A New Film On Johnny Cash Highlights The Singer’s Strong Faith

Nearly two decades after his death, Johnny Cash remains one of the most recognized artists in American music. Thanks, in part, to iconic songs like “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” and “A Boy Named Sue,” people of all ages know his name and his music.

He was the Man in Black, a singer/songwriter with a distinctive voice who wrote songs about the common man and the downtrodden. Many are familiar with much of his music, and different parts of his story. He got started with Sun Records in Memphis, he once had a problem with drugs, he married June Carter, he famously played for inmates at Folsom Prison, etc.

A new film set for a limited three day release in theaters next week (December 5th, 6th, and 7th) takes in-depth look at the life of Johnny Cash. Much of it is told through his own words, thanks to a collection of recently discovered audio tapes. Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon also delves more deeply into Johnny’s strong faith, and how it guided his life, and his music.

“I think the big thing is so much of this film is from my father’s voice,” says John Carter Cash. “The words you hear are from interviews when he was doing his autobiography “Cash,” and these are things that weren’t in the book. And the best way to know the man is through his own words.”

The film is also beautifully narrated by Marty Stuart who sets the tone early on when he refers to Johnny by saying, “Some viewed him as a rebel, to others he was a saint, and that’s the story here.”

In addition to Johnny’s own voice telling much of his story, there’s insight from family members like his son, and his sister Joanne Cash Yates, religious leaders, and a wide range of artists like Wynonna, Tim McGraw, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Alice Cooper, and many others.

It recounts the Johnny Cash story from his earliest days as a young boy growing up and working in the cotton fields of Dyess, Arkansas, the traumatic death of his his brother, leaving home to join the Air Force, creating a family, and getting started in music. It shows his career takes off, later his struggles with amphetamine addiction, then a reawakening of his faith at an extremely low point in his life when he’d all but given up.

“In 1967, he hit a really hard bottom and crawled into a cave,” his son explains. “He’d just given up on life and while he was there, he realized he wanted to get out, he wanted to get clean and change his life.”

The film sheds new light on some of the choices he made in the years that followed from his decision to play Folsom Prison to the groundbreaking variety show he filmed at the Ryman Auditorium featuring country, folk, rock, and gospel music, to a long and enduring friendship with the Reverend Billy Graham.

John Carter Cash hopes people who see film will get a deeper understanding of his father.

“It’s just beautiful to see that what is most important about my father’s life is being regarded and appreciated. And his faith was the most important thing in the world to him.”

The film will be shown exclusively in theaters December 5th, 6th, and 7th. Check local listings for show times.