Bound for Glory       

By Robert Lane

Hal Ashby (The Last Detail, Being There) directed this lyrical and affecting 1976 biography of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie. David Carradine gives a powerful performance as the traveling Depression-era vagabond whose music affected generations. Guthrie is portrayed as an earnest soul whose passion and empathy for the working class spurs him to inspirational heights. Ronny Cox (Deliverance, Beverly Hills Cop) plays a union organizer who sees the value in Guthrie's words and music and persuades him to put his music to good use for the people struggling to earn a living wage. Featuring Melinda Dillon as Guthrie's wife, this easygoing travelogue conveys an authentic sense of period Americana and won Academy Awards for Haskell Wexler's cinematography as well as for the score based on Guthrie's own music. Bound for Glory is an important film to see for anyone in love with the origins of folk music and interested in its place in the 20th century.

Academy Awards

Bound for Glory received Academy Awards for Cinematography (Haskell Wexler) and Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score; Leonard Rosenman). Bound for Glory also received Academy Awards nominations for Best Picture (Robert F. Blumofe - Producer, Harold Leventhal - Producer), Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium; Robert Getchell), Costume Design (William Theiss), and for Film Editing (Robert Jones, Pembroke J. Herring).

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