Searching for Secret Heroes – DVD & CD Bundle – Region Free -Limited Edition

Told in Sam and Ann Charters’ own words, ‘Searching for Secret Heroes’ is the story of a young couple who left their home in New York with their pioneering idea to try and capture the essence of the blues, what it represented to those that sang and played it and to their wider society in the Southern States of the USA. Discussed are the reasons and ideas that led towards the making of the film, ‘The Blues’, the excitement of preparing for the adventure, the experiences of being in the homes of the musicians and communities from where this music came from and then the shattering truth that the couple witnessed, which was a matter of everyday life for a black person living in the segregated south, in the early 1960s. Filmed in colour, ‘The Blues’ was the first film to be made on location in the homes of legendary figures from the Halcion days of “pre-war” blues recordings; Furry Lewis, JD Short, Gus Cannon, and Pink Anderson, in addition Sleepy John Estes is filmed only days after his re-discovery. Following a tip off from Pink Anderson, Baby Tate is recorded for the first time. None of these musicians had been filmed before and for some, this was to be their only filmed legacy. Without script or stage, ‘The Blues’ was a pioneering milestone of film documentation, which explored the context in which this music was made and performed. After fifty-seven years, ‘The Blues’, which was not released commercially, is presented here, in its entirety, for the first time.

The accompanying CD presents some of those “pre-war” recordings. In addition are the recordings that were made by Sam and Ann of the St. Louis bluesman Henry Townsend. Though these recordings, which include performance and interview, were made during the making of ‘The Blues’, they never made it to the final cut and are presented here for the first time.

Limited Edition  . DVD Region Free

The ‘The Blues’ film appears under exclusive contractual agreement with Ann Charters.

All enquiries for the licensing of any part of this film should be made to

[email protected] 

NOTE: All rights of the producer and copyright owner of this production reserved. Unauthorised

copying, re-recording, broadcasting, public performances lending or rental of these audio and video recordings within this production, in whatever manner, is strictly prohibited.

© P 2020 Document Records Ltd.

LC 13462

Made in the E.U.