The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976 DVD Credits:

Region: 1

The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976 DVD Release Date: 13th November 2007

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The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976 DVD Review:

In the slew of Christmas and other holiday DVDs being hurled out into the public this season, we get a blast from the past in The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976. This was his first Christmas special and now it is available to be relived on DVD. Fans of Johnny Cash’s voice will no doubtably enjoy the self proclaimed Christmas classic but fans of Johnny Cash won’t get what they’re hoping for.

We start with a serene rural setting and a little city-boy vs. country-boy clash between Cash and pop veteran Tony Orlando. The look of it is terribly 1970s and looks like it might have been filmed on an eight-millimeter home video or beta camera. They do some shtick then break into song. It’s very dated and does not hold up. The opening and trip to June Carter’s house is quite boring and greatly contrived. It gets to the point that you start to wonder how people reacted to this in 1976. For me, as a fan of Johnny Cash, seeing him as this contained musician spitting out little nuggets of forced commentary provokes more heartbreak than holiday heart warming. . The closest glimpse we get of recalling the older Johnny is his introduction to “Christmas as I Knew It” but it’s barely even a taste. Although his voice is magic, it can’t save him from this production.

As far as the songs go, this Special does not deliver. Whereas the 1977 Christmas Special has some holiday classics, this lacks anything moderately classic. There are holiday songs but nothing recognizable to everyone. You expect big hits on a Christmas Special but this fails to capture any monumental Christmas tunes that you tend to fly through the airwaves. The best song performed is without a doubt “In the Pines” by the Carter family. It’s beautiful and powerful but can’t support the entire Special. The other most noteworthy musical performances do no have lyrics. Merle Travis’ guitar work on “Cannonball Rag” is amazing. He grooves, he jams, and just really lets it rip. Anyone can appreciate it. Also, Barbara Mandrell really shows her stuff on “Steel Guitar Rag.” You can see the intensity build on her face, which is usually followed by wild smiles because she knows that she is blowing every person’s mind in the room. Honestly, it’s the best slide steel guitar work I’ve ever seen performed by a female. However, the three above-mentioned performances, although sensational, are lacking one major thing—Johnny Cash. They aren’t strong enough to support the entire Special and neither are Cash’s performances.

We end with “A Story of Christmas” told by Billy Graham, which is what it is, and then the forty-five minute journey is over. I want to believe that this Christmas Special was heart warming in its day but I have my doubts. Watching Johnny Cash and June Carter speak, at the very least, loosely scripted lines to each other takes away from whatever real chemistry was flowing between them. Now, it is interesting to see them on screen together but it’s not like we’re really getting exposure to anything that interesting, considering their long and complicated past. It must be said though, that it is something to see them perform together with songs like “Old Time Feeling.”

There are no Special Features, which makes this DVD even more disappointing. Some interviews with Cash, or Carter, or Roy Clark would have been intriguing. Some commentary about how this Christmas Special came to be would have been enlightening. However, on the menu we are left with PLAY and SONG SELECTION.

Overall, The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976 is an uninspiring piece. There are bits and pieces that stand out and shine but not enough to add a holistic balance to this DVD. Instead, we are left with a mediocre, at best, production that was chosen to be revisited, most likely, because of the success surrounding Walk the Line. It’s a shame because the audience that enjoyed that film will not be able to identify with this television Special. Johnny Cash was a larger than life international icon but this Christmas Special does him no justice and inadvertently dims the things that made him a legend.

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The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976 DVD review written by: Bryce Carlson