evening1 This movie begins with one of the most joyous scenes I can remember in a film.Hank Williams had a golden voice but "the poor country boy" seems never to have recovered from missing out on childhood, growing up an orphan earning his bread by singing on the street. His wife Audrey, played convincingly by Susan Oliver, was always more a manager than a love partner. In a powerful performance by George Hamilton, Hank grows to hate her as his yearnings to be left alone and just veg -- i.e., drink -- take over. Scenes far from the concert hall, where Hank kicks back and sings for the common folk, reveal rare moments of contentment for him. The music in this movie is wonderful, each song seemingly better than the last, and concluding with the beautiful "I'm so Lonesome I Could Die." I never knew a thing about this tragic musician, whose heart gave out at only 29, so I'm very glad I saw this.

justincward The approximate story of country music and songwriting legend Hank Williams, filtered through his first-wife's narrow viewpoint (Hank actually had a bossy mother and second wife but you wouldn't know it from this), 1960's Hollywood's fear of authenticity, and the whole thing put together by a sort of Elvis Presley movie second unit. It's not a great movie, and it's an excessively loose telling of Hank's life, but George Hamilton's performance makes it work as a dated fantasy biopic, like one of those Jimmy Cagney or Victor Mature musicals from the 40's or 50's. Incidental ragtime music during a fight sequence, anyone? It's the South, Jim, but not as we know it.There's a lot wrong with the story, the casting and the production values but it's all forgivable EXCEPT the addition of a backing vocals quartet and cocktail-lounge piano to the arrangements of Hank Williams' great songs. That stinks. And no fiddle? No pedal steel guitar? No FIDDLE? Everything that people who don't know country music would identify with its schmaltziest aspects, but amazingly the songs stand up to the abuse.You will learn nothing about Hank Williams from this apart from the odd catchphrase, and you will get a lot of wrong information. But it's all there is, apart from 'The Show He Never Gave' and 'Lost Highway'. As others have said here, a 'Walk The Line' or 'Ray' type biopic of the man who paved the way for Elvis, wrote many more great songs than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones put together, and died before his 30th birthday is long overdue. Just needs somebody tall and skinny who can lip-sync.

the_great If you are a songwriter or have ever written a song, you must marvel at the work of Hank Williams, and this movie shows us the magic of songwriting. Where do the greatest songs come from? And if we happen to write one, is it our responsibility to let the world hear it?Unlike so many other movies based on the lives of legendary musicians, this one is fun to watch (and not just listen). George Hamilton is great as Hank Williams, and it's his performance that saves the biopic from turning to a tiresome melodrama somewhere in the middle. You see, he doesn't seem to be all that serious even when the script calls him to be, and that my friend, however strange it may seem, is the key to success. So many biopics based on the stories of bitter ex wives and rivals suggest that our favorite artists never had a sense of humor.All the actors do a good job. Beautiful Susan Oliver plays a credible nag, and although the script doesn't put the blame on anyone (which is good), the performance allows us to question her motives from the get go.All the songs heard in this movie are classics. We hear two different versions of I saw the light, and the later one makes otherwise a sad ending the perfect ending.

David (Handlinghandel) The sequence before the credits is beautifully acted and filmed. It's extremely rare that a child playing the younger version of a character is more impressive than the lead. But the boy playing little Hank Williams gives a more nuanced performance than George Hamilton.George Hamilton. He sure does seem like odd casting in this movie. The archetypal suave playboy playing a country and western singer. Hmm. And Susan Oliver as his wife. She's good, and Hamilton is not bad. But again: It seems like casting against type.Red Buttons and Arthur O'Connell, in the other hand, fit snugly into their supporting roles.Hamilton lip-syncs the brilliant Williams songs. He is kind of deadpan but maybe that's what the guy was like. I don't pretend to know.A couple decades later, Jessica Lange did something similar in "Sweet Dreams." She surely wouldn't sound like the great Patsy Cline when she sings but oh! Now there is a movie! This one lacks its warmth and humor. But it's filmed in a noble manner. It strays occasionally, when a Williams song is orchestrated with syrupy strings as background.All in all, though, it's definitely worth watching, if only to hear the fantastic songs.