Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004) on Netflix
NR20041h 39mBiographyDocumentaryMusic
Townes Van Zandt writes songs and performs them, winning the respect of other musicians. His life on the road includes drugs, alcohol and a stay in a mental facility.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.8/101,523 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Plot summary
Townes Van Zandt is a songwriter other musicians hold in high regard. It follows his life as an artist, starting in Houston, Texas, where he began developing his musical skills in the folk and country scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and continuing through live performances and years on the road. His family and other songwriters describe the impressions he made on them, his commitment to a mental facility, and his involvement with drugs and alcohol, along with his departure from his family. Their accounts sit alongside home movies and old television performances, among them mid-1970s footage shot for an outlaw country documentary.
Cast
- Joe Elyas Himself - Musician
- Donna Spenceas Herself - Sister
- Luke Sharpeas Himself - High School Classmate
- John Ruehlas Himself - Shattuck Classmate
- Bob 'Maverick' Myrickas Himself - College Roommate
- Frank 'Chito' Greeras Himself - Friend
- Fran Lohras Herself - First Wife
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The documentary is built from home movies, old TV performances and mid-Seventies footage originally filmed by James Szalapski for his outlaw country documentary Heartworn Highways, plus interviews with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Guy Clark.
- According to the film's own DVD commentary, much of Townes Van Zandt's formative years in Houston's folk and country scene, where he met lifelong friends and influences like Lightnin' Hopkins, Guy Clark, Steve Earle and Mickey Newbury, was actually left out of the finished documentary.
- Time Out magazine ranked Be Here to Love Me at number 7 on its list of the "50 Greatest Music Films Ever."
