vechnyc Totally amazing cult movie. The key scene is somewhat mixed-up though. Jack Butler "discourages lots young boys" for the Demon - so Eugene is in fact helping & abetting evil by beating Butler. Sooo... who really wins what, and whose soul goes to who then? The means of victory is also mighty curious. "Primal\passionate\unruly\black" vs "European\rational\highly-trained\white" cultural traditions - & the latter wins as we are made to see. Well-ah, "let's get to it, Robert Johnson, standby..." No black Mississippi devil can beat the electricity Maxwell XIX century demon, right?..

headhunter46 I decided to view this movie just to see what the "karate kid" was up to. Man what a pleasant surprise. This is an incredibly good movie, with great music, good acting and surprise twist near the end.It is the story of a young naive man (guitar player) with a dream and an old, travel hardened man with a quest. Through a set of unusual circumstances the two team up. The kid sought out the old guy due to his love of blues. (He thinks the old guy is a former blues legend but is he?) The old guy took the kid under his wing as his ticket out of a prison-like nursing home.There are lessons about life on the road. (It is hard, trust me.) Along the way they learn a great deal about life and people, and each other. They meet some interesting characters, some dangerous ones, and they give us a few laughs as well.It is only after the kid experiences hardship, desperation, prejudice, and a broken heart that he can truly feel, and play the blues as the old man would have him do. Ralph Macchio appears to be playing the guitar quite well. If not then he definitely had lessons because he certainly moves his fingers in a convincing manner. I really enjoyed this movie and will watch it at least one more time before returning it to Netflix just for the music and the humor.If you have even the slightest love of blues, you owe it to yourself to see this movie.I've been up and down, loved and lost people close to me. Some were sweethearts, some family, some were close friends. The blues music in this movie made me remember all of them. With a bit of sadness, and a bit of joy.But, that's the blues. A bittersweet celebration of life.

chadaaron75 This movie is one of my favorites! It's got some historical truth that makes you feel like This actually happened! Some of the lines in it you'll never forget. My hats off to the man who wrote this movie, you couldn't ask for better writing and plots than this movie!! I've watched is multiple times and it doesn't get old. It makes you feel like you're a part of it after awhile! As a guitar player, this movie is a must see! It's got awesome classical guitar parts that have really inspired me over the years. Nice blues parts too. Plus the end part duel with Steve Vai is very cool too. This is a movie I wouldn't hesitate to share with anybody at any age. --Chad Bakersfield, CA

Sulaco72 I won't bother to detail the plot, because that's already been done here, but I will share my impressions of the movie: First off, the music was ridiculously good. The acting was a close second. Joe Seneca was splendid as the old bluesman, he was at his best when busting Ralph Macchio's balls for being from Long Island. Macchio himself was just okay, although he obviously learned how to play guitar for this movie. (It's Ry Cooder on the soundtrack and Vai stands in as a body double for the extreme closeups of Macchio's hands, but you can tell Macchio is playing the parts.) It was even a treat to see Alan Arbus, my favorite recurring character on MASH (Dr. Friedman) make an appearance. My favorite though were the actors who portrayed Scratch and his assistant. They both looked like the cat that ate the canary, like a couple of guys who love their job and are in on the joke. I'm going to have to go against the grain though and say I didn't like the climactic guitar duel. I've got nothing against Steve Vai, but the entire movie is about the blues, and at the end it emerges that the devil's house guitarist is a heavy metal clown, making stage moves that would look ridiculous even at a Def Leppard show. It was completely incongruous and hit a real sour note for me. But other than that, this movie is great, and a must-see for any music lover.