I ran across this movie about a year ago and was immediately impressed both with the film in and of itself, as a film, and moreso and permanently by Woody Guthrie as a social activist.

I love the portrayal of him as a man of and for the working class of Americans struggling during the desperate days of the great Dust Bowl.

The movie paints a portrait of a very human and very flawed, yet very talented hero. I highly recommend this film and I also highly recommend what he stood for that remains relevant today - the right of all Americans to a life of dignity, and the right to earn fair wages of the labour of their own hands. This film and the ideas in it are as relevant today as they were then.

Bound for Glory (1976)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074235/

Directed by: Hal Ashby

Writing credits: Robert Getchell

Woody Guthrie (book)

Genre: Biography / Drama / Music (more)

Plot Outline: This film is an excellent biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, and discovered the suffering and strength of America's working class.

User Review IMdb:

User Comments: 12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:-

It Is Glorious. It Made It., 5 January 2002

Author: tfrizzell from United States

"Of all the five best picture nominees of 1976, "Bound for Glory" is the most difficult for most to remember. I mean it was the quiet film in a year which consisted of "Rocky", "Network", "All the President's Men" and "Taxi Driver". Woody Guthrie (David Carradine of "Kung Fu" fame) is suffering through the Dust Bowl of Pampa, Texas in 1936. There are no jobs, no crops and really no hope. Guthrie decides that the best way for him to do his part is to become a folk singer for the poorest peoples of Northern Texas and depression-era Oklahoma. What follows is a genuinely wonderful story which is all based upon the life of America's greatest folk singer. "Bound for Glory" is well-written, well-directed by the wonderful Hal Ashby and well-acted by David Carradine in the role of a lifetime. Melinda Dillon, Randy Quaid and Ronny Cox are among the other players, but this is Carradine's show from the word go. A wonderful, but truthfully somewhat forgotten masterpiece from the 1970s. 4.5 out of 5 stars."

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.

in his everyman shoes he walked the land

eyes above, guitar in hand

he sang of rights, dignity for all

in his dusty shoes, this man stood tall

I look around for heroes more

and realize what he was for

we need another man like this

to tell us all the things we miss

socrates gadfly circles above

and whispers to all of us of love

our fellowman needs fellowship

from this man's water we should sip

guthrie's decency carved and woody

tells what kind of world this could be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bound_for_Glory

Bound for Glory is a 1976 biographical film which tells the story of folk singer Woody Guthrie, with David Carradine in the title role.

It was directed by Hal Ashby and adapted from Woody Guthrie's 1943 autobiography, Bound for Glory (co-written by Robert Getchell)... Much of the film is based on Guthrie's attempt to humanize the desperate Okie Dust Bowl refugees in California during the Great Depression. Many of the scenes were filmed in and around Bakersfield and Kern County, actual places of Dust Bowl strife and settlement. Guthrie is best known for his very popular folk songs, most notably, "This Land is Your Land."...

Winner:

• 1977: Best Cinematography
• 1977: Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score

Nominated:

• 1977:Best Picture
• 1977:Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
• 1977:Best Costume Design
• 1977:Best Film Editing

Other Awards

Winner:

• 1976: National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Best Actor, - David Carradine
• 1977: National Society of Film Critics Award, Best Cinematography - Haskell Wexler
• 1976: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Best Cinematography - Haskell Wexler

Nominated:

• 1977: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama
• 1977: Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture - Hal Ashby
• 1977: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama - David Carradine
• 1977: Golden Globe Award, Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture - Female - Melinda Dillon
• 1977: Writers Guild of America Award, Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium - Robert Getchell