Beware of Mr. Baker

2012 Music [Nf]

When a documentary begins with its subject using his crutch to deliver a vicious blow to the director's nose, it's reasonably safe to expect less-than-smooth sailing ahead. And sure enough, the teasing possibility that other outbursts may disrupt the uneasy alliance between legendary drummer Ginger Baker and filmmaker Jay Bulger provides an underlying tension to the aptly titled "Beware of Mr. Baker."

Director: Jay Bulger

Starring: Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts

 28 Reviews  1 Awards

Reviews

  • An aggressively unpleasant man somehow lands a perfect series of gigs in this rudely funny documentary: first as a pounding rock drummer who revolutionized the field; then as a fearless, rage-filled polo player; and finally as an impatient interviewee.

    Joshua Rothkopf - Time Out New York

    11 May 2013

  • A fantastically entertaining biography.

    Kyle Smith - New York Post

    11 May 2013

  • Spitting obscenities at the film's director, Jay Bulger, Baker recalls his days as: the '60s thrash caveman who gave Cream and Blind Faith their transcendent power surge; the pioneer of druggy hotel-room rampages; and the damaged purist who left the pop world for Africa. The movie salutes the rhythms and the wreckage.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    11 May 2013

  • This is warts and all, with the emphasis on the warts.

    - The San Francisco Chronicle

    11 May 2013

  • One of rock's underheralded pioneers gets his due in Beware of Mr. Baker, an affectionate but unfawning portrait that finds the drummer of Cream still keeping the beat despite hardships both institutional and self-inflicted (heavy on the latter).

    John DeFore - The Hollywood Reporter

    11 May 2013

Awards

  • Jay Bulger

    British Film Institute Awards (2012)

     

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