Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

before i talk about the documentary i just want to understand how can anyone say chik corea and keith jarrett "nearly ruined jazz", and were just noodling around? what they were doing was exploring and evolving the music to further realms. hasn't the backbone of jazz always been innovation and exploration? didn't charlie parker himself break rules? what about monk? jazz isn't about staying within certain boundaries (besides miles never claimed what he was playing in his "electric" era was jazz). i just feel that before people start in on the whole "miles sold out when he went electric" routine, they should remember that jazz changes, music changes, it changed from scott joplin to louie armstrong to charlie parker to miles davis, etc. now as far as the DVD goes, i don't understand why someone would spend more time on showing the man's personal life than his musical. if it wasn't for his music no one would even know who he was. i understand that things around him, in his personal life might have reflected in his music, but to spend the majority of the time highlighting his romances, etc., i feel is missing the point of making a documentary about him in the first place. however there is some great (and unfortunately incomplete) footage of some of his live performances. i do appreciate the fact that someone wanted to make a documentary to such a GREAT musician, but i would rather recommend the documentary: Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue, because it is truly about the music.

One of Miles Davis ex-wifes puts it like this: "The genius of Miles lies in his music, not in his streetways." The sound of Miles' trumpet is eerie and so beautiful, it hasn't and can't be produced by any other. His personal life was influenced by his drug-abuse and for a little while he even pimped. Maybe Miles was not a nice man, but he was the greatest musician of the 20th century. This is not weird, even the great classical composers like Chopin and Schubert had their drug-abuse and/or sex-addictions. They were not holy men themselves as the classical world portraits them so often. I don't give a damn about his wrongdoings, his music enriches peoples lives.

Even though I was very happy seeing rare footage of his concerts in the 60's and 70's I was very much dissatisfied with the documentary and felt it as an incomplete film about the life of a music genius. I wish there was more about his life as a musician than about his life as a father or husband and more of him as "The Figure." I don't think the documentary conveys very well why Miles Davis is regarded as a genius by musicians and listeners around the world. Instead of watching this documentary I would recommend reading his excellent autobiography. By the way, as another reviewer pointed out the music he made in the 70's with Chick Corea and Keith Jarret is not at all "noodling". Miles and his group were pioneers of a music that inspired many musicians for decades like Weather Report and even the late 90's electronic dub and drum and bass music. If one listens carefully, one will find a texture of sheer excellence and musical genius that revolutionized Jazz. Because Jazz is about transformation and also a renewal of the self as well as the sound.

Somehow, this documentary about Miles manages to include very little music and no complete tunes. Though Miles appears in the film, 95% of the interviews are other folks, not Miles. There are huge chronological gaps, many aspects of his life (his childhood prodigy, his drug addiction) are skipped or glossed over, and you'll learn little about what made the man and his contribution to music so groundbreaking. Skip it.