Featured Audience Ratings

• Greg S

  
  An exhaustive (2.5 hour) chronicle of the life of the world famous reggae legend. Die-hard fans will be thrilled with the extensive interviews and concert footage; as a more casual fan, after an hour I had learned almost everything I ever wanted to know about the man and was ready for… More
  An exhaustive (2.5 hour) chronicle of the life of the world famous reggae legend. Die-hard fans will be thrilled with the extensive interviews and concert footage; as a more casual fan, after an hour I had learned almost everything I ever wanted to know about the man and was ready for the filmmakers to wrap it up---I was shocked to realize I was less than halfway through the movie.

• Raymond W

  
  Marley is an insightful, inspirational, and deeply moving documentary on the life of a legend. Though the runtime is a bit much, and the film starts to drag near the end, for the most part, Marly features electrifying concert footage, and great interviews. Hilarious, touching,… More
  Marley is an insightful, inspirational, and deeply moving documentary on the life of a legend. Though the runtime is a bit much, and the film starts to drag near the end, for the most part, Marly features electrifying concert footage, and great interviews. Hilarious, touching, disturbing, exhausting, fascinating and sad, Marley is a must see for any Bob Marley fan.

• Melvin W

  
  Marley is a must watch documentary about the musical icon that was and is Bob Marley. There isn't a person around who doesn't know the name, despite the fact that they may not be familiar with his music. For fans of his, this is a real treat. Marley's life is handled… More
  Marley is a must watch documentary about the musical icon that was and is Bob Marley. There isn't a person around who doesn't know the name, despite the fact that they may not be familiar with his music. For fans of his, this is a real treat. Marley's life is handled with such care. Every aspect of his life is given its due share. We see the life of Marley from his birth to a white man and black woman to his ultimate death at the age of 36. In between, there's a lot of emphasis put on his political and religious views.  I couldn't think another documentary will ever touch this one on sheer information and entertainment value. There's some better musical figure documentaries out there, but not too many. This isn't only a must watch for his die hard fans, but for music lovers in general. Even if you don't like him, there's no denying that he is one of the biggest icons in music ever. You definitely have to have a taste for his music to enjoy it, but still, even if you don't like his music, watch this film. Marley is a informative, entertaining, and stunning piece of filmmaking. It's a long film, at about two and a half hours, but the runtime never drags. There's enough stuff that happened in Marley's life to warrant a runtime of this scale. There's some great footage and pictures that just add to the overall entertainment value the film already has. There's amazing interviews that range from Marley's lovers to his kids to his lawyer to his childhood friends to his bandmates. Each interview gives us another piece of Marley's life. I expected a great documentary and that is exactly what I got. I was glued to the movie the entire time and actually did end up learn some stuff I had never even heard about. It's a movie that knows exactly what it set out to achieve and it did, and then some.

• Jeff "

  
  Bob Marley is one of the most iconic musicians that ever lived. Director Kevin Macdonald crafts a solid documentary about the life of the legendary Reggae musician. Comprising of interviews with the people that knew him best, Marley is a near perfect film, one that definitely is a… More
  Bob Marley is one of the most iconic musicians that ever lived. Director Kevin Macdonald crafts a solid documentary about the life of the legendary Reggae musician. Comprising of interviews with the people that knew him best, Marley is a near perfect film, one that definitely is a must see for fans of the artist. Brilliant in telling his story, Marley is among the best music documentaries that I've seen. Bob Marley's life is legendary and his contribution to the music world is unique. Even if you're not a fan of his music, you can't deny the impact that Bob Marley has had on music. This film covers all the aspects from his life. With terrific interviews and archival footage, Marley is a fine film that should definitely appeal to fans of his music. In terms of a documentary, Marley is definitely a well constructed film that tells important facts on its subject. This is a well put together film that should be seen by every music lover, even if you're not a fan of Marley's music, give this film a shot. Very insightful and it gives a history of the birth of Reggae music as well. I've seen plenty of documentaries on various genres of music as well as rock and metal bands, and Marley is among the best music documentaries that you can watch. Although Reggae is not my style of music, I certainly loved the film, and thought the interviews were well done, amusing, sad and thorough. Fans of Bob Marley's music will love this stunning film.

• Markus R

  
  Director Kevin MacDonald and co-producer Ziggy Marley bring forth the most definitive look back at the life of Bob Marley, in the new documentary "Marley". From the formation of "The Wailers" and the comings and goings of different members of the band… More
  Director Kevin MacDonald and co-producer Ziggy Marley bring forth the most definitive look back at the life of Bob Marley, in the new documentary "Marley". From the formation of "The Wailers" and the comings and goings of different members of the band (including Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff), to Marley's dealings in Rastafarian and how it bled into his Reggae music; and also from his controversial lifestyle punctuated by being a "womanizer" (eleven children from seven different women) to his humanitarian nature, this in-depth (two and a half hour) documentary will immensely satisfy fan and novice alike. I, like many other younger American non-Rasta's, had grown up knowing Bob Marley for his more commercially catchy hits and from his countless depictions on a multitude of shirts worn by numerous Bay Area potheads. But, being a novice, going into this film I wasn't particularly interested in seeing a two and a half hour movie about the life and times Bob Marley. A story I thought I knew, and had heard, countless times before. But that notion changed rather abruptly within the first few minutes of this movie. And by the end, due to the brilliant investigative journalistic nature of MacDonald which elevates "Marley" from an average movie to a MUST SEE documentary, audiences who see this film will walk out with an in-depth appreciation for the man who wrote some of the most poetic and revolutionary lyrics in music history. "Marley" is the no holds barred dissection of a particular subject (or subject matter) which fans of great documentaries will crave (and in fact, was nowhere to be found in the films of 2011). And for a documentary that was originally supposed to be directed by Martin Scorsese, after seeing what MacDonald has accomplished here, it would be hard to imagine "Marley" being more perfectly executed in anybody else's hands. What truly sets "Marley" apart from other bio-documentaries and A&E specials is how, in a very PBS way, MacDonald uses a seemingly endless amount of archival footage, as well as interviews with almost everybody (still alive) who had anything to do with Marley's upbringing and his life as a world famous musician, as the narration. It was quite apparent that MacDonald had full access to any and all information he wanted, and as far as I could see, he thankfully took complete advantage of this fact. As audiences, we hear from Marley's family and peers about how as a young boy he was an outcast because of his mixed-race. We also hear from notable Jamaican artists and record executives, who saw his maturation into a musician that worked to bridge the gaps, not only in Jamaica (during times of war) but nationwide as well. In this way, MacDonald enables audiences to intimately know Bob Marley on every level (get your mind out of the gutter). But all the pure information aside, what MacDonald does very well here is not creating a documentary which totally sanctifies Bob Marley, much as many movies (tributes) do when celebrities with checkered pasts die. MacDonald captures recollections of Marley from both those who loved the man and those who thought him to be nothing more than a womanizing zealot, who was sadly not as politically motivated as he should have been. Final Thought: Overall "Marley" is a brilliant example of an archetype onto how all biographical documentaries should be made. Grade "A" filmmaking, in conjunction with a larger than life subject (subject matter) is what elevates "Marley" into one of the most entertaining two and a half hour documentaries I have ever seen. If you are at all a Bob Marley fan (casual or otherwise) and if you are able to, see "Marley", any way you can, before Hollywood makes a more commercialized (legacy ruining) feature film version of his life in a few years; starring Mekhi Phifer no doubt. Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland Please visit my page on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-52464-San-Jose-Indie-Movie-Examiner and leave any comments you have about this or any review. The more hits I get the better. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus

• Tyler C

  
  Without a doubt, the best documentary I've seen since Exit Through the Gift Shop! I'm more of an admirer than hardcore fan of Bob Marley, but Kevin Macdonald's "Marley" is a brilliantly constructed biographical doc on the social/political/musical prophet that… More
  Without a doubt, the best documentary I've seen since Exit Through the Gift Shop! I'm more of an admirer than hardcore fan of Bob Marley, but Kevin Macdonald's "Marley" is a brilliantly constructed biographical doc on the social/political/musical prophet that Bob Marley was. It's incredibly detailed in just about aspect of the man's life, and the overall tone leaves you feeling so relaxed when watching it. Definitely one of my top 5 (maybe even 3) favorite films I've seen so far this year!

• John B

  
  A great documentary that takes the proper time to examine Bob Marley from an appropriate number of angles..not only in terms of the music but also of his upbringing, his religion and his various homes which influenced him to go in a number of different directions in life.

Read all 7 featured audience ratings