Marley

This well received documentary was directed by Kevin MacDonald and released in the spring of 2012. Including some footage that had never been seen before the movie, for Marley fans, is a goldmine of information.

With footage of Marley concerts in Jamaica and around the world we see the powerhouse that Marley was. We see a concert that brought together both sides, the communist leaning left and the conservative right, in which at one point Marley was joined on stage by the leaders of both parties.

The movie is straightforward telling Marley's story chronologically. We hear the first recording Marley made when he was sixteen that was a minor radio hit in Jamaica. We meet his father, an English government official who by being his father, put Bob in a caste in which he was not accepted by whites or blacks.

As the Wailers come together as a band and garner success we see the both Bunny Wailer and later Peter Tosh leave the group. Wailer had no desire to tour the world, feeling more comfortable in Jamaica and Tosh, being a more militant man in all things was chafing under record company rule.

Later we learn the story of when Bob Marley was shot. Civil strife in Jamaica continued to try to suck him in and when the leftists thought that Bob, who inadvertently had given a perception of support for the consrvative government, they did attack him in a backstage area in which both he and others were shot. When he returned to the concert stage and lifted his shirt to show his wounds it was almost a sense of resurrection.

And finally I learned some of the details of Marley's sickness and death. I did not know how he discovered his melanoma. Starting in his big toe of all things, and then ignored by Marley and with doctor's advice not followed, a couple of years later Marley collapsed while jogging and upon being checked out was found to be riddled with cancer. The end was near.

The movie was very good, very informative, and well put together. The soundtrack included some music that was quite rare including a performance of Jamaica from a mid seventies concert. A great movie for Marley fans.