I'm sad to say that I did not become a fan of Johnny Cash's music until after his death in September of 2003. It wasn't until the day I saw a music video for the song 'Hurt." If there was ever a song that summed up the last days of the aging singer, that was it. I remember listening to the song and getting so wrapped up in it that I started listening to some of Cash's older music and realized I had been missing out. My musical tastes run to various styles yet somehow I just never picked up a Johnny Cash CD. Better late than never, I plan on pickup a few up this weekend. Last week I watched the DVD release of "Walk the Line", which if you haven't heard, is the partial biography of 'The Man in Black.' It traces his roots all the way back to his early childhood and the pained relationship Cash had with his father (brilliantly played by Robert Patrick) following the death of his brother. The film then moves forward to his time spent in the military, his first marriage, and continuous struggle to make ends meet.

The film bears witness to his rise to the top as a performer, his downward spiral into drug addiction, and the eventual meeting and marrying of June Carter Cash, who was to become his rock for the remainder of his life.

I was initially a little hesitant to believe that Joaquin Phoenix would be able to pull off the role of Johnny Cash. This is not meant as a slight on his acting ability, I just never thought he was that strong of an actor. He definitely has a strong onscreen presence, but most of the characters he's portrayed are quiet and unassuming and did not require a strong change of emotions. After watching "Walk the Line", I'm certainly a little bit more impressed with Phoenix's abilities, though he certainly did not 'become' Johnny Cash in the way that Jamie Foxx 'became' Ray Charles in last year's biopic. What was most surprising to me was that Phoenix did to all of his own singing, with which he did do a marvelous job. It was definitely worth the Academy Award nomination, though I wouldn't say strong enough for the win.

But where June Carter Cash was the rock in Johnny's life, here to was Reese Witherspoon who was this film's rock. Witherspoon is another performer who in the past I've thought of as a bit of a fluff actress. She's great in roles that require her to be cute and cuddly, but I never would have expected her to tear into as emotionally charged a role as that of June Carter. Her nomination for an Oscar is totally justified and while she may not win, I believe she has a right to.

I found "Walk the Line" to be a wholly satisfying film, with strong performances throughout. My good friend Gary told me to watch out for Waylon Payne's portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis, and to say that he nailed that role is an understatement. I'm looking forward to seeing what else this bright young actor has in store for audiences.

Fox is releasing two different DVDs of "Walk the Line." One is a 2-disc special edition, chock full of extra features, while the other is a single disc release with only the film, and audio commentary and some deleted scenes. This latter version is the one I received for review, so I am unable to comment on the extra features on the 2-disc set. Though after getting into the film as much as I did and wondering how in the heck it did NOT receive an Academy Award nomination for Best picture (as it certainly deserved one), I think I'm going to grab the 2-disc version at my local store JUST so I can watch all the special features!

The commentary on this single disc release is done by director and co-writer James Mangold, whose earlier efforts included "Identity", "Kate & Leopold", and "Cop Land", and considering the fact that he talks for over two hours, never rambles. All of the information he shares is concise, and more importantly… interesting. He goes into great detail about the filmmaking process and I never found it boring. There are also 10 deleted scenes, most of which were actually very good. Fox was also wise in that they opted to frame the scenes according to where they would have happened in the finished film, as opposed to just setting them up with no indication of how they related to the story.

"Walk the Line" was a much, MUCH better film than I had expected and I definitely recommend picking up a copy. If you're not into all the extra benefits, this single disc release will certainly work for you, but if you’re like me and need all the bells and whistles, go for the 2-disc release.

Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Extras: Audio Commentary by Co-writer and Director James Mangold, 10 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by James Mangold
Specifications: Widescreen (2.39:1), DTS 5.0 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 2/28/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (For Some Language, Thematic Material, and Depiction of Drug Dependency
Website

We'll give Walk the Line an A-.