Search - Johnny Cash: Hurt on DVD

It's a good "film" or video... not a good value, though

Mark Adams | Redwood Estates, CA United States | 12/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably the most passionately eerie video I've ever watched. Blending old footage of Cash with the new, this video "Hurt," seems a melodic retrospective of Cash's life. The juxtaposition of "my empire of dirt" and images of Cash's awards, plaques and tributes is especially poignant. Just to note, though, this "film" is really only a four-minute video, nothing else. For value, this DVD should at least contain an interview, behind-the-scenes footage... something, anything, not just the video. As an avid collector of Cash music and film, it's a cherished DVD, but not worth much from a consumer's point of view. BTW, consumers can get this video with The Man Comes Around cd/dvd release."

For about the same money, you can get the DVD and the album.

Thomas A. Holmes | Johnson City, TN USA | 01/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As noted in a previous review, those interested in owning this DVD can buy the special edition of Johnny Cash's AMERICAN IV: THE MAN COMES AROUND that includes a bonus dvd containing this video. The Amazon number for it is B00008IAMD; it would cost only a few dollars more than this dvd alone. However, it may have been the case that those who bought the CD before the commercial release of the dvd may be interested. This DVD has no frills; it contains only the video. A real value would be the release of all the Cash videos made for his American album releases; it's a shame that the UNEARTHED compilation does not include such a disc."

Swan Song: The retrospective video of CASH by CASH

Eddie Lancekick | Pacific Northwest | 04/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...from his side of the fence. You see, for decades we enjoyed, embraced, and cherished Johnny Cash. He was the guy that wasn't singing the blues, the highs, the lows, rock and roll, or even about just some cowboy. Johnny Cash sang songs that were sometimes based on real people in modern times. These were the underdogs, the unlucky, and the ones that never could quite get it right, whether with the employer, the law or family. Cash sang these songs to us and we listened. And then we listened some more. All the time these poetic, hard luck characters who helped build our nation through farming, mining, and railroads that Johnny sang about were filling in the gap where society had removed them, some wondered, "who is this guy, and what is HIS story"?

His story is HURT. This one video shows a life that could be understood by many, but perhaps experienced by few. And who else to sing 1990's Nine Inch Nails song with a video collage of his life than Johnny Cash.

Yes, Trent Reznor of nine inch nails originally did the song "Hurt". In a recent bio of Johnny's life, they had an interview with Reznor. Reznor first said he did not want Cash doing the video/song. He just felt there was too much "remaking" going on in the industry. After he heard Cash sing, "Hurt", Reznor immediately changed his mind, and the rest is history.

Hurt starts with an acoustic, slow clip by Cash that is sorrowful in its own right. The video starts out just showing some pictures of the Cash museum, with tons of "closed to the public" signs. Inside his house, in a dimly lit room full of rustic, old furniture fit for a king, Cash starts to sing the opening words to "hurt"...

"I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real"

Around Cash are silver platters of food/wax food that are just sitting there, collecting dust. Cash sings on till we get to the first chorus which of course makes the lyrics of this song seem like they should be coming from none but him, a man now in his late years in life who is reflecting back...

"What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt"

And so the story continues. In between shots of various parts of Cash's life, from still black and whites to color videos, the camera still takes time now and again to peek back in on him in present day, gray haired and worn, slowly singing and strumming a guitar to a nine inch nails tune in the dark corner of the house. Many themes come about here like REFLECTION REGRET and at the same time APPRECIATION. Nothing is sweeter than a memory, because we never know what tomorrow brings. Hurt brings us a past lifetime of trials and tribulations by Cash. The video is again, in so many ways, Cash finally telling us his story, instead of that of a Folsom prison inmate or John Henry.

The video starts speeding up frame wise towards the end, but not before a great shot of him looking into the windows of an abandoned farmhouse during I'd say the mid to late 1960's...its the house he grew up in. Walking around the side, picking a limb from a tree, these are images of a man from another world trying to come back through time only to find the past..And as he says "everyone I know..." is gone. As the frames start to speed up with the crescendo of the song, we get glimpses of cash throughout his musical career. On stage. Off stage. Hopping aboard a train car. And in the end, his wife June was still there. As the final frames still come back to elderly cash, who also takes his place for part of the song at an old piano, June is in the background watching with admiration.

This is perhaps the most "moving" video I have ever seen. Though it's sold as just a "single", I had to have it. To share it with friends and family. Even if you are not a Johnny Cash fan, I think you may get something out of it. Just remember, even those who rose to the top still had holes in their hearts. Sometimes they are able to fill them, and sometimes not. If Johnny Cash ever had a hole in his library of music to fill, Hurt poured into it in the end. Johnny Cash, I want to thank you for all the years you sang about the people this country tended to forget, and still does to this day. Someone had to fill that hole. Then, we finally got to hear that someone's story with this beautiful, spanning, cryptic yet heartfelt video.

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find ...a way"

Worth Every Penny

John W. Evans | La Grande, OR United States | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've never seen such a powerful, sorrowful expression of contrition. Cash is a tortured soul who knows his time is coming soon, and his video depicts his life in a nutshell; in his eyes he has failed himself, his family and his God, squandering everything along the way. He asks all for forgiveness. I watch this and it feels like a punch in the gut. Mark Romanek is to be commended for providing such a multimedia vehicle for Cash. In this video Cash is an old, used-up man and he knows it, but he isn't feeling sorry for himself. Rather, he is acknowledging his own humanity, asking all to forgive him and accept him as he is. Through this acknowledgment of his failings and his humanity, he reveals his deep love of God, life and family. Few individuals could have the emotional depth necessary to leave such a parting gift as this.The songwriting of Trent Reznor is powerful, and Cash is a powerful interpreter. Cash has taken this song and made it his own. Reznor's lyrics are raw, intense knives that twist and turn their way into the soul... and in laying his soul bare for us all to see, Cash wields Reznor's knives to perfection.I've never seen a video like this one, and doubt I ever will again. It was worth every penny I paid. While I have never been a great fan of Johnny Cash's music, I find this video to be overwhelmingly beautiful. The experience leaves me with the impression that Johnny Cash was a very human being and a priceless national treasure... someone to be forgiven for his transgressions. I sincerely hope he is resting in peace."