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Country music legend Johnny Cash is such a larger-than-life character it would seem nearly impossible to encapsulate his entire life in one film. Thankfully, director James Mangold (Girl Interrupted) doesn't attempt to make the definitive screen biography of the Man in Black, instead focusing on the peak years of his career and, more specifically, his long courtship with June Carter. One of the riskier decisions Mangold makes is having his leads do all their own singing and playing in the film, with no lip-synching or miming. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon may not look or sound like Johnny and June, but they embody their spirits perfectly. The film hits several of the moments that shaped Cash's life: the childhood death of his older brother, Jack, which haunted him his whole life and for which his emotionally distant father (Robert Patrick) blamed him; his first sessions at Sun Records with Sam Phillips; the early tours with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis; the struggles with booze and speed that nearly cost him his life; and the 1968 Folsom Prison concert that revitalized his career. But Walk the Line is first and foremost a love story, and the chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon is undeniable. Their attraction is even more essential to this story, as Cash and Carter spend most of the film married to other people, able only to show affection in stolen glances and through their music. When Johnny forces June to come onstage for an impromptu duet of "Time's a Wastin'," you can almost see the electricity spark between them like an arc lamp -- it's one of the many great musical sequences in the film. Witherspoon, in particular, is exceptional as the spunky, take-no-bull Carter -- it's unquestionably her best performance since Election. Dramatically, Mangold and writer Gil Dennis adhere fairly strictly to the biopic formula and occasionally take some liberties with the facts, but Walk the Line never feels anything less than true. And when it comes to Johnny Cash, gut feeling is what it's all about. Bill Pearis

Entertainment Weekly

A big, juicy, enjoyable wide-canvas biography with a handful of indelible moments. Owen Gleiberman

USA Today

A Johnny Cash biopic equally packed with music and frustrated love, Walk the Line goes from compelling to enthralling. Mike Clark

Product Details

• UPC: 024543379799
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Time: 2:15:00
• Sales Rank: 13,843

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Best Actress Collection
• Rock Star Collection

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