In country music terms, they don't get any bigger than Johnny Cash. He has recorded over 1500 songs, won a staggering number of awards including Grammys and Country Music Awards, and has had more singles in the country charts than any other artist (over 130). He has also had 48 pop hits on the Billboard Top 100, enjoys poularity on several continents, and has recorded with the likes of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and U2. Few artists can claim such a track record, fewer still can claim to still be regarded as relevant, and fewer still will be releasing critically acclaimed albums when they are 70.

Ill health has had a serious effect on the touring schedule of Johnny Cash in the last few years, to a point where live performances from The Man In Black are virtually non-existent. In the 1960s it was a very different story and Johnny Cash and his family and band were constantly touring and performing. In fact, his most successful albums include the gems Live at San Quentin and Live at Falsom Prison. Johnny Cash is well know for his live performances in some of the USA's better known penitentiaries, and although no artist would ever claim to be thrilled to be playing to that sort of captive audience (bad pun, huh?), Cash embraced the idea. He is quoted as saying that it brings a ray of sunshine into their lives and they are not afraid to show their appreciation.

Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music follows Cash from the studio in 1968, through to the Country Music Association awards at the Grand Ole Opry in the northern autumn of 1969. Along the way we get to see a lot of his family who partly comprised his band, glimpses of his home life, studio time (including recording with Bob Dylan), live performances (including prison footage), intimate performances for family and friends, and we get some short history lessons along the way such as the battle/tragedy/victory at Wounded Knee. Johnny Cash has long been a champion of the rights of native Americans and this is well documented here, along with his born-again Christian beliefs. Thankfully, though, the man himself does not appear fanatical, and it is only the documentary style voiceover commentary that really alerts to Cash' Christian beliefs.

Although this was originally shown on cinema screens, it really is a TV styled documentary. Only the voiceover is recent, and that commentary cannot be heard while the feature plays as a whole length piece. To hear the commentary, you must choose the Audio Options from the main menu, and then select the relevant songs or passages from the main menu. It would be nice to be able to watch the whole 70 minutes in this mode, as much of what is said is recent information, is slightly more dirt-digging and is an added dimension to the documentary. Watching all the pieces one by one is not quite as enjoyable, even though I would consider it essential listening. Being filmed in 1969 means that the documentary covers nothing of the last 33 years of the man's career, which is frustrating as many fans such as myself are more familiar with his recent work, such as the American Recordings trio of albums. Still, this gives us an idea just how popular, respected, long-lived, influential, and hard-working the man is and was.

Filmed over nine-or-so months, in a variety of venues and locations, the video content is incredibly varied in every respect, with the only constant being the full frame (1.33:1) aspect ratio. Some footage is black and white, though most is in colour, but this varies from washed out to acceptable. Black levels vary to the same degree. There is a lot of grain in most shots. The live material is very dark, and shadow detail is unbelievably poor, to a point where at times only Cash's face is visible in a screen of black.

Most of the footage suffers from film artefacts, and some pieces are as bad as any I have seen on DVD with, some of them almost filling the screen. There is dirt, white scratches, black marks, in fact if you can think of it, you'll find it here. There are also several jumps in the image, and while not a fault of the transfer, there is some pretty shoddy camera work, and problems with focus and direction are not uncommon. I guess this adds a little reality to the proceedings, but it's a relic of documentary filmmaking that we do not see anymore, thankfully.

There are three options for audio, though one of them is the Audio Commentary that can only be heard by selecting the various subheadings from the main menu. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo would be the preferred option over the Dolby Digital 5.1 transfer here for the simple reason that it sounds fuller and richer. I can be sure that this was not filmed with a 5.1 audio in mind, and as such it is rather hollow sounding. Only the musical content makes use of the rear speakers and they are used to fill the room with sound, and instruments and vocals are not specifically placed in the rear speakers.

In neither mix are the low-level sounds a feature, but then again Johnny Cash's music makes limited use of bass and drums anyway. The clarity of the upper and high level sounds vary too, and at times, in some of the 'home style' footage, Cash's vocal can be a little hard to decipher, but then again he is a bit of a mumbler. The vocals in the music do not present such problems.

There are few genuine extras included, though first look at the main menu would suggest otherwise. The Main Menu is actually quite good, using a map of several USA states as a background, and the selectable options placed on the map. The only real extra is a Review which lasts a little over two minutes and is akin to a trailer in that it describes the documentary and the reasons for filming it, though it includes no actual footage. Jukebox allows you to choose any particular song from the doco with or without commentary. The other options are simply segments from the feature, similar to chapters that you can watch with or without the audio commentary.

As a documentary this does the job it sets out to do. Johnny Cash is generally not your typical camera hogging, 'look at me' style performer. His private life has never been something for public consumption, not in Australia, certainly. This 70 minute documentary movie, coupled with the recent audio commentary, may offer only a glimpse of the real Man In Black, but it is a welcome glimpse all the same. You will need to forgive the often shocking audio and video quality to really enjoy it, and being a fan will help.