Bound for Glory

Director:  Hal Ashby
Year Released:  1976
Rating:  3.0

First half-hour can be easily thrown out and it wouldn’t matter much – the real power of this minimalist biopic based on the life of folk singer/revolutionary Woody Guthrie is evident when he hits the road and abandons his family for a life that promises more than sign painting and sandstorms. Guthrie, portrayed, of all people, by David Carradine, is a soft-spoken man in need of constant adventure, out to milk everything out of life, fighting for the “common man” and against capitalist corruption. Tends to get a little pandering at times, especially when Ashby and company detail how Guthrie refuses to sell-out and even allows himself to get mauled simply to get his pro-union point across, but somehow things keep on rolling smoothly, most likely because of the low-key nature of the direction – which is never showy and always on the mark – as well as Carradine’s restrained performance.

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