A comedic biopic focused on the life of fictional jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Ray was an irresponsible, free-spending, arrogant, obnoxious, alcohol-abusing, miserable human being, who was also arguably the best guitarist in the world. We follow Ray’s life: bouts of getting drunk, his bizzare hobbies of shooting rats and watching passing trains, his dreams of fame and fortune, his strange obsession with the better-known guitarist Django Reinhardt, and of course, playing his beautiful music.

Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
  • Rating: (17,036 votes)
  • Runtime:95 minutes
  • Director: Woody Allen
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Himself
    Woody Allen
    Himself
    Ben Duncan
    A.J. Pickman
    Daniel Okrent
    Boss
    Dan Moran
    Ben
    Tony Darrow
    Ace - Pool Player
    Chris Bauer
    Emmet Ray
    Sean Penn
    Hazel - Hooker #1
    Constance Shulman
    Iris - Hooker #2
    Kellie Overbey
    Don
    Darryl Alan Reed
  • Genres:Comedy, Music
  • Producers:
    Letty Aronson
    co-executive producer  
    J.E. Beaucaire
    executive producer  
    Richard Brick
    co-producer  
    Jean Doumanian
    producer  
    Charles H. Joffe
    co-executive producer  
    Jack Rollins
    co-executive producer  
  • Plot: A comedic biopic focused on the life of fictional jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Ray was an irresponsible, free-spending, arrogant, obnoxious, alcohol-abusing, miserable human being, who was also arguably the best guitarist in the world. We follow Ray's life: bouts of getting drunk, his bizzare hobbies of shooting rats and watching passing trains, his dreams of fame and fortune, his strange obsession with the better-known guitarist Django Reinhardt, and of course, playing his beautiful music. Written by Martin Lewison <mlewison@utk.edu>
Sweet and Lowdown
  • User's comment:Hats Off To 'Hattie!' by ccthemovieman-1

    This is a strange movie, but one made a little bit special to me because of one memorable character: "Hattie," played by Samantha Morton. What a wonderful, endearing character! The sweet look on her face alone makes this movie worth keeping.

    Another huge positive for this film is the cinematography. This is beautifully shot with great colors which look all the better on DVD.

    As mentioned by other reviewers, Sean Penn also does an excellent job in the lead. The shocker for me was how good a comedic touch he exhibits. Putting his general persona or politics aside, this man deserves kudos as an actor.

    There is a third very different and interesting character in this movie: "Blanche," played by Uma Thurman, who portrays an amoral woman in the last part of the film. She, too, is fascinating.

    So....three interesting characters, great photography AND terrific music - jazz guitar is a central part of this story - all make for a fun hour-and-a-half of entertainment.


  • Quotes: Emmet Ray: This is my one day off, I want a talking girl. Emmet Ray: First time I had sex, 7 years old. Emmet Ray: D'you like that? I knew you would. They say I'm a wonderful lover.
  • Also known as: Dulce y melancólico (Argentina - imdb display title), Dulce y melancólico (Chile - imdb display title), El gran amante (Mexico), El gran amante (Peru - imdb display title), Sweet and Lowdown (Austria), Sweet and Lowdown (Germany), Сладкий и гадкий (Russia), A világ második legjobb gitárosa (Hungary - imdb display title), Accordi & disaccordi (Italy - imdb display title), Accords et désaccords (France), Acordes y desacuerdos (Spain), Através da Noite (Portugal), Biti najbolji (Serbia - imdb display title), Dur och moll (Sweden), Dur og mol (Denmark), Poucas e Boas (Brazil), Slodki dran (Poland), Sweet and Lowdown - duurissa ja mollissa (Finland - imdb display title), Symfonies kai asymfonies (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Woody Allen Fall Project 1998 (USA - working title),

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