Here we have an over 2 1/2 hour documentary looking at the career of legendary Southern Rock act Lynyrd Skynyrd, from their humble Florida beginnings, their meteoric rise to stardom, the tragic plane crash, and eventual reunion which leads up to the present day. Including interviews with original drummer Bob Burns (conducted before he died earlier this year), Artimus Pyle, and Ed King, as well as tour manager Gene Odum and others, plenty of insight is given from all involved. As you can expect of a documentary of this sort, look for a wealth of vintage live footage of not only Skynyrd, but also the original incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band, who play a large part in the early years of the group. As much as Gone With the Wind takes a look at the career of Skynyrd, it's equally as much a tribute to their late vocalist Ronnie Van Zandt, who is depicted here as the driving force behind the early years of the band. While much of the live footage has been seen elsewhere, it's still nice to see the band at their fiery best playing some of their original classics. Easily the most fascinating, and chilling moments of the documentary are when Pyle and Odum speak about the plane crash that took the lives of Van Zandt, Steve & Cassie Gaines, and others. As survivors of the horrible crash, you can clearly see the pain that each still goes through when thinking of that fateful day, and the lives that were lost. Odum actually wasn't informed of who perished till after he was discharged from the hospital and taken directly to Van Zandt's grave site. Heartbreaking stuff.
If you are a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan, you've no doubt seen & read plenty of documentaries on the band, but this is certainly another one to investigate.
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
