Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

89%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

95%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Filmed by director Taylor Hackford on the occasion of Chuck Berry's 60th birthday, this documentary presents the rock legend performing in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Joined by a number of admiring musicians, notably guitar acolytes Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, Berry runs through his classic hits to an adoring audience. The production also features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Berry and others, providing an in-depth look at the pioneering guitarist and singer. Read More Read Less

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Critics Reviews

View All (18) Critics Reviews

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Richard Harrington

Washington Post

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll is as long and unwieldy as its title, but it's probably the most revealing look we'll ever get of its subject, and the most loving evocation of his music.

Sep 10, 2014

Full Review

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

Janet Maslin

New York Times

This portrait of Mr. Berry is downbeat, and in some ways incomplete; it's very different from what might have been expected. But in its own way, Mr. Hackford's film is revealing.

Sep 10, 2014

Full Review

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

What one misses most of all are some glimpses of the earlier Chuck Berry, when the intensity of his music and his jackrabbit moves had more satanic majesty; too much of this film shows him at half-throttle.

Sep 10, 2014

Full Review

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Norman Riley

The Crisis

As informative as it is entertaining.

Nov 27, 2023

Full Review

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

The director's inhibition paradoxically goes well with Berry's lack of inhibition, and the music as well as certain spontaneous aspects of the odd and strong personality of the legendary musician are there. [Full Review in Spanish]

Apr 17, 2020

Full Review

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

This isn't a warts-and-all documentary about an often temperamental individual, although some of the warts are exposed.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 30, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Chuck Berry is awesome, gutless business man thinking with charm and fire with a flare for theatrics. Great doc. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member It was worth the price of admission just to see Keith Richards sulking after being yelled at by Chuck Berry. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member What a great movie even if it doesn't go full documentary and instead focuses on the concert series for his B-Day. You still get a sense of him and all his contradictions and it's fascinating watching. Holy crap was Little Richard going nuts in his interview. The man was high or something. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Loving and revealing at the same time. It is great to see four masters at work: Chuck Berry, musical director Keith Richards, Johnnie Johnson and Steve Jordan. This quote by Keef says it all: "He gave me more headaches than Mick Jagger, but I still can't dislike him." Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A fun documentary about one of the founders of Rock 'N Roll. Completely worth watching, just to see Chuck Berry tell Keith Richards he's not playing the guitar correctly. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent documentary about Chuck Berry's life. I liked how he explained the story about all his hits and it showed him practicing with Keith Richards. Didn't like hearing John Lennon's son singing Johnny Be Good. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

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Cast & Crew

Taylor Hackford Director Chuck Berry Self Keith Richards Self Eric Clapton Self Stephanie Bennett Producer Chuck Berry Producer

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Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)

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Synopsis Filmed by director Taylor Hackford on the occasion of Chuck Berry's 60th birthday, this documentary presents the rock legend performing in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Joined by a number of admiring musicians, notably guitar acolytes Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, Berry runs through his classic hits to an adoring audience. The production also features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Berry and others, providing an in-depth look at the pioneering guitarist and singer.

Director: Taylor Hackford
Producer: Stephanie Bennett, Chuck Berry
Production Co: Delilah Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $368.5K
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo