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The Fisher King

The Fisher King is a 1991 American fantasy comedy-drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer and Michael Jeter in supporting roles, the film tells the story of a radio shock jock who tries to find redemption by helping a man whose life he inadvertently shattered. It explores "the intermingling of New York City's usually strictly separated social strata", and has been described as "a modern-day Grail Quest that fused New York romantic comedy with timeless fantasy".

The film was released in the United States by TriStar Pictures on September 20, 1991. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, and grossed $72 million on a $24 million budget. At the 64th Academy Awards, the film earned five nominations, including Best Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for LaGravenese, with Ruehl winning Best Supporting Actress, making The Fisher King the only Oscar-winning film of Gilliam's career.

Plot
Jack Lucas, a narcissistic, misanthropic shock jock, becomes suicidal and despondent when he learns that some of his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompted a mentally unstable regular caller, Edwin, to commit a mass murder–suicide at a Manhattan restaurant. Three years later, Jack is working for his girlfriend, Anne, in her video store, and is in a mostly drunken, depressed state, fearful of being recognized.

One night, while on a bender, he is moments from suicide. However, he is attacked and nearly set on fire by teenage punks who mistake him for a homeless person. He is rescued by Parry, a delusional homeless man who claims that his mission is to find the Holy Grail.

Parry tries to enlist Jack's help in getting the Grail, explaining that the Fisher King was charged by God with finding the Holy Grail, but incurred an incapacitating wound for his sin of pride. "A Fool asks the King why he suffers, and when the King says he is thirsty, the Fool gives him a cup of water to drink. The King realizes the cup is the Grail and asks, 'How did you find what my brightest and bravest could not?' The Fool said 'I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty.'"

Jack is initially reluctant, but acquiesces after learning that he is partially responsible for Parry's current condition. Parry, whose real name is Henry Sagan, had been a teacher at Hunter College. After witnessing his wife's gruesome death at the same mass shooting that Jack had provoked, Henry had a psychotic break and became catatonic. When he awakened, he took on the persona of Parry and became obsessed with the legend of the Fisher King. With Parry as his shielding persona, mentions of reality panic him, and he is continually haunted by a terrifying, hallucinatory Red Knight, from a distorted memory of his wife's head exploding from a shotgun blast.

Jack seeks to redeem himself by helping Parry find love again. Lydia, a shy woman with whom Parry is smitten, is prodded to meet Parry to join Jack and Anne for a dinner date. Afterward, Parry walks Lydia home and declares his love for her. She reciprocates, but the brush with reality summons the Red Knight. Fleeing his vision and the memory of his wife's murder, he is ambushed by the same punks against whom he had defended Jack. Beaten and knifed mercilessly, Parry becomes catatonic again. Jack, feeling whole again after "saving" Parry, breaks up with Anne and begins to rebuild his career. However, he has a crisis of conscience during a sitcom pitch after snubbing a vagrant who had previously done a favor for him.

After finding out what happened to Parry, Jack dons Parry's clothing and infiltrates the Upper East Side castle of a famous architect and retrieves the "Grail", a trophy that Parry believes to be the real Grail. During the theft, Jack finds the architect unconscious from attempting suicide. He triggers the alarm while leaving, alerting authorities and saving the man's life.

When he brings the "Grail" to Parry, Parry regains consciousness and tells a silent Jack that he is ready to miss his wife. Lydia visits Parry in the hospital; she finds him awake and leading the patients of the ward in a rendition of the song, "How About You?", with Jack. Parry and Lydia embrace, and Jack reconciles with Anne, telling her that he loves her. She slaps him, but grabs and kisses him. That night, Jack and Parry lie naked in Central Park gazing at the clouds, as they view a fireworks display over New York.

Production
During an appearance on an episode of The Directors, Gilliam stated that he wanted to do the film because he was tired of big budget special-effects films, such as his previous film, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, which went over budget and cost more than $45 million, nearly twice as much as The Fisher King's budget of $24 million. This was the first film that Gilliam directed in which he was not involved in writing the screenplay, as well as his first film to not feature any other members of Monty Python.

According to The Directors episode, Gilliam came up with the scene in which Robin Williams shadows Amanda Plummer through a large crowd performing a waltz in the middle of Grand Central Terminal, because he felt that the scene that LaGravenese had written, in which a large group of people in a crowded subway listen to a homeless woman sing with a beautiful voice that fills the room, was not working. He was hesitant about this at first because his original intentions were to shoot the script, and the waltz would make it "a Terry Gilliam film". The scene was shot in one night with a mix of professional extras and passengers alighting from the train.

Box office
The film did moderately well at the box office, with a gross of almost $42 million in the United States and Canada, and an international gross of $30.5 million, for a worldwide total of $72.4 million.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85%, based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "An odd but affecting mixture of drama, comedy and fantasy, The Fisher King manages to balance moving performances from Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges with director Terry Gilliam's typically askew universe." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on scale of A+ to F.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that the film "sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance".

John Simon of the National Review described The Fisher King as "one of the most nonsensical, pretentious, mawkishly cloying movies I ever had to wretch through".

Following Robin Williams's death, a reappraisal of the film on RogerEbert.com stated that "no Williams film can hit harder — or be so fully consoling in such heartbreaking circumstances — than The Fisher King", in which his character "gradually simmers to a boil of bristling insecurities, terror and agonizing internalized pain".

Laserdisc
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1992. The first Laserdisc release was a fullscreen presentation, but showed more vertical information while cropping horizontally. The second release in 1997 presented the film in its 1.85:1 theatrical ratio. The Criterion Collection released their Laserdisc version in 1993 with several extras that have not surfaced on any other release, and a director-approved widescreen transfer in 1.66:1.

DVD and Blu-ray
The film was released on DVD in 1999 by Columbia TriStar Home Video, using the same master as the 1997 Laserdisc release, with only the theatrical trailer as a special feature. In 2011, Image Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray, utilizing a new high-definition master in the 1.85:1 theatrical ratio, with Dolby Digital Tru-HD 5.1 surround, with no special features.

On June 23, 2015, The Criterion Collection rereleased the film on Blu-ray and DVD, featuring a brand new 2K transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound mix.

On April 11, 2023, Criterion again released the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray featuring a brand new 4K restoration that was approved by Terry Gilliam.

title: The Fisher King


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Singer-songwriter

A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has transmuted through different eras of popular music. Traditionally, these musicians would write and sing songs personal to them. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole musical accompaniment to an entire song. The piano is also an instrument of choice.

In the early 21st century, various digital production tools, examples including GarageBand and other software programs, began to be used by singer-songwriters to compose their music and otherwise work as an audio engineer enhancing media.

Definition and usage
The label "singer-songwriter" (or "song-writer/singer" ) is used by record labels and critics to define popular music artists who write and perform their own material, which is often self-accompanied – generally on acoustic guitar or piano. Such an artist performs the roles of composer, lyricist, vocalist, sometimes instrumentalist, and often self-manager. According to AllMusic, singer-songwriters' lyrics are often personal but veiled by elaborate metaphors and vague imagery, and their creative concern is to place emphasis on the song rather than on their performance of it. Most records by such artists have a similarly straightforward and spare sound that places emphasis on the song itself.

The term may also characterise songwriters in the rock, folk, country, and pop-music genres – including Henry Russell (1812–1900), Aristide Bruant (1851–1925), Hank Williams (1923–1953), and Buddy Holly (1936–1959). The phrase "singer-songwriter", recorded from 1949, came into popular usage from the 1960s onwards to describe songwriters who followed particular stylistic and thematic conventions, particularly lyrical introspection, confessional songwriting, mild musical arrangements, and an understated performing style. According to writer Larry David Smith, because it merged the roles of composer, writer, and singer, the popularity of the singer-songwriter phenomenon reintroduced the Medieval troubadour tradition of "songs with public personalities" after the Tin Pan Alley era in American popular music. Song topics of singer-songwriters from the American folk music revival include political protest, as in the case of Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) and Pete Seeger (1919–2014). According to the Journal of Popular Music Studies, from the folk revival and onward into its permanence in pop music, the role of a singer-songwriter has involved several dimensions of creative identity:

"The first aesthetic layer encourages songwriters to sing and perform their own works and to instill their own stylistic flavors into the song texts. The songwriters are not independent from the works once they are finished; rather, they enter into, activate, and authenticate the song texts through their vocal and musical performances. While the first layer does not always require the singer to be the songwriter, the second sociological layer not only fixates on the relationship between singer and songwriter (in this case, singer-songwriter is often hyphenated instead of using a slash between singer and songwriter), but also solicits more sociological agency aside from singing and songwriting, such as arranging, mixing, producing, collaborating, and media management. In other words, a singer-songwriter thus undergoes a thickening process involving two-layered voices, including performing stylistic persona, amassing other voices, and coordinating other sociological skills. This thickening process demonstrates the fluid, multiple, and heterogeneous voices underneath the singular authorial image, thus complicating the notion of authorship for singer-songwriters."

History
The concept of a singer-songwriter can be traced to ancient bardic oral tradition, which has existed in various forms throughout the world. Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture.

Traveling performers existed throughout Europe. Thus, the folklorist Anatole Le Braz gives a detailed account of one ballad singer, Yann Ar Minouz, who wrote and performed songs traveling through Brittany in the late nineteenth century and selling printed versions.

In large towns it was possible to make a living performing in public venues, and with the invention of phonographic recording, early singer-songwriters like Théodore Botrel, George M. Cohan, and Hank Williams became celebrities; radio further added to their public recognition and appeal.

During the period from the 1940s through the 1960s, sparked by the American folk music revival, young performers inspired by traditional folk music and groups like the Almanac Singers and the Weavers began writing and performing their own original material and creating their own musical arrangements.

In the early 21st century, the digital audio workstation GarageBand has been utilized by many aspiring singer-songwriters to compose and record music. Singer-songwriters who have composed music professionally with GarageBand include Erykah Badu (for her 2008 album New Amerykah Part One) and Bilal (for his 2010 album Airtight's Revenge).

North America, United Kingdom, and Ireland

The term "singer-songwriter" in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Lead Belly, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, and Robert Johnson. In the 1940s and 1950s country singer-songwriters like Hank Williams became well known, as well as Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger, along with Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hays and other members of the Weavers who performed their mostly topical works to an ever-growing wider audience. These proto-singer-songwriters were less concerned than today's singer-songwriters with the unadulterated originality of their music and lyrics, and would lift parts from other songs and play covers without hesitation. The tradition of writing topical songs (songs regarding specific issues of the day, such as Lead Belly's "Jim Crow Blues" or Guthrie's "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)") was established by this group of musicians. Singers like Seeger and Guthrie would attend rallies for labor unions, and so wrote many songs concerning the life of the working classes, and social protest; as did other folksingers like Josh White, Cisco Houston, Malvina Reynolds, Earl Robinson, Ewan MacColl, John Jacob Niles, and Doc Watson, while blues singers like Johnson and Hopkins wrote songs about their personal life experiences. This focus on social issues has greatly influenced the singer-songwriter genre. Additionally in the 1930s through the 1950s several jazz and blues singer-songwriters emerged like Hoagy Carmichael, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Harry Gibson, Peggy Lee, and Nina Simone, as well as in the rock n' roll genre from which emerged influential singer-songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Ritchie Valens, and Paul Anka. In the country music field, singer-songwriters like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Billy Edd Wheeler, and others emerged from the 1940s through the 1960s, often writing compelling songs about love relationships and other subjects.

The first popular recognition of the singer-songwriter in English-speaking North America and the United Kingdom occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s when a series of blues, folk and country-influenced musicians rose to prominence and popularity. These singer-songwriters included Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Lennon, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Albert Hammond, Gordon Lightfoot, and Joni Mitchell. Artists who had been primarily songwriters, notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt, and Neil Diamond, also began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the storytelling approach of most prior country and folk music, these performers typically wrote songs from a highly personal (often first-person), introspective point of view. The adjectives "confessional" and "sensitive" were often used (sometimes derisively) to describe singer-songwriter style.

In the rock band era, members were not technically singer-songwriters as solo acts. However, many were singer-songwriters who created songs with other band members. Examples include Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, Elton John (with Bernie Taupin), Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Robbie Robertson, Ian Anderson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Peter Frampton, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Country Joe McDonald, and Barry Melton. Many others like Eric Clapton found success as singer-songwriters in their later careers.

The scene that had developed out of the American folk music revival, pioneered by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger had grown to a major movement in the early 1960s, popularized by Joan Baez and her protégée, Bob Dylan, who had started reaching a mainstream audience with his hit, Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) bringing "protest songs" to a wider audience. There were hints of cross-pollination, but rock and folk music had remained largely separate genres, often with different audiences. An early attempt at fusing elements of folk and rock was highlighted in the Animals "House of the Rising Sun" (1964), a folk song, recorded with rock and roll instrumentation.

By the mid-1960s Bob Dylan took the lead in merging folk and rock, and in July 1965, released "Like a Rolling Stone", with a revolutionary rock sound, steeped in tawdry urban imagery, followed by an electric performance later that month at the Newport Folk Festival. Dylan plugged an entire generation into the milieu of the singer-songwriter. Often writing from an urban point of view, with poetry punctuated by rock rhythms and electric power, Dylan's fusing of folk and rock freed up emerging singer-songwriters to use elements of both traditions to tell their stories. In the mid- to late 1960s, bands and singer-songwriters began to proliferate the underground New York art/music scene. The release of The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967, featuring singer-songwriter Lou Reed and German singer and collaborator Nico was described as the "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone in 2003.

In the late '60s a new wave of female singer-songwriters broke from the confines of pop, using the urban landscape as their canvas for lyrics in the confessional style of poets like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. These pioneering women, appeared in a feature in Newsweek, July 1969, "The Girls: Letting Go: 'What is common to them – to Joni Mitchell and Lotti Golden, to Laura Nyro, Melanie, and to Elyse Weinberg, are the personalised songs they write, like voyages of self-discovery, brimming with keen observation and startling in the impact of their poetry." In The Guardian, author Laura Barton describes the radical shift in subject matter—they sang about politics, love affairs, the urban landscape, drugs, disappointment, and the life and loneliness of the itinerant performer. Lotti Golden, in her Atlantic debut album Motor-Cycle, chronicled her life in NYC's East Village in the late 1960s counterculture, visiting subjects such as gender identity (The Space Queens-Silky is Sad) and excessive drug use (Gonna Fay's). The women in the 1969 Newsweek article ushered in a new age of the contemporary female singer-songwriter that has informed generations of women singer-songwriters into the 21st century, with poet Warsan Shire as the muse for Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade.

By the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the original wave of singer-songwriters had largely been absorbed into a more general pop or soft rock format, but some new artists in the singer-songwriter tradition (including Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Chris Isaak, Victoria Williams, John Mellencamp, and Warren Zevon) continued to emerge, and in other cases rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case, Paul Collins, and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singer-songwriters. Kate Bush remained distinctive throughout with her idiosyncratic style.

In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne, Indigo Girls, and Tori Amos, who found success first in the United Kingdom, then in her home market. In the early 1990s, female artists also began to emerge in new styles, including Courtney Love and PJ Harvey. Later in the mid-1990s, the term was revived again with the success of Canada's Alanis Morissette and her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill.

Also in the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as Bono, the Edge, Dave Matthews, Jeff Buckley, Richard Barone, Duncan Sheik, and Elliott Smith borrowed from the singer-songwriter tradition to create new acoustic-based rock styles. In the 2000s, a quieter style emerged, with largely impressionistic lyrics, from artists such as Norah Jones, Conor Oberst, Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, South San Gabriel, Iron & Wine, David Gray, Ray LaMontagne, Meg Hutchinson, Darden Smith, Josh Rouse, Steve Millar, Jolie Holland, Patrick Duff, Richard Buckner, Jewel, Jack Savoretti, Richard Shindell, John Gorka, and Antje Duvekot. Some started to branch out in new genres such as Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher, T Bone Burnett, Eddie Vedder, and Pete Yorn. Others used drugs as a mind-altering way to boost creativity; for example, Emil Amos of Holy Sons took drugs daily from age sixteen on, wrote over 1,000 songs, and landed a record contract with an indie label.

Recording on the professional-grade systems became affordable for individuals in the late 1990s. This created opportunities for people to independently record and sell their music. Such artists are known as "indies" because they release their records on independent, often self-owned record labels, or no label at all. Additionally the Internet has provided a means for indies to get their music heard by a wider audience.

Chanson, the French tradition
French "chanson" comes from an old tradition, since the Middle Ages. It is driven by the rhythms of the French language. It can be distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music or soft rock format that began to spread in France during the 1960s until today, under the cultural influence of Anglo-American rock music and the rock band era.

The first modern French singer-songwriter was Charles Trenet, who began his solo career in 1938. He was the first to use jazz rhythms in chanson. He would remain an isolated act until the creative blooming of a new generation during the post-World War II era (mid-1940s and 1950s), where such artists as Léo Ferré, Georges Brassens, Félix Leclerc (from Quebec), Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Brel (from Belgium), Henri Salvador (from French Guiana), Charles Aznavour, and Barbara appeared, with contrasted and rich imagination. Most of them are recognized as great masters by younger generations of French artists, especially Ferré (for the richness of his lyrics, his melodic genius, his critical density on social issues and his body of work's profoundness) and Gainsbourg (for the bright and tasteful adaptation of pop or rock music with French language-driven rhythms).

During the 1960s and 1970s, prominent singer-songwriters included Claude Nougaro, Jean Ferrat, Boby Lapointe, Françoise Hardy, Frédérik Mey, Michel Polnareff, Nino Ferrer, Christophe, Bernard Lavilliers, Véronique Sanson and Jacques Higelin, amongst others.

Cantautori, the Italian tradition
Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).

The first internationally renowned cantautore was Domenico Modugno with his song "Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)", a huge best seller in 1958; other early cantautori, who began their careers in the late 50s, are Gino Paoli, Luigi Tenco, Umberto Bindi, Giorgio Gaber, and Enzo Jannacci.

Fabrizio De André, Lucio Battisti, and Francesco Guccini began their careers in the '60s, while Edoardo Bennato, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, Franco Battiato, Rino Gaetano, Ivano Fossati, Antonello Venditti, Claudio Baglioni, Pino Daniele, Roberto Vecchioni, Angelo Branduardi, and Eugenio Finardi all appeared in the '70s. Their songs are still popular today, often telling stories of marginalized (De André, Guccini, Dalla) and rebellious people (Finardi, De Gregori, Venditti), or having a political background (Venditti, Guccini).

Branduardi was greatly influenced by Medieval and Baroque musical styles, while his lyrics are usually inspired by ancient fables. Battiato started as a progressive rock and cultivated music artist in the 1970s, shifting to an original blend of pop, electronic, new wave, and world music in the 1980s.

Those canutautori linked to the city of Genoa (De André, Paoli, Bindi, Tenco, Baccini, etc.) are also referred as members of the Genoese School.

The Neapolitan cantautore Pino Daniele often fused genres as diverse as R&B, fusion, blues, pop, jazz, and tarantella to produce a sound uniquely his own, with lyrics variously in Italian, Neapolitan, or English. Similarly Paolo Conte was often tagged as a cantautore, but was more into the jazz tradition.

In the 1980s Vasco Rossi was renowned for his blend of blues-tinged rock music mixed with Italian melodies. He was nicknamed the "only Italian rockstar" (l'unica rockstar italiana) by his fans.

Mixing international sounds and Italian lyrics, in the 2000s Bugo became the "fantautore", a neologism coined for him. Despite not having achieved great fame, he is considered the pioneer of the renewal of Italian songwriting, making a point to break from the politicised content of the 70s.

In the last 25 years the tradition has mainly been continued by Samuele Bersani, Caparezza, and the so-called "2nd Roman school of cantautori" (including Max Gazzè, Niccolò Fabi, Daniele Silvestri, Simone Cristicchi).

The word has been borrowed into other languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan cantautor, French chantauteur, Maltese kantawtur, Romanian cantautor, and Slovenian kantavtor.

Iberian-Latin American traditions
Beginning in the 1960s and following the Italian cantautori style of the 1950s (like the one of Domenico Modugno), many Latin American countries developed singer-songwriter traditions that adopted elements from various popular styles. The first such tradition was the mid-1960s invention of nueva canción, which took hold in Andean countries like Chile, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia.

At around the same time, the Brazilian popular style bossa nova was evolving into a politically charged singer-songwriter tradition called Tropicalismo. Two performers, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso became two of the most famous people in all of Brazil through their work in Tropicalismo.

After World War II it was developed in Italy a very prolific singer-songwriter (in Italian cantautore) tradition, initially connected with the French school of the chansonniers, and lately developed very heterogeneously. Although the term cantautore normally implies consistent sociopolitical content in lyrics, noteworthy performers in a more inclusive singer-songwriter categorization are: Domenico Modugno, Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Sergio Endrigo, Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Antonello Venditti, Roberto Vecchioni, Ivano Fossati, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini, and Franco Battiato.

In neighbouring Malta, the main singer-songwriters are Walter Micallef, Manwel Mifsud and Vince Fabri. They all perform in Maltese.

Spain and Portugal have also had singer-songwriter traditions, which are sometimes said to have drawn on Latin elements. Catalonia is known for the Nova Cançó tradition – exemplified by Joan Manuel Serrat and Lluís Llach; the Portuguese folk/protest singer and songwriter José Afonso helped lead a revival of Portuguese folk culture, including a modernized, more socially aware form of fado called nova canção. Following Portugal's Carnation Revolution of 1974, nova canção became more politicized and was known as canto livre. Another important Spain singer-songwriters are Joaquín Sabina, José Luis Perales, and Luis Eduardo Aute.

In the latter part of the 1960s and into the 1970s, socially and politically aware singer-songwriters like Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés emerged in Cuba, birthing a genre known as nueva trova. Trova as a genre has had broad influence across Latin America. In Mexico, for example, canción yucateca on the Yucatán Peninsula and trova serrana in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, are both regional adaptations of trova. Today, Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona qualifies as Latin America's most commercially successful singer-songwriter. Although sociopolitical engagement is uneven in his oeuvre, some see Arjona's more engaged works as placing him in the tradition of the Italian cantautori.

In the mid-1970s, a singer-songwriter tradition called canto popular emerged in Uruguay.

With the influence of Tropicalismo, Traditional Samba and Bossa Nova, MPB (Música popular brasileira), or Brazilian Popular Music, became highly singer-songwriter based. For years solo artists would dominate Brazilian popular music with romantic cynicism alla Jobim or subliminal anti-government messages alla Chico Buarque. After the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, Brazilian music became less politically and socially conscious. The censored Raul Seixas or the humorous spiritualist Jorge Ben were slowly obscured by funk carioca, axé music, and Brazilian disco. In recent years, however, a new stock of socially conscious Brazilian singer-songwriters is beginning to break the almost strictly dance-music momentum that has reigned since the 1980s (see the 'Brazilian folk/folk-rock sub-article in Brazilian Music).

Soviet Union and Russia

Since the 1960s, those singers who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment have been known as "bards". The first songs traditionally referred to as bard songs are thought to be written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and the very existence of the genre is traditionally originated from the amateur activities of the Soviet intelligentsia, namely mass backpacking movement and the students' song movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Many bards performed their songs in small groups of people using a Russian guitar, rarely if ever would they be accompanied by other musicians or singers. Though, bards using piano or accordion are also known. Those who became popular held modest concerts. The first nationwide-famous bards (starting their career in the 1950s) are traditionally referred to as the First Five: Mikhail Ancharov, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Novella Matveyeva, Bulat Okudzhava, and Yuri Vizbor. In the 1960s, they were joined by Vladimir Vysotsky, Victor Berkovsky, Yuliy Kim, and many others.

In the course of the 1970s, the shift to the classical 6-string guitar took place, and now, a Russian guitar is a rare bird with the bards. In the same period, the movement of KSP (Kluby Samodeyatelnoy Pesni – amateur song fan clubs) emerged, providing the bards with highly educated audience, and up to the end of the 1980s being their key promotion engine. Bards were rarely permitted to record their music, partly given the political nature of many songs, partly due to their vague status in the strictly organised state-supported show business establishment of the USSR. As a result, bard tunes usually made their way around as folk lore, from mouth to mouth, or via the copying of amateur recordings (sometimes referred as magnitizdat) made at concerts, particularly those songs that were of political nature. Bard poetry differs from other poetry mainly in the fact that it is sung along with a simple guitar melody as opposed to being spoken. Another difference is that this form of poetry focuses less on style and more on meaning. This means that fewer stylistic devices are used, and the poetry often takes the form of narrative. What separates bard poetry from other songs is the fact that the music is far less important than the lyrics; chord progressions are often very simple and tend to repeat from one bard song to another. On the other hand, in the USSR the chief bard supporter was the state Union of Composers, and the main bard hater was the state Union of Writers. A far more obvious difference was the commerce-free nature of the genre: songs were written to be sung and not to be sold. The similar genre dominated by singers-songwriters is known as sung poetry in other Post-Soviet countries.

Bulgaria
Singer-songwriters are popular in Bulgaria under the name "bards", or "poets with guitars". Their tradition is a mixture of traditional folk motifs, city folklore from the early 20th century, and modern influences. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the Communist regime in the country started to tolerate the Bulgarian "bards", promoting the so-called "political songs", performed usually by one-man bands. A national festival tradition was established, under the title "Alen Mak" (Red Poppy), a symbol with strong Communist meaning in Bulgaria. At the same time, there were some prominent underground figures which were against the official Communist Party line, such as Angel "Jendema" Angelov, Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov, and Velizar "Valdes" Vankov.

After the collapse of Communism in 1989, the singer-songwriters' tradition was re-established. Currently, the Bulgarian "bards" enjoy several festivals (local and international) per year, namely the PoKi Festival (Poets with Guitars, Poetic Strings) in the town of Harmanli, the Bardfest in Lovech, the Sofia Evenings of Singer-Songwriters, and others. Major figures in the Bulgarian tradition are Dimitar Taralezhkov, Angel "Jendema" Angelov, Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov, Velizar "Valdes" Vankov, Dimitar Dobrev, Andro Stubel, Branimir "Bunny" Stoykov, Dorothea Tabakova, Mihail Belchev, Assen Maslarski, Grisha Trifonov, Plamen Stavrev, Vladimir Levkov, Margarita Drumeva, Maria Batchvarova, Plamen Sivov, and Krasimir Parvanov.

Romania
Despite the communist isolation, the tradition of the singer-songwriter in Romania flourished beginning with the end of the 1960s and it was put in the context of folk music, with its three main styles in Romania: ethno folk, American-style folk and lyrical (cult) folk. The framework for many of these initiatives came under the form of Cenaclul Flacăra, a series of mass cultural events with an inevitable ideological touch. Still, with the merit of supporting great opening initiatives: the appropriation of Western artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others from the Woodstock generation, the public performance of gospel-like music, the opening to big international issues (pop culture, accountability of the leadership, tension surging during the Cold War-with surprisingly neutral positions, etc.). Overall, the Romanian folk, in general, could be marked as an underground cultural movement, somewhere between non-aligned and protest music.

Liedermacher, the German tradition

Rooted in the European Bänkelsang ("bench-singing") and Moritat traditions while also taking immediate inspiration from the French chanson scene and the American folk music revival, the 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of a whole generation of German-language singer-songwriters called Liedermacher ("songmakers"), among them Hannes Wader, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Reinhard Mey, and Konstantin Wecker from West Germany, Wolf Biermann from East Germany as well as Ludwig Hirsch and Georg Danzer from Austria. With regards to content and style, the Liedermacher spectrum ranges from political balladeering to rather observational storytelling and love songs. The lyrics often deal with topics such as social injustice, militarism, consumerism, environmental issues or the repercussions of the German Nazi past, often expressing technoskepticism and anti-establishment views.

Sweden
In the mid-1960s, Sweden witnessed the renaissance of the "trubadur", the Swedish version of the singer-songwriter. Cornelis Vreeswijk and Fred Åkerström were particularly influential in their efforts to blend the heritage of the "visa" (a specific way to render simple stanzaic poems or songs, given distinction by artists such as Carl Michael Bellman and Evert Taube) with modern approaches to balladeering.

Netherlands
Ede Staal (Warffum) (1941–1986) was a Dutch singer-songwriter from the Northern province of Groningen who sang mainly in the Groninger dialect of Dutch.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Singer-songwriter


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Richard Crenna

Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American actor.

Crenna starred in such motion pictures as Made in Paris (1966), Marooned (1969), Breakheart Pass (1975), The Evil (1978), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Summer Rental (1985) and Sabrina (1995). His first success came on radio in 1948 as high school student Walter Denton co-starring with Eve Arden and Gale Gordon in the series Our Miss Brooks. Crenna continued with the comedy in its 1952 move into television. He also starred as Luke McCoy in the television series The Real McCoys (1957–1963). In 1985, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his portrayal of the title role in The Rape of Richard Beck (1985).

Early life
Crenna was born November 30, 1926, in Los Angeles, the only child of Edith Josephine (née Pollette), who was a hotel manager in Los Angeles, and Domenick Anthony Crenna, a pharmacist. His parents were both of Italian descent. Crenna attended Virgil Junior High School, followed by Belmont Senior High School in Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 1944. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, entering the Army in February 1945 and serving until August 1946.

After his Army service, Crenna attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, and he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Radio years
Crenna got his acting start on radio. In 1937, he had gained his first role, that of "the kid who did everything wrong" on Boy Scout Jamboree, a show on which he continued to appear occasionally in numerous roles until 1948. In the following year, he started playing Walter "Bronco" Thompson on The Great Gildersleeve, a role he played until 1954. He also originated the role of geeky Walter Denton on the radio comedy Our Miss Brooks alongside Eve Arden and Gale Gordon in 1948, and followed that role when the series moved to television in 1952. He remained in that role until 1957. He appeared as a delivery boy in My Favorite Husband (episode "Liz Cooks Dinner for 12"), was Oogie Pringle on A Date With Judy (episode "The Competitive Diet", among several other episodes of the show) and as a teenager on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (episode "Watching the Neighbor's Daughter").

Early television years
Crenna played Walter Denton on radio's Our Miss Brooks, remaining with the cast when it moved into television in 1952. He remained with the show until it was canceled in 1957. He guest-starred on the I Love Lucy episode "The Young Fans", with Janet Waldo and on the 1955–56 anthology series Frontier, in the lead role of the episode titled "The Ten Days of John Leslie". In 1955, he was the guest star on The Millionaire in the episode "The Ralph McKnight Story". Crenna appeared in 1956 on the television series Father Knows Best in the episode "The Promising Young Man" as a young man named Woody. In 1957, he played a bank robber on Cheyenne (season 2, episode 19).

After Our Miss Brooks was canceled in 1957, Crenna joined the cast of the comedy series The Real McCoys as Luke McCoy; his co-star was Walter Brennan, who played Grandpa Amos McCoy. Crenna ultimately became one of the series's four directors during its six-year run (1957–1963).

1960s–1970s
Credited as Dick Crenna, he directed eight episodes of The Andy Griffith Show during its 1963-1964 season, including "Opie the Birdman," "The Sermon for Today," and the Gomer Pyle-instigated "Citizen's Arrest." Crenna also directed "Henhouse," a 1977 episode of Lou Grant.

Crenna portrayed California state senator James Slattery in the series Slattery's People (1964–1965). For his acting in this series, he was twice nominated for an Emmy Award with slightly different names: for Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment and for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series, both in 1965. Crenna was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Male for this same role in 1965. In 1966, Crenna played beside Steve McQueen as an ill-fated captain of an American gunboat in 1920s China in The Sand Pebbles. During the 1970s, Crenna continued acting in Western dramas such as The Deserter, Catlow, The Man Called Noon, and Breakheart Pass. He made a notable performance in Jean-Pierre Melville's final film Un Flic in 1972. In 1976, Crenna returned to weekly network television in the sitcom All's Fair, a political satire co-starring Bernadette Peters. Despite high expectations and good critical reviews, it lasted just a single season. The 1978 miniseries Centennial, based on James A. Michener's historical novel of the same name saw Crenna in the role of deranged religious fanatic Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn, who ordered the 1864 massacre of Colorado American Indians.

1980s–early 2000s
Crenna won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1985 film The Rape of Richard Beck.

Crenna then played John Rambo's ex-commanding officer Colonel Sam Trautman, in the first three Rambo films, a role for which he was hired after Kirk Douglas left the production a day into filming. Trautman became the veteran actor's most famous role; his performance received wide critical praise. He also spoofed the character in Hot Shots! Part Deux in 1993.

Crenna portrayed New York City Police Department lieutenant of detectives Frank Janek in a series of seven popular made-for-television films, beginning in 1988 and ending in 1994. The character of Janek had originally appeared in a series of novels by William Bayer.

Legacy
Crenna was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard.

Illness and death
Crenna died of pancreatic cancer at age 76 on January 17, 2003, in Los Angeles.

title: Richard Crenna


text:
The Nice

The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band.

The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jackson, David O'List and Ian Hague to back soul singer P. P. Arnold. After replacing Hague with Brian Davison, the group set out on their own, quickly developing a strong live following. The group's stage performances featured Emerson's Hammond organ showmanship and abuse of the instrument. Their compositions included radical rearrangements of classical music themes and Bob Dylan songs.

The band achieved commercial success with an instrumental rearrangement of Leonard Bernstein's "America", following which O'List left the group. The remaining members carried on as a trio, releasing several albums, before Emerson left the band in early 1970 in order to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The group briefly re-formed in 2002 for a series of concerts.

Early career
The Nice evolved from Gary Farr and the T-Bones, which keyboardist Keith Emerson and bassist Keith "Lee" Jackson were both members of before the band dissolved in early 1967. Emerson then briefly played with the VIPs, who toured the Star-Club in Hamburg, and his playing style became influenced by the organist Don Shinn, including standing up to play the instrument and rocking it on stage. Meanwhile, P. P. Arnold, a performer who reached a higher level of popularity in the UK than her native US, was unhappy with her backing band, the Blue Jays, and wanted a replacement. Her driver suggested Emerson would be able to put together such a group. Emerson agreed, but only on the condition the band could perform on their own as a warm-up act. Since it effectively meant getting two bands for the price of one, manager Andrew Loog Oldham readily agreed. Emerson recruited Jackson, drummer Ian Hague and ex-The Attack guitarist David O'List, the latter by recommendation from journalist Chris Welch. The name came from Arnold saying, "Here comes the Naz", which the group misheard as "the Nice".

The band played its first gig in May 1967, and had its first major break at the 7th National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor on 13 August. Oldham had managed to secure a separate set for the group in a side tent away from also accompanying Arnold on the main stage, where they gained attention. The next week, Welch wrote in the Melody Maker that "it was the first time I had seen a group actually in the act of winning its first following in quite dramatic circumstances". When Arnold returned to the US shortly afterwards, Oldham offered the group a contract of their own. Hague was not interested in the "progressive" direction the group wanted to go in, so he was replaced by former Mark Leeman Five and Habits drummer Brian Davison.

Now a band in their own right, the Nice expanded their gear, recruiting roadies Bazz Ward and Lemmy, the latter of whom provided Emerson with a Hitler Youth ceremonial dagger to stick into the keys on his Hammond organ. They spent the end of 1967 on a package tour with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Move and Amen Corner. Pink Floyd's then leader, Syd Barrett, missed several gigs and O'List had to stand in for him. The group's first album was recorded throughout the autumn of 1967, and in October of that year they recorded their first session for John Peel's radio show Top Gear. The album included classical and jazz influences including extracts from Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta and a rearrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk" renamed as "Rondo", changing the time signature from the original 9/8 to 4/4 in the process. The group clashed with producer Oldham in the studio over the length of the track, but eventually won the argument; the full eight-minute piece was included on the album. After the album was released, the group realised that Oldham had a conflict of interest as manager and record company owner, so they recruited sports journalist Tony Stratton Smith to take over management duties.

For their second single, the Nice created an arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's "America" which Emerson described as the first ever instrumental protest song. The track used the main theme of the Bernstein piece (from West Side Story) but also included fragments of Dvořák's New World Symphony. The single concludes with Arnold's three-year-old son speaking the lines "America is pregnant with promise and anticipation, but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable." The new arrangement was released under the title "America (Second Amendment)" as a pointed reference to the US Bill of Rights provision for the right to bear arms. In July 1968, Immediate Records publicised the single with a controversial poster picturing the group members with small boys on their knees, with superimposed images of the faces of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. on the children's heads. A spokesman for the band said: "Several record stores have refused to stock our current single .... the Nice feel if the posters are issued in United States they will do considerable harm". During the tour that followed the release of their second album in July, the group spawned controversy when Emerson burned an American flag onstage during a performance of "America" at a charity event, Come Back Africa in London's Royal Albert Hall. The group were subsequently banned from ever playing the venue again.

By summer 1968, the group had become concerned about O'List's reliability and matters came to a head following a gig in Croydon's Fairfield Hall in September. According to Ward, O'List had an altercation with him mid-performance. Emerson subsequently called a band meeting with Jackson and Davison and stated flatly that O'List should be sacked. They agreed, and immediately after their performance at The Ritz, Bournemouth in October, he was fired by Stratton Smith with the rest of the band present. O'List, however, claims that he left the band voluntarily because he was upset at Smith's decision to make Emerson the front man, saying: "I left the band and waited for Keith to get in contact... I should have gone straight to Keith, but I didn't."

Reduction to a three-piece
The Nice briefly considered looking for a replacement, with Steve Howe auditioning. Howe got on well with the rest of the band, but a week later had second thoughts and decided not to join. Emerson tried to learn guitar so he could cover some of O'List's old parts, but gave up after one gig.

The band's second LP, Ars Longa Vita Brevis, featured an arrangement of the Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite by Jean Sibelius, which the band's friend Roy Harper had recommended they cover, and the album's second side was a suite which included an arrangement of a movement from J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The group used an orchestra for the first time on some parts of the suite. The band were on the bill at the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival and briefly toured Ireland with Yes and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band which, by all accounts, was fraught with logistical problems.

The third album, titled Nice in the UK and Everything As Nice As Mother Makes It in the US, featured one side recorded live on their American tour and one side of studio material. As with previous albums, it included arrangements of classical material, in this case Lalo's Symphonie espagnole which was rewritten as "Diary of an Empty Day" plus rearrangements of Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" and Tim Hardin's "Hang On to a Dream".

In 1969, the band found time to contribute to other projects. Emerson performed as a session player for Rod Stewart and the Faces, while the whole group provided instrumental backing for the track "Hell's Angels" on Roy Harper's 1970 album Flat Baroque and Berserk. Mid-year, tour promoter Michael Emmerson asked the Nice to write some music for the Newcastle upon Tyne Arts Festival. The result was the Five Bridges suite. The group premièred the piece on 10 October 1969 at Newcastle City Hall. A complete version with an orchestra was performed at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon on 17 October, which was recorded for the album of the same name. The title refers to the city's five bridges spanning the River Tyne, and Jackson's lyrics refer to his Newcastle childhood and the St James' Park football ground.

By late 1969, Emerson thought the Nice had progressed as far as it could musically, and was particularly dissatisfied with Jackson's limited vocal style. He asked Jack Bruce and Yes' Chris Squire about forming a new band, but both turned Emerson down. While on tour in the US with King Crimson, Emerson held a meeting with Stratton Smith and declared "the Nice had outlived its usefulness". By the end of the year, Emerson and Crimson's Greg Lake had decided to form a band together. The group carried on touring into 1970, but sometime early in the year, Emerson told Jackson that he would be leaving the band. Matters were not helped by Immediate Records filing for bankruptcy; the band later said they received no royalties from the label while an active group.

In February 1970, the group collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra led by Zubin Mehta. This was broadcast in the following month as part of the "Switched-On Symphony" program. Following standard television procedure of the day, the Nice's contribution (a version of "America") was recorded ahead of time and the band mimed for the cameras.

By March, the group had confirmed they would split, and a report on the band's decision was printed in Melody Maker. The group played their last British concert on 22 March at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon, and after a short German tour the band broke up, playing their last gig on 30 March at the Berlin Sportpalast.

Post-Nice and reunion
Emerson and Lake recruited Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster and formed Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). In 1971, the posthumous Nice album Elegy was released. It included different versions of previously released tracks, two being studio versions and two live from the 1969 US tour. Emerson had no involvement with compiling the album, which was done by Jackson, Davison and Charisma Records. The album reached No. 5 in the UK.

Jackson formed Jackson Heights which released five albums between 1970 and 1973. Emerson supported the band and became a fan. Davison formed "Every Which Way" which released an album in 1970. Both Jackson and Davison formed Refugee with keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1974, but Moraz left the group after one album to replace Rick Wakeman in Yes.

After over three decades of inactivity, the Nice reformed in 2002 for a series of concerts. A three-CD set Vivacitas was released, with the third CD being an interview with Emerson, Jackson and Davison. O'List did not attend the reunion and was replaced by guitarist Dave Kilminster. Davison died on 15 April 2008 aged 65 in Horns Cross, Devon, from a brain tumour. Emerson died on 11 March 2016 in Santa Monica, California, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Musical style
The Nice were primarily a live band. Their stage performances were bold and violent, with Emerson incorporating feedback and distortion. He manhandled his Hammond L-100 organ, wrestling it and attacking it with daggers (which he used to hold down keys and sustain notes during these escapades). Emerson's playing was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Billy Ritchie of Clouds, and Don Shinn as well as earlier figures such as pianist Jerry Lee Lewis.

The group's early sound was geared more towards psychedelic rock with only occasional classical influences. Following O'List's departure, Emerson's control over the band's direction became greater, resulting in more complex music. The absence of a guitar in the band and Emerson's redefining of the role of keyboard instruments in rock set the Nice apart from many of its contemporaries. He used a combination of Marshall Amplification and Leslie speakers in order to project a full sound to compensate for the lack of a guitarist.

Jackson never considered himself a great singer, partly because the group chose poor keys for his vocal range, but his bass playing, with heavy use of a plectrum, was a distinctive part of the band's overall sound. He was influenced by Bob Dylan, whose songs were often covered at the time; the Nice interpreted several of them, typically reducing them to three or four verses and featuring a long improvised middle section, such as "She Belongs to Me".

Legacy
Though noted in rock history primarily as the band which brought Keith Emerson into the spotlight, the Nice were one of the pioneering progressive rock bands and their fusion of styles strongly influenced the movement into the 1970s. Their commercial success on Charisma Records was key to establishing the label, which went on to include several other progressive acts, including Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. Genesis were fans of the Nice and "The Knife" from their album Trespass was directly inspired by the band. According to Peter Gabriel, Jimi Hendrix was so impressed by the Nice that he asked to join the band. Though the Nice were not the first to combine a rock band and orchestra, they did inspire similar attempts by other groups, such as Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother.

Emerson's showmanship was more important in the Nice, and he mostly used just a Hammond organ live as opposed to a wider range of keyboards, including the Moog synthesizer, in ELP. John Peel, an early champion of the Nice, called ELP "a waste of talent and electricity".

Members

 * Keith Emerson – organ, piano, vocals (1967–1970, 2002)
 * Keith "Lee" Jackson – bass, vocals (1967–1970, 2002)
 * David O'List – guitar, vocals (1967–1968)
 * Ian Hague – drums, percussion (1967)
 * Brian Davison – drums, percussion (1967–1970, 2002)

Touring members

 * Phil Hilborne – guitar, vocals (2002)

Studio albums

 * The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (Immediate, 1968)
 * Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Immediate, 1968)
 * Nice (aka Everything As Nice As Mother Makes It) (Immediate, 1969) – [UK #3]

Live albums

 * Five Bridges (Charisma, 1970) – [UK #2 US #197, AUS #28]
 * Elegy (Charisma, 1971) – [UK #5]
 * America – The BBC Sessions (Receiver, 1996)
 * The Swedish Radio Sessions (late 1967) (Sanctuary, 2001)
 * BBC Sessions (Sanctuary, 2002)
 * Vivacitas (Sanctuary, 2003)
 * Live at the Fillmore East December 1969 (Virgin, 2009)

Compilation albums

 * Autumn '67 – Spring '68 (Charisma, 1972, UK), released as Autumn to Spring (Charisma, 1973, USA)
 * The Best of The Nice – Remastered (Castle Communications) 1998, UK

Singles

 * "The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack" / "Azrial (Angel of Death)" (Immediate IM 059, November 1967)
 * "America" / "The Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon" (Immediate IM 068, 21 June 1968) – [UK #21]
 * "Brandenburger" / "Happy Freuds" (Immediate IM 072, 8 November 1968) – [UK / Europe]
 * "Hang on to a Dream" / "Diary of an Empty Day" (Immediate, 1969) – [Europe]
 * "Country Pie" / "One of Those People" (Charisma, 1969)

title: The Nice


text:
Chaplin (film)

Chaplin is a 1992 biographical comedy-drama film about the life of English comic actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. It was produced and directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Penelope Ann Miller and Kevin Kline. It also features Charlie Chaplin's own daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, in the role of his mother, Hannah Chaplin.

The film was adapted by William Boyd, Bryan Forbes and William Goldman from Chaplin's 1964 book My Autobiography and the 1985 book Chaplin: His Life and Art by film critic David Robinson. Associate producer Diana Hawkins got a story credit. The original music score was composed by John Barry.

The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $12 million against a $31 million budget, and received mixed reviews from critics; Downey's titular performance, however, garnered critical acclaim and won him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor along with nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

Plot
An elderly Charlie Chaplin reminisces during a 1962 conversation in Switzerland with George Hayden, the fictionalized editor of his autobiography.

In the Victorian era East End of London, Chaplin escapes his poverty-stricken childhood by immersing himself in the world of variety circuit. In 1894, after his mother Hannah loses her voice onstage, five-year-old Charlie takes her place. Hannah is eventually committed to an asylum after developing psychosis. Over the years, Chaplin and his brother Sydney gain work with variety producer Fred Karno, who later sends him to the United States. He begins a relationship with dancer Hetty Kelly and soon proposes to her. However, Kelly declines, reasoning she is too young. Chaplin vows to return when he is a success.

In America, Chaplin is employed by famous comedy producer Mack Sennett. He creates the Tramp persona, and due to the terrible directorial abilities of Sennett's girlfriend Mabel Normand, he becomes his own director. After Sydney becomes his manager, Chaplin breaks from Sennett to gain creative control over his films, with the goal of one day owning his own studio. In 1917, he completes work on his film The Immigrant and starts a two-year relationship with actress Edna Purviance.

Years later, at a party thrown by Douglas Fairbanks, Chaplin dates child actress Mildred Harris. He sets up his own studio and becomes "the most famous man in the world" before his 30th birthday. Chaplin tells Fairbanks that he must marry Harris because she is pregnant but later learns it is a hoax. Chaplin has a confrontation with J. Edgar Hoover about actor/directors and propaganda. This sparks a 40-year-long vendetta by Hoover.

Harris's divorce lawyers claim Chaplin's film The Kid as an asset. Chaplin and Sydney flee with the footage, finish editing it in a Salt Lake City hotel, then smuggle it back to Los Angeles.

The brothers arrange for their mother to join them, but Chaplin cannot cope with her worsened condition. In 1921, Chaplin attends the UK premiere of The Kid. He hopes to locate Hetty, but soon learns that she died in the influenza epidemic. Chaplin also discovers the British working class resent him for not joining the British armed forces during World War I as they did.

Back in America, Hoover digs into Chaplin's private life, suspecting him of Pro-Soviet sympathies. Chaplin is forced to consider the effect of "talkies" on his career. Despite the popularity of sound films, he vows never to make a talkie featuring the Tramp.

In 1925, Chaplin makes The Gold Rush and marries bit-part actress Lita Grey. However, he later says to George that he always thought of her as a "total bitch" and barely mentions her in his autobiography. Chaplin marries Paulette Goddard and feels a sense of guilt and sympathy for the millions unemployed due to the Wall Street Crash (Chaplin sold most of his shares the year before the crash). Chaplin decides to address the issue in Modern Times, but his dedication to this film results in the breakup of his marriage.

At an industry party, the partially Roma Chaplin refuses to shake hands with a visiting Nazi. Fairbanks comments that Chaplin resembles Adolf Hitler, inspiring him to create The Great Dictator. The film, which satirizes Nazism, is a hit worldwide and further enrages Hoover, who believes it to be anti-American propaganda.

Chaplin marries actress Oona O'Neill, who resembles Hetty. However, it is alleged that he is the father of the child of former lover Joan Barry. Despite a blood test proving that the child is not his, Chaplin is ordered to provide financial support after the blood test is declared inadmissible in court. With his reputation damaged, he stays out of the public eye for over seven years until producing Limelight. During McCarthyism, the Chaplins leave America together on a visit to Britain, but then the United States Attorney General revokes his re-entry permit.

In 1972, Chaplin is invited back to America to receive a special Academy Honorary Award. Despite being initially resentful after two decades in exile and certain that no one will even remember him, he is moved to tears when the audience laughs at footage from his films and gives Chaplin the Academy Awards' longest standing ovation ever.

Cast
In addition, the Academy Award tribute sequence at the end features footage of the real Chaplin.

Production
Richard Attenborough acquired the rights to Chaplin's biography in 1988 and intended to make it with Universal. According to Marc Wanamaker, who served as an advisor on the film, Attenborough had thought of making a miniseries at one point, to fully explore Chaplin's life. Although Attenborough wanted Robert Downey Jr. for the part of Chaplin, studio executives wanted Robin Williams or Billy Crystal for the role. Jim Carrey was also considered. On David Letterman's Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Downey Jr. revealed that Attenborough had also been interested in Tom Cruise for the role, but Cruise declined the offer. The film had a four-hour cut that was later edited down to two and a half hours for release.

Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews, lauded for its high production values, but many critics dismissed it as an overly glossy biopic. Although the film was criticized for taking dramatic license with some aspects of Chaplin's life, Downey's performance as Chaplin won universal acclaim. Attenborough was sufficiently confident in Downey's performance to include historical footage of Chaplin himself at the end of the film.

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of critics have given Chaplin a positive review based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Chaplin boasts a terrific performance from Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role, but it isn't enough to overcome a formulaic biopic that pales in comparison to its subject's classic films." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A-" on a scale ranging from A+ to F.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times lauded Downey's performance, and deemed the film "extremely appreciative". Todd McCarthy of Variety remarked that Chaplin's life was too grand to be properly captured in a film, criticizing the screenplay, but praised the casting and the film's first hour.

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of four stars, dubbing the film, "a disappointing, misguided movie that has all of the parts in place to be a much better one", but praised Downey and the production values. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times felt Attenborough's filmmaking and Chaplin's life were ill-suited to each other, but said of Downey, "Lithe and lively and looking remarkably like the younger Chaplin, Downey does more than master the man’s celebrated duck walk and easy grace. In one of those acts of will and creativity that actors come up with when you least expect it, Downey becomes Chaplin, re-creating his character and his chilly soul so precisely that even the comedian’s daughter Geraldine, a featured player here, was both impressed and unnerved."

Box office
The film grossed £1.8 million ($2.7 million) in the United Kingdom and $9.5 million in the United States.

Home media
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc in June 1993 and later on DVD in 1997, and on LaserDisc by Live Home Video on July 5, 1998. A 15th-anniversary edition was released by Lions Gate Entertainment (who obtained the distribution rights to the film in the interim under license from the copyright holder, StudioCanal) in 2008. The anniversary edition contained extensive interviews with the producers, and included several minutes of home-movie footage shot on Chaplin's yacht. The box for this DVD mistakenly lists the film's running time as 135 minutes, although it retains the 143-minute length of the original theatrical release.

The 15th Anniversary Edition was later released on Blu-ray on February 15, 2011.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Chaplin was released on December 15, 1992.

A newly expanded soundtrack with 35 tracks to celebrate the film's 30 anniversary was released by La La Land Records in 2023.

 * Track listing

title: Chaplin (film)


text:
Stephen Rea

Stephen Rea (born 31 October 1946) is an Irish actor of stage and screen. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and came to the attention of film audiences as one of the close collaborators of director Neil Jordan. He is an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee, a two-time BAFTA Award winner, and a three-time Irish Film and Television (IFTA) Award winner.

Rea was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA Award for his performance in Jordan's thriller The Crying Game (1992). He also starred in Jordan's films Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), and Greta (2018).

He played starring roles in the Hugo Blick TV series The Shadow Line and The Honourable Woman, for which he won a BAFTA. As a stage actor, he is known for his performances at The Gate and Abbey Theatres in Dublin, and the Royal Court Theatre in London. He is a co-founder of the Field Day Theatre Company with Brian Friel.

In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.

Early life
Rea was born in Belfast. His father was a bus driver and his mother a housewife. His family was Protestant but sympathetic to Irish nationalism. He studied English at the Queen's University Belfast and drama at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin.

In the late 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.

Career
After appearing on the stage and in television and film for many years in Ireland and England, Rea came to international attention when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film The Crying Game. He is a frequent collaborator with Irish film-maker Neil Jordan. Rea has long been associated with some of the most important writers in Ireland. His association with playwright Stewart Parker, for example, began when they were students together at the Queen's University Belfast.

Rea helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane. In recognition for his contribution to theatre and performing arts, Rea was given honorary degrees from both the Queen's University Belfast and the Ulster University in 2004.

Rea's friendship with American playwright and actor Sam Shepard dates back to the early 1970s, and he starred in Shepard's directorial début of his play Geography of a Horse Dreamer at the Royal Court Theatre in 1974. In 2007, Rea began a successful and acclaimed relationship with both the Abbey Theatre and Sam Shepard, appearing in Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) and Ages of the Moon (2009), both penned by Shepard and also both transferred to New York. Rea returned to the Abbey in 2009 to appear in the world première of Sebastian Barry's Tales of Ballycumber.

Rea was hired to speak the words of Gerry Adams when Sinn Féin was under a 1988–94 broadcasting ban.

In 2011, Rea featured in the BBC crime drama The Shadow Line, playing antagonist Gatehouse.

In April 2012, Rea read James Joyce's short story The Dead on RTÉ Radio 1. He also narrated for the BBC Radio 4 production of Ulysses for Bloomsday, 16 June 2012.

Rea starred in Enda Walsh's 2014 play Ballyturk and portrayed Jordan in Out of the Dark, in which he co-stars alongside Julia Stiles, Scott Speedman and Alejandro Furth.

In 2023, Rea appeared as Frank, husband to Eileen (played by Kathy Bates) in the film The Miracle Club.

Recognition and awards
Rea was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Crying Game (1992). He won a BAFTA Award for his role in The Honourable Woman.

In 2020, The Irish Times ranked Rea the 13th greatest Irish film actor of all time.

Other activities
, Rea was an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland.

Personal life
From 1983 to 2003 Rea was married to Dolours Price, a former Provisional Irish Republican Army bomber and hunger striker who later became a critic of Sinn Féin. They have two sons. They divorced in 2003.

Before the marriage, Price attended a performance of Rea's at the Court Theatre in London in 1973, the night before she participated in a car bombing which injured 200 people.

, Rea lives in County Donegal.

title: Stephen Rea


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BITNET Relay

BITNET Relay, also known as the Inter Chat Relay Network, was a chat network setup over BITNET nodes. It predated Internet Relay Chat and other online chat systems. The program that made the network possible was called "Relay" and was developed by Jeff Kell of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1985 using the REXX programming language.

This system drew its name from "relay race" which shares a comparable behavior, where messages travel hop-by-hop along the network of Relay servers until they reached their destination. Messages sent within the United States would take a few seconds to reach their destinations, but communication times varied in other countries or internationally. If one or more network links were down, BITNET would store and forward the messages when the network links recovered, minutes or even hours later.

Background
Before BITNET Relay was implemented, any form of communication over BITNET required identifying the remote user and host.

Relay ran on a special ID using several BITNET hosts. To use it, a message was sent to a user ID called RELAY. The Relay program running on that user ID would then provide multi-user chat functions, primarily in the form of "channels" (chat rooms). The message could contain either a command for Relay (preceded by the popular "/" slash character command prefix, still in use today), or a message at the remote host (typically a mainframe computer).

Computers connected to BITNET were generally located at universities and government agencies, due to limited access to computer network bandwidth. It was not uncommon for a university's entire network connection to run over a single leased telephone line or even a 4800 baud dial-up connection. Thus using scarce computing and network resources for "frivolous" purposes, such as chat, was often discouraged.

Popularity
One of the reasons Relay gained acceptance was that its system of peer servers decreased the network bandwidth consumed by group chat, due to no longer having to send multiple copies of the same message individually to each server. Because of this efficiency and the limited bandwidth at the time, users were often not allowed to use or develop alternate chat systems. Experimental chats like Galaxy Network and VM/Shell were asked to shut down before they achieved noteworthy success.

Bitnet Relay gained popularity in the late 1980s when Valdis Kletnieks at Virginia Tech created a Pascal version that consumed far less CPU time, and again in the early 1990s when Smart Relay improved handling of message delivery.

Though Jeff Kell himself had made observations about the possible demise of BITNET Relay, only TCP/IP and the Internet brought about the end of BITNET and Relay. Jarkko Oikarinen, the creator of Internet Relay Chat, says that he was inspired by BITNET Relay

title: BITNET Relay


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2003 in American television

In American television during 2003, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel initiations.

NCIS (originally referred to as Navy NCIS), a spin-off of JAG, premiered on September 23, 2003 on CBS, becoming the third-longest-running scripted, nonanimated U.S. prime-time TV series currently airing, and has later spawned multiple spin-offs and was voted America's favorite television series in 2011. Other notable shows that premiered that year included Arrested Development, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Two and a Half Men, The Venture Bros., One Tree Hill, The O.C., Nip/Tuck, and Teen Titans.

Later 2010s/2020s TV shows like Better Call Saul (2015-2022) and the television adaptation of The Last of Us (2023–present) are set in 2003.

Television debuts

 * Chris O'Dowd – Red Cap

title: 2003 in American television


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Talk:2003 in American television

Untitled
Is it necessary to repeat old tv series from several years as hits? -- Zoe

 * Well, if someone is looking at a year page (like 1965) and they want to know what was on TV at that time, if they clicked on "1965 in television" it wouldn't tell them anything if it only listed premieres. It seems like it needs to list shows every year they were on to be useful in that way. I wasn't sure how else to do it.. -Jazz77

An interesting article, but with one fundamental problem. It calls itself 2003 in television but in reality is only about US television. Believe it or not, television exists outside America and people outside America have on occasion been known to watch things that Americans don't. I'm not knocking the article, I like it. But if we run such an article, it should be called 2003 in American Television. We simply can't go on presuming that America = all Wikipedia users. So this article should either be

or
 * renamed to make clear it is only concerned with American TV
 * rewritten to include TV from all over the globe. JTD 02:30 Feb 12, 2003 (UTC)

 * Add information about non-US television. The articles are not written specifically about American TV, and many of them include non-US information and television shows. But, being an American, I know very little about non-US television. Some non US contributors need to add that information. -Jazz77

 * Since when was Woody Woodpecker on Fox Box? Who keeps writing that?

title: Talk:2003 in American television


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Talk:Cascade Range

mt Jefferson missing from volcanos map
the major stratovolcano Mt. Jefferson is missing from the map. It would sit between mt hood to the north and sisters to the south. 67.204.176.26 (talk) 18:50, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Cascade Range


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What's Love Got to Do with It (1993 film)

What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film based on the life of American singer-songwriter Tina Turner. Directed by Brian Gibson and written by Kate Lanier from a uncredited story draft by the late Howard Ashman, based on Tina's 1986 autobiography I, Tina, it stars Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as her abusive husband Ike Turner.

What's Love Got to Do with It premiered in Los Angeles on June 6, 1993, and was theatrically released by Touchstone Pictures on June 25, 1993. Although the Turners disapproved of its inaccuracies, the film was critically and commercially successful, grossing $61 million on a $15 million budget. For their performances, Bassett and Fishburne received nominations at the 66th Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Actor. Bassett also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

Plot
Raised in Nutbush, Tennessee, in the early 1950s, Anna Mae Bullock returns home from church one day to see her mother Zelma leaving, and taking her elder sister Alline with her. She is distraught over her mother leaving and is consoled by her grandmother Georgeanna. Six years later, a teenage Anna Mae relocates to St. Louis, where she reunites with her mother and Alline. While in St. Louis, Alline takes Anna to a nightclub at East St. Louis, where she sees bandleader Ike Turner perform with his band Kings of Rhythm. After nights of seeing women in the crowd coming onstage to sing with Ike, Anna finally gets her chance to perform for Ike and impresses him so much that he offers to mentor her and produce her music.

As the first frontwoman of Kings of Rhythm, along with the formation of a backing girl group (later known as the Ikettes), Anna develops a local popularity at the St. Louis club scene. The two record a hit song, "A Fool in Love" and develop a romance. Anna becomes pregnant with their son and learns, while in the hospital, that her name has changed to Tina Turner after the radio station announces the name "Ike & Tina Turner" following the playing of "A Fool in Love". The couple drives to Tijuana to get married and soon after the Ike & Tina Turner Revue becomes a national sensation and relocates to Los Angeles. Upon learning that Ike & Tina have moved to Los Angeles, Ike's former girlfriend Lorraine Taylor makes an unexpected visit to their new home and drops off their two sons, which further complicates matters at home.

One day while at home, Tina voices her opinion that Ike's music "all sounds the same", which leads to Ike beating her in front of their four sons. Following a performance on a teen rock and roll show in 1966, Tina is offered a solo deal with Phil Spector for the song, "River Deep – Mountain High." Following the release of the song, the duo open for the Rolling Stones in London and find success with their recording of "Proud Mary", which transforms the Revue from a national R&B phenomenon to an international sensation. Over time, crowds begin clamoring more to Tina than Ike, which causes further tension as Ike discovers cocaine.

During one recording session of the song, "Nutbush City Limits" in 1973, an addicted Ike sexually assaults Tina for not singing the song properly, blaming her for the duo's issues in following their previous hits. Feeling hopeless, Tina attempts suicide by overdosing a full bottle of sleeping pills before a show and is rushed to a hospital where she recovers. Tina eventually visits a friend, a former Ikette, who convinces her to practice Buddhism and the chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo which leads Tina to find a newfound strength. Then, in 1976, while en route to a show in Dallas, a fed-up Tina begins to annoy Ike and they get into a physical altercation in the limousine on their way to the hotel. Upon their arrival, Ike falls asleep and Tina flees, running across a freeway to the Ramada Inn where she finds refuge. Tina later files for divorce and in the final matter, she agrees to give up everything except her stage name.

In 1980, Tina begins rebuilding her career at the cabaret circuit and invites a young impresario named Roger Davies to see her perform so he could manage her and help her realize her dreams as a rock star. Impressed that she still could perform, Davies agrees to manage her. Still, the presence of Ike threatens to derail her chances. Turning to her Buddhist faith, she prepares for a show at the Ritz Theatre in 1983 where Ike confronts her at her dressing room with a gun. Undeterred, Tina verbally silences him and leaves the dressing room where she dazzles the audience at the Ritz with her new hit single, "What's Love Got to Do with It", where she eventually realizes her dream of being a rock superstar.

Cast

 * Angela Bassett as Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock
 * Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly as young Anna Mae
 * Cora Lee Day as Grandma Georgiana
 * Khandi Alexander as Darlene
 * Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner
 * Jenifer Lewis as Zelma Bullock, Tina's mother
 * Phyllis Yvonne Stickney as Alline Bullock
 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Lorraine Taylor
 * Vanessa Bell Calloway as Jackie
 * Chi McBride as Fross
 * Sherman Augustus as Reggie
 * Terrence Riggins as Spider
 * Bo Kane as Dance Show Host
 * Terrence Evans as Bus Driver
 * Rob LaBelle as Phil Spector
 * James Reyne as Roger Davies
 * Richard T. Jones as Ike Turner Jr.
 * Shavar Ross as Michael Turner
 * Damon Hines as Ronnie Turner
 * Suli McCullough as Craig Turner
 * Elijah B. Saleem as teenage Ike Turner Jr.

Production
Taylor Hackford was originally slated to direct; however, Hackford would later be replaced by Mario Van Peebles, who also wanted to play Ike Turner. Van Peebles left the project to direct Posse (1993). Touchstone Pictures offered the film to Brian Gibson, who was about to direct The Thing Called Love (1993) for Paramount Pictures. Gibson choose to helm the Touchstone project due to a more profitable pay-or-play deal which Paramount failed to match.

Halle Berry, Robin Givens, Pam Grier, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Vanessa L. Williams were all considered for the lead role. Houston was actually offered the role, but had to decline due to imminent maternity. Jenifer Lewis also originally auditioned to play Tina but was cast instead as Tina's mother despite being only a year older than Bassett.

Angela Bassett auditioned in October 1992 and was chosen only a month before production began in December. During that time, she had to learn not only how to talk like Turner but to dance and move like her. She would have been willing to try to do the singing as well, but  not in the time we had,  she said. '' I did think about it for a second, though. '' Instead, she lipsyncs to soundtracks recorded by Tina and Fishburne. Bassett worked with Tina, but only '' a little bit. '' Turner helped most with the re-creations of her famed dance routines. She also re-recorded new versions of all the songs used in the film.

Laurence Fishburne was offered the role of Ike five times and turned it down each time. "It was pretty one-sided," said Fishburne, who turned down the project based on the script he first read. Ike, Fishburne added, was "obviously the villain of the piece, but there was no explanation as to why he behaved the way he behaved - why she was with him for 16 to 20 years, what made her stay." The writers made some changes and though Ike is still shown as a pretty despicable sort, the film offers at least some insight into him - most notably a scene in which Ike recalls watching, at age 6, his father's death from wounds suffered in a fight over a woman. The changes helped persuade Fishburne to do the role, but he says that Bassett's casting as Tina "was the deciding factor."

Fishburne did not have Ike around to help model his performance as much as he would have liked. He met him once during production. "He was not particularly welcome on this project," Fishburne says. The actor's only meeting was a brief introduction when Ike showed up at the Turners' former home in View Park during a location shoot. Ike signed some autographs and showed Fishburne his walk. "It was nice to meet him," says Fishburne. "Regardless of his actions, he was so much a part of Tina's life. The movie is about him just as much as her. It's unfortunate that he wasn't welcomed, that both of them weren't around more." Director Gibson had no contact with Ike. "I never spoke to him," says Gibson. "I was not allowed to. Disney felt that it would not be a good idea."

Screenwriter Kate Lanier omitted much of the brutality Tina said she endured in her book. Her character was also sanitized; most notably, her relationship with saxophonist Raymond Hill and the birth of their son was excluded from the film. Lanier admitted that Tina Turner was not happy with certain aspects of the film because some parts were fictionalized. Tina Turner tried to talk to the Disney filmmakers about the script. In 1993, she told Vanity Fair that they saw "a deep need" to make a film about "a woman who was a victim to a con man. How weak! How shallow! How dare you think that was what I was? I was in control every minute there. I was there because I wanted to be, because I had promised." She added, "O.K. so if I was a victim, fine. Maybe I was a victim for a short while. But give me credit for thinking the whole time I was there. See, I do have pride."

Historical accuracy
Although the film was adapted from Tina Turner's autobiography I, Tina, elements of the script were "fictionalized for dramatic purposes".

 * Ike did not sing or play guitar on the record "Rocket 88" as depicted in the film. He wrote the song and played piano on the record. His saxophonist Jackie Brenston was the vocalist. The record was released under the alias Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats who were actually Ike's band the Kings of Rhythm.
 * The song Anna Mae first performs onstage with Ike, "You Know I Love You", was actually a slower B.B. King blues ballad; Ike played piano on King's record. When Anna Mae sang the song, Ike played the organ, not the guitar as depicted in the film. Tina recorded a blues rock rendition of the song for the film's soundtrack.
 * Anna Mae and Ike did not have sex the night his live-in girlfriend Lorraine Taylor shot herself as depicted. In reality, when Anna Mae was pregnant in 1958, Lorraine pulled a gun on her before shooting herself because she believed that Anna Mae and Ike were having an affair. However, Anna Mae and Ike were platonic friends until 1960 when she went to sleep in his bed after a musician threatened to come into her room.
 * The first song Anna Mae is portrayed recording, "Tina's Wish", is actually a 1973 track titled "Make Me Over" from the album Nutbush City Limits. In reality, the first song she recorded is "Boxtop" in 1958.
 * A theater marquee is shown for a 1960 show starring Otis Redding, Martha and the Vandellas, and Ike & Tina Turner. In reality, Martha and the Vandellas were known as The Del-Phis until 1961, and Otis Redding did not release his first solo single until 1962.
 * In the film, Anna Mae learns of her name change to Tina Turner after her song is played on a radio in the hospital where she had given birth. In reality, Ike & Tina Turner's debut single "A Fool In Love" was released in August 1960, months before she gave birth to their son.
 * In real life, Ike did not call her Anna Mae, he called her either Ann or "Bo" (short for her surname Bullock). Even after she received the stage name Tina Turner, family and friends still called her Ann.
 * The film implies that Tina's eldest child, Craig Raymond (born Raymond Craig in 1958), is Ike's biological son. In reality, his biological father was saxophonist Raymond Hill and Ike later adopted him. Tina and Ike have one biological child, Ronald "Ronnie" Renelle, born in 1960.
 * The film depicts Ike and his entourage sneaking Tina out of the hospital after she gave birth to get married. In reality, Ike was not present for the birth of their son Ronnie. Tina wrote in her book that a few days after she checked herself out of the hospital, she discovered that the woman Ike hired to replace her while she recuperated was a sex worker using her stage name Tina Turner to get clients. She confronted the woman and after they got into a fight, Tina performed a show that night. Ike wrote in his book Takin' Back My Name that he was unaware the woman was a sex worker. He was out of town to attend a court hearing in St. Louis when Tina gave birth in Los Angeles. They married in 1962, two years after the birth of their son.
 * Lorraine Taylor, the mother of Ike's sons Ike Junior and Michael, did not drop them off at his home with Tina as depicted in the film. In reality, Ike went to St. Louis and brought his sons to Los Angeles after Lorraine informed him she was going to leave them there. Tina also brought her son Craig to live with them.
 * In a scene dated 1968, Ike and Tina open for the Rolling Stones performing "Proud Mary". In reality, Ike and Tina did not perform "Proud Mary" until after it was released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. The Rolling Stones did not have any concerts in 1968; Ike and Tina opened for them on their 1966 British Tour and 1969 American Tour.
 * Jackie and Fross are both fictional characters. Jackie represents an amalgamation of Ikettes and associates of Tina, one of whom was Ike's friend Valerie Bishop who introduced Tina to Buddhism in 1973.
 * The infamous "eat the cake Anna Mae" scene was an exaggerated reenactment of an incident that occurred during the early years of the revue. Tina recalled that when they stopped to order food, someone brought her a pound cake while they were sitting in a car. Although Tina said she did not order it, Ike ordered her to eat all of it while he watched.
 * The scene where Tina was raped during the recording of "Nutbush City Limits" was exaggerated from what she stated in her book. Tina claimed that sometimes after Ike would hit her, he then would have sex with her. Ike maintained that he never raped Tina. "Nutbush City Limits" was recorded at their Bolic Sound recording studio, not at home as depicted in the film.
 * The film depicts Tina's suicide attempt in 1974 when it actually occurred six years prior in 1968.
 * Ike did not tell Tina "if you don't make it, I'll kill you" as depicted in the ambulance scene. Tina stated in her book that after her suicide attempt she joked with a friend that she was so afraid of Ike, he probably threatened her which is why she survived. She was unconscious and did not know what he actually said. Ike stated in his book that he scolded Tina as his way of motivating her to fight for her life.
 * During the time Tina is planning her comeback in the early 1980s, a reenactment of an interview features Tina rehearsing her song "I Might Have Been Queen". The song would be recorded for her 1984 comeback album, Private Dancer.
 * The incident in the Ritz Theatre where Ike fails to scare Tina with his pistol is fabricated. Allegedly, Ike made threats to hire a hitman, so Tina carried a pistol, but he did not threaten her in person with a gun as depicted.
 * Before performing "What's Love Got to Do with It" at the Ritz in 1983, the emcee announces that it was her "first solo appearance", but she first performed there in 1981. Her 1983 performance there occurred before the recording of "What's Love Got to Do with It" and led to Capitol Records signing a contract with her.
 * A title card at the end states that Tina's first solo album won four Grammy Awards, implying it was Private Dancer. In reality that album was her fifth solo album. Her first two solo albums (Tina Turns the Country On! and Acid Queen) were released while she was still with Ike, and two (Rough and Love Explosion) were released after.

Critical reception
What's Love Got to Do with It received widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's consensus is: "With a fascinating real-life story and powerhouse performances from Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do with It is a can't miss biopic." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "The brilliant, mercurial portrayal of Ike Turner by Laurence Fishburne, formerly known as Larry, is what elevates What's Love Got to Do With It beyond the realm of run-of-the-mill biography." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave it a score of four out of four, calling it, "A powerful, joyful, raw, energetically acted bio-pic detailing the joys and pain of the on- and offstage lives of blues rockers Ike and Tina Turner."

Responses by Tina and Ike
Tina Turner stated she wished the film had not portrayed her as a "victim". In 2018, Turner told Oprah Winfrey that she had only recently watched the film. She said, "I watched a little bit of it, but I didn't finish it because that was not how things went. Oprah, I didn't realize they would change the details so much." Despite her disapproval of elements of the film, Turner heavily praised Bassett's portrayal of her. When Bassett was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2023, Turner wrote of Bassett's portrayal of her in What's Love Got to Do With It: "Angela, the first time we met, you didn't look, sound, or move like me—that came later after you worked so hard to make it happen. But even then, I could see that the young woman standing before me had strength, determination, and big, big dreams, just like me. 'She's perfect,' I said, and I was right. You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world."

Ike Turner said that the film and Tina Turner's book are "filled with lies". In his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, he said Fishburne did "a fantastic job, though the job he did isn't really me". He also stated he was upset about the rape scene, which he claimed was fabricated and "was the lowest thing they could have ever done". He added that the film damaged his reputation.

Box office
The film grossed $40.1 million in the United States and Canada and $20.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $60.6 million.

American Film Institute
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
 * 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #85

Top lists

 * Ranked #1 on Favorite Movie of the Year in 1994 by Ebony Readers' Poll
 * Ranked #2 on Top 9 Subjects of a Music Bio-Pic by Entertainment Weekly
 * Ranked #8 on Top 10 Best Rock Biopics by Rolling Stone Readers' Poll
 * Ranked #9 on The Best Black Movies of the Last 30 Years By Complex