis on the Dick Cavett show, and also details her collaboration with Cat Power on the film. The sexual and social impact of Joplin, and the progression of the film from early stages to its premiere is all explored, and we also revisit Berg’s work PROPHET’S PREY, with Ondi Timoner on BYOD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T94YPOkDyuE
Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg examines the meteoric rise and untimely fall of one of the most revered and iconic rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time: Janis Joplin. Joplin’s life story is revealed for the first time on film through electrifying archival footage, revealing interviews with friends and family and rare personal letters, presenting an intimate and insightful portrait of a bright, complicated artist who changed music forever.
Amy Berg is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-award winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a DGA Award (Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary) for her documentary DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2006). She went on to direct WEST OF MEMPHIS, a documentary about the failure of the justice system in the West Memphis Three case. She worked in collaboration with producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. The film premiered to rave reviews at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was BAFTA nominated and won the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in Fall 2012.
Amy completed her first narrative feature, EVERY SECRET THING, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014 and was released theatrically in May 2015. Her doc, Prophet’s Prey, which was made in association with Showtime and Imagine Entertainment will open in theatres this fall. She is currently in production on several films at her company, Disarming Films, and will be premiering her project about music legend Janis Joplin at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals this September. Amy’s company, Disarming Films, writes and produces long-form documentaries focusing on social justice.
The Fat Angel Sings 