Cadillac Records

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2:18

Cadillac Records

R,

2008,

1h 48m,

Drama/

Biography

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Cadillac Records: Trailer 1

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Cadillac Records: Official Clip - I Love Him

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66%

122 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

122 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

In 1947 Chicago, Polish emigrant and bar owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) hires a blues combo that includes guitarist Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and harmonica player Little Walter (Columbus Short). Waters' and Walter's success leads to Chess' management of stars Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and others. Inevitably, business and personal lines blur as the sometimes-turbulent lives of the musicians play out.

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Critics Consensus

What Cadillac Records may lack in originality, it more than makes up for in strong performances and soul-stirring music.

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Cosmo Landesman

The Times (UK)

Feb 26, 2009

4/5

The music is good, the suits are sharp, but it's the outstanding performances that wow. Walker is electrifying as Howlin' Wolf and Beyoncé - playing Etta James - has never been so sultry and sexy.

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Feb 20, 2009

2.5/4

Perhaps there were insurmountable legal restrictions. But the movie still serves as a dandy primer for rediscovering a lot of great music.

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Stephen Cole

Globe and Mail

Feb 20, 2009

3/4

Anyone who likes pop music or wonders how bands like the Rolling Stones got rolling will enjoy the ride.

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Nov 7, 2019

It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. And on this week's Rate-A-Record card, I give [Cadillac Records] a 98.

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Nikki Baughan

Roll Credits

Oct 30, 2019

4/5

Darnell Martin takes some dramatic licence with the tale of Chess Records. But it's an enthralling story nonetheless, and the outstanding ensemble cast - together with a primal, heart-thumping blues soundtrack - make it a blast from start to finish.

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Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

Aug 16, 2011

It turns out to be grittier and more lowdown than that Ray Charles bio.

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Luke S

Aug 23, 2018

This is a prime example of why we sometimes think of Hollywood as a factory. The Chess Records story deserves better treatment than to be used as a basis for a paint by number movie.

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Harry G

May 18, 2018

great look at the lives of these early music legends that started at Chess records.

Hagrid R

May 6, 2018

A movie right up my alley. Great music, good history of music, racial politics and yet not too much drama. It was the right amount of story, right amount of music and right amount of fun. A must watch for people interested in the Blues era and birth of commercial black music.

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Rey G

Jan 19, 2018

Don't be fooled by positive reviews. This movie is an awful mangling of the history of some of the most important figures in American musical history. It takes outrageous license with the lives of its main characters, managing to do a disservice to about a dozen indispensable figures of our common musical past, and reduces complex and interesting lives to the level of cheap soap opera. Some non-music fans may enjoy this story (any real fan of any of these musicians will not), but they should understand that it may bear little resemblance to the real one, and that mostly they've been sold a dishonest rendering of past event so that Beyoncé could sell a soundtrack. Just terrible

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George L

Jun 24, 2017

The birth of blues legend turned rock & roll pioneer studio Chess Records (the film's title begets a typically sinister twist), told with rushed, yet confident, biopic gusto and fantastic tunes galore.

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Kylo R

Dec 5, 2008

Good insight into a part of history

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Darnell Martin

Director

Adrien Brody

Leonard Chess

Beyoncé

Etta James

Jeffrey Wright

Muddy Waters

Gabrielle Union

Geneva

Columbus Short

Little Walter

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - I Love Him

3:32

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Cadillac Records: Official Clip - At Last

2:02

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Cadillac Records: Official Clip - Maybelline

1:52

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - I'm Not Trying to Take

3:53

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - All I Could Do Was Cry

3:25

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - My Babe

2:42

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - Recording at Chess Records

2:17

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - Jamming in the Street

1:25

Now Playing

Cadillac Records: Official Clip - I'm a Man

2:18

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Cadillac Records: Official Clip - Howlin' Wolf

2:38

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Cadillac Records: Trailer 1

2:18

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Synopsis

In 1947 Chicago, Polish emigrant and bar owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) hires a blues combo that includes guitarist Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and harmonica player Little Walter (Columbus Short). Waters' and Walter's success leads to Chess' management of stars Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and others. Inevitably, business and personal lines blur as the sometimes-turbulent lives of the musicians play out.

Director: Darnell Martin
Producer: Andrew Lack, Sofia Sondervan
Screenwriter: Darnell Martin
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Production Co: LightWave Entertainment, Sony Music Film, Parkwood Pictures
Rating: R (Some Sexuality|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 5, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.1M
Runtime: 1h 48m

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