Region: 1
Video: Enhanced Widescreen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
DVD Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel
Language: English, Spanish, French
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Weight factor: 1 item(s)

Plot Synopsis

James Mangold's Walk the Line tells the life story of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), focusing primarily on the long courtship he had with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). The film is structured as an extended flashback opening with Cash readying to take the stage at his historic Folsom Prison Concert. The film touches on his childhood, relating a horrific early incident from his life and establishing the troubled relationship he would have with his father (Robert Patrick). Cash joins the military and leaves home. During his time in the armed services he begins writing songs and romances a hometown girl (Ginnifer Goodwin). After the end of his duty he settles down and attempts to begin a music career, but his wife has trouble adjusting to his dreams. Cash auditions for Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts), signs to Sun Records, and soon finds himself on tour with a roster of young soon-to-be legends that includes Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne). On this tour he meets June Carter, the daughter of the famous Carter family, and they take a liking to each other, although she refuses any serious advances from him. Cash gains world-wide fame thanks in part to the inspiration he gets from June, but eventually his marriage crumbles and he develops a serious drug addiction. The film is based on Cash's autobiographies. Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of their own singing in the movie, just as Sissy Spacek and Beverly D'Angelo did in Coal Miner's Daughter a quarter-century before. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Editorial Reviews:

Walk the Line is first and foremost a love story. Director James Mangold touches on most of the standard scenes people have come to expect from movies about real-life musicians, but the material is infused with energy by two outstanding lead performances. Joaquin Phoenix passes the test that buries most performers who play famous musicians; one never doubts that he is playing a person capable of creating these fantastic songs. That he handles his own singing in the film is simply a bonus. Even if he does not sound exactly like Cash, he is close enough that -- when augmented by the film's outstanding editing and the emotional thrust of the story -- the illusion is complete. As good as he is, Reese Witherspoon matches him perfectly, registering every contradictory feeling in a smart woman forced to play the fool in public. The scenes in which they duet, particularly a scorching version of "It Ain't Me Babe," display an emotional connection between the two that can rival any movie love story. That connection carries over when the couple is off-stage, particularly in a wonderful early scene in a diner where one begins to sense the spark the two feel between each other. Walk the Line is an outstanding love story, a highly entertaining look at the life of a young rock star on tour, and a showcase for two strong young actors to give great performances. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide