BEWARE OF MR. BAKER

DIRECTED BY JAY BULGER

At home with rock ‘n’ roll monster Ginger Baker, Cream’s legendary scarlet-maned, hell-raising drummer. This no-holds-barred, sad, and hilarious portrait of the man referred to as rock’s first great drummer (and perhaps still its best) lets him tell his own story, intercut with footage of his continent-hopping life, from London to L.A., Nigeria, Italy, South Africa, and (way) beyond.  Baker may have broken the mold musically, but his violent, dyspeptic mood swings, fueled by a multi-decade heroin addiction, went a long way to making him persona non grata even among the music greats who still revere his work. Eric Clapton, Johnny Rotten, Charlie Watts, and Lars Ulrich, Baker’s 4 wives, and 3 grown children all have something to say about him: “He’s a force of nature,” “he’s the greatest drummer any of us had ever heard,” “he’s mad,” and “he’s fairly consistently horrible” are just a few of them.

USA • 2012 • 92 MINS

REVIEWS

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“An incredible new documentary.”
– Andy Greene, rollingstone.com

“A Rock Demigod. Voted the rock star least likely to survive the ‘60s. The wildly beating heart of Cream. Formidable and occasionally terrifying.”
– Franz Lidz, The New York Times


[5 stars]
“RUDELY FUNNY! The old stories and misadventures… out they come, reshaped by Bulger  via archival footage and sly animation into a testament to Baker’s musicianship… The guy basically invented the modern drum solo.”
– Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

“Makes a persuasive argument that Mr. Baker was the greatest of all rock drummers.”
– A.O. Scott, New York Times

“Captivating! A must-see film.”
– Margaret Barton-Fumo, Filmcomment.com

“Baker comes across as a living embodiment of his music. Baker remains a fierce creature of music.”
– Eric Kohn, Indiewire.com

“A hell of a musician and a real son of a bitch.”
– Henry Stewart, L Magazine