The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Daniel
I finally was able to sit down and watch The Devil and Daniel Johnston last night here at home on DVD. While the film itself is not new and has been in circulation for about a year or so now, I jumped at the chance when I saw it available on DVD and carved out some time to give it my full attention.

For those unfamiliar, Daniel Johnston is a American legend of sorts. A singer songwriter and artist who is considered one of the best songwriters of our era. He also suffers from an extreme form of manic depression. The film, a documentary, is a brilliant piece of art in itself. Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, the film documents Daniels life as a young boy who loves art living in his parents basement in West Virginia. It was amazing to see how much media was restored and dusted off to tell his story. Among this was countless pieces of old art, old 8mm films Daniel had taken, countless audio tape recordings of Daniel over the years, and some incredible live footage from some historic shows Daniel performed.

His years working at McDonalds, his MTV appearances, his own personal accounts on audio of what its like to stricken with manic depression and his bouts with the devil are well chronicled. The film was incredibly sad, at times funny, and even shocking to watch. Kathy McCarthy, who recorded a bunch of Daniels songs herself a few years back on the album, Dead Dogs Eyeballs, said that as amazing as Daniels story is, as brutal at times and as crazy, it was all true.

I was first drawn to Daniels music through other artists and their appreciation for him. Kurt Cobain raised quite a stir in the early 90s by wearing a DJ t-shirt in just about every promotional shoot. And more recently, M Ward and Wilco are just two of several notable artists that have covered his work. Going into the film I thought the word “genius” was not fitting for someone like Daniel. After all, his singing voice, guitar playing are far from genius level. But his songwriting and his story are brilliant, as is this documentary. It could very well be the best music documentary I have ever seen and my appreciation for Daniels work has only increased.

Daniel Johnston – Casper
M Ward – To Go Home (Daniel Johnston Cover)
Daniel Johnston – True Love Will Find You In The End
Wilco – True Love Will Find You In The End (Daniel Johnston Cover)

Watch the trailer for the film, “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”