Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

critic Reviews

, 91% Certified Fresh Tomatometer Score
  • Entertaining for longtime fans as well as casually interested viewers, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool burnishes the legacy of a brilliant artist.
  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Verne GayNewsday
    Davis is demystified and deconstructed in this corrective - and excellent - portrait.
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  • , Rotten Tomatometer Score
    Ben SachsChicago Reader
    Like many music documentaries, this profile of groundbreaking trumpet player and bandleader Miles Davis feels constrained by its conventional length, and devotes too little time to too many subjects.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Tom LongDetroit News
    A well-made account of both the man's achievements and his jerkiness.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Matthew LickonaSan Diego Reader
    The result, for the most part, is pleasant and informative, if not particularly inspiring or revelatory. But now and then, the music and images can't help but break through.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Peter HowellToronto Star
    The film is kind of brilliant in the way it covers and contextualizes more than 50 years of groundbreaking music in barely two hours.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Marjorie BaumgartenAustin Chronicle
    [Stanley] Nelson has gifted us with a thoughtful and rich profile which, like a fading note escaping from Davis' trumpet, leaves us wanting more.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Erick EstradaCinegarage
    A linear documentary cocooned in mind-blowing archival footage... [Full review in Spanish]
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  • , Rotten Tomatometer Score
    Kelechi EhenuloConfessions From A Geek Mind
    Miles Davis was a complex, 'larger than life' personality, and the documentary makes an admirable effort to summarise his life, it just deserved more than this footnote summary.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Andrew GaudionTHN
    A very well-crafted account of the life, influence, and persona of Miles Davis that should please fanatics and new fans alike.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Carlos BonfilLa Jornada
    The documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, by the African-American director Stanley Nelson, offers an amalgamation of good cinema and formidable music. [Full Review in Spanish]
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