Walk the Line

"Love is a burning thing."

2005 2h 16m EN

👍

7.5

SOLID

🍅

83%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 3,228🍅83%Rotten Tomatoes●72Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 279,067

DramaMusicRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

“Love is a burning thing.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Joaquin Phoenix
John R. Cash
Reese Witherspoon
June Carter
Ginnifer Goodwin
Vivian Cash
Robert Patrick
Ray Cash
Dallas Roberts
Sam Phillips
Dan John Miller
Luther Perkins
Larry Bagby
Marshall Grant
Shelby Lynne
Carrie Cash

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Mangold
Writers: James Mangold, Gill Dennis
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by James Mangold, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by T Bone Burnett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael McCusker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon and Ginnifer Goodwin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love is a burning thing.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Mangold directs. Phedon Papamichael behind the camera. T Bone Burnett scores. Michael McCusker cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.
2Released 21 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
4Directed by James Mangold, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by T Bone Burnett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michael McCusker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon and Ginnifer Goodwin carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Love is a burning thing.".
9IMDB entry: tt0358273 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "prison", "adultery", "concert", "rock 'n' roll".

The technical file

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Original score: T Bone Burnett
Editing: Michael McCusker
Production design: David J. Bomba
Costume design: Arianne Phillips
Makeup / hair: Michelle Vittone
VFX supervisor: Robert Stromberg
Sound: Paul Massey
Stunt coordinator: Rick Avery
Runtime: 136 min · 2h 16m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $28,000,000
Box office: $186,800,000
Return: 667% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Walk the Line (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 72/100
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 279,067 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 45 wins & 48 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Actress
Silver nugget for the best foreign film
Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

James Mangold

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Rob2015-08-18
★ 0.5/10
A great example of bad casting, Cash was over 6'
The Movie Mob2023-02-11
★ 6/10
Walk the Line showcases incredible acting and directing but leaves out the brighter parts of Cash’s life to tell a more somber story that left me sad. Walk the Line chronicles the story of Johnny Cash’s rise to fame and romance with June Carter. James Mangold is one of my favorite directors and tells this story powerfully through the Oscar-worthy performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The acting, music, and directing are all phenomenal. Still, the story is so sad, and its conclusion, while happy, happens so abruptly that it doesn’t feel resolved or satisfied after 2+ hours of drug addiction and hurting loved ones. Cash’s faith and love for his family, which are well known, aren’t represented in the movie and could have provided hope in this dark tale. I understand why this movie was such a huge award winner, but my escapist nature struggled to enjoy such a sad story.
CinemaSerf2024-03-14
★ 7/10
Joaquin Phoenix might take top billing as the legendary American musician Johnny Cash, but it's got to be Reece Witherspoon who steals the plaudits as June Carter. She demonstrates all the feistiness and determination of a woman, in a man's world, quite prepared to do her own thing. Assisted by a fair degree of charisma and musical talent, she can play a stage with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and Carl Perkins with confidence. The film starts at the now famous Folsom Prison just before he takes the stage and by way of a continuing retrospective, we learn of his childhood - one touched by tragedy very early on, of his strained relationship with his father (Robert Patrick) then his service in the US Air Force before, gradually, his stage career and burgeoning romance with his co-star. He is married to Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and they have children, but that doesn't really curtail his passion for Carter and we see that relationship evolve in parallel with his affection for just about anything that comes from a bottle. The life of this man has been pretty publicly documented so there's little room for James Mangold to manoeuvre with the facts here. Instead, we are offered a plausible speculation on just how this couple made it through. I found Phoenix's performance just a little too close to mimicry at times, but there's a solid chemistry between him and Witherspoon throughout with the depiction of his descent into chemically indeed oblivion quite sad to watch. It's underpinned by a strong score and both deliver the songs - especially "Jackson" quite toe-tappingly. This is a fair biopic of a flawed but ultimately quite decent character and it's worth a watch.