User Reviews

A chart topping Rock band are in the middle of a recording session and their difficult guitarist is making it difficult for everybody. A veteran session ace is hired to fill in should things fall out. Matters heat up, the band ditch their axeman and hired hand makes his entrance. Fate turns in his favor; will be get the gig? A slice of life realism on the music business "Session Man" is a compelling look on the recording industry. Good acting with the awkward lead actor who looks like he picked up the guitar for the first time and seems on the verge of a panic attack at any moment. Nice to see Chad Smith in a starring role. The music the band played is the type a band from Seattle obliterated from that great time but it's all good fun. The only tangle is the disappointing and abrupt ending which makes the film end in a pedestrian and predictable manner. This would have worked best as a full length rather than a short. Winner for Best Short Film in the 1992 Oscars this is a good half hour treat for Rock and music fans.

Like a perfect sandwich on a hungry Saturday afternoon, "Session Man" is a short film that knows more than to try to be a 4-course, feature-length 'dinner-sized' movie. Perfect in scope, complete in its resolve, "Session Man" is a totally satisfying film experience ("Most," another short film nominee, 2004, also comes to mind). It also happens to represent a significant turning point in James Remar's screen career.

Perhaps best-known for thug roles (he is superbly menacing opposite Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours) here Remar portrays a session guitarist named McQueen, a man of veiled, artistic passions. With skills like McQueen's, in a sea of rock and roll cutthroats, a man has to keep his head and guard his dreams.

Remar anchors the storyline like a steady hinge on a wild-swinging, double-jointed restaurant kitchen door. Summoned into a studio milieu as a hired-gun, McQueen is screwed in tight and fixed on his convictions, an versatile artist with mercenary credentials who still hasn't buried his last, best hopes to take part in a thriving, permanent collaboration. Under the stress of a recording deadline, the session player must be instantaneously brilliant. Most people spend their lives avoiding that kind of pressure, McQueen seems born for it.

The contrast is where the film shines. How does a man fully cloak his fire, assured that he can turn on the furnace at the exact moment he needs to bring the heat? And then, once the heat is exposed (making him vulnerable to colder souls) how does he keep his wits in a world of shifting allegiances? Remar is front and center, even in McQueen's background moments, from the first beat to the last, and for a short-format film, the story offers a surprisingly wide character arc for him to traverse.

For Remar, there is the aching irony of hitting such a penetrating bullseye in a such a rarely-seen Oscar-winner while playing a character of prodigious ability who yearns for the shot at a genuine, long-distance flight in the cramped skies of rock and roll.

One of my all-time favorite live-action shorts, this film dwarfed the competition in its Academy category in 1991. I saw all the short film nominees in one sitting at an AMPAS screening that year; "Session Man" was the only one that stirred in my imagination every day for weeks afterward. To this day, I've only seen the film one time, but I couldn't help but feel that "Session Man" and James Remar were two incredible quantities that crossed paths at precisely the perfect moment - I can't imagine one without the other.

Why is this film not more readily available to the public? The time is right for the release of award-winning, short-format film compilations on DVD.

I saw this film years ago and thought it was very interesting. I know the hours that musicians keep are not normal banking hours and this film makes a subtle nod to that. The emotional ride of the main character is the reason that I see this film being an Academy Award winner. Well worth the study for any film student on telling a story.

I use this film in my composition classes because it perfectly tells a compelling story and contains many issues that pertain to everyone: how does one succeed and how does one know it; does one play for the love of something or does one do it for money; what is loyalty and what is friendship; do groups exist for themselves or are they anarchists, and so on. And the music is pure, lovely, driving rock. I would give it a 10, but it is not quite at the level of a Tolstoy short story, but close. James Remar is marvelous in this brief but memorable film. Kudos to the writer and director and actors and production crew. This film brings up an important issue which is the unavailability of Short live subject films. With so much good stuff around each year, why do I have to rely on cable programs that fill dead time slots. They never advertise these items, and it was with luck I caught Session Man.

Short films usually start behind the eight ball-the reason they're ‘short' is generally lack of funds and/or lack of experience. But when you see a short film produced by Chanticleer you know you're watching a film by the very best, a company that takes pride in this medium, and excels in it.

When a short film clicks, it's poetry in motion--quick, to the point, boom, boom, boom--the story drives forward, the viewer caught up in it all.

If I've seen Session Man once, I've seen it fifty times, really--it's just that good-no nuance unexplored, or ignored, a beautiful combination of drama and music. It doesn't hurt that it's a great film about rock n roll music-what a rarity that is.

It's a couple of years since I last saw it, but nevertheless...

This film is simply put great. Chanticleer films have a good reputation, and that's not a coincidence! The acting in Session Man is great, the music is great (e.g. All Day And All Of The Night by the Kinks in a _great_ version), the story is great --- simply put, a well spent hour. Lean back, crank up the volume, pop a beer or something. Enjoy it!

As I've played in a rock'n'roll band, I felt my fingers actually moving when McQueen played the guitar and the music _worked_. (Musicians know what I mean here.) The finger-sync is unbelievable, and this adds too the feeling of course. Nothing is as annoying as bad finger-sync in a music film.

The story touches a musician's heart, but it goes beyond that --- it's a story with deep implications. Giving and taking, lost hopes and all that.

"Session Man" is a heart-wrenching and compelling short film that tells the story of a struggling musician facing an unexpected opportunity. Directed by Seth Winston, the film won an Academy Award for its moving portrayal of the protagonist's journey as a hired musician, taking on a gig with a legendary rock band plagued by internal conflicts.

The film's stripped-down style and the outstanding performance by James Remar as the conflicted protagonist create a deeply affecting and relatable experience. The use of music and sound is masterful, enhancing the film's impact and emotional resonance.

As someone who knew the director personally, I can attest to the passion and hard work that Seth Winston put into this project, resulting in a well-crafted and powerful piece of filmmaking. The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short is a well-deserved recognition of his talent.

Overall, "Session Man" is a must-watch short film that will leave a lasting impression on viewers. Its emotional depth and the protagonist's rollercoaster ride make it a deserving winner of the Academy Award.

Emotional wild ride of the possibilities of joining a great rock band. Well sho, edited and casted. Based around the time of real rock band Guns N Roses were having some notable in fighting. Well worth the view if you can find it.

Where can I buy a copy of this film? I only saw it once many years ago, and being a guitar player I have never been able to get it out of my head. It's as true as true gets. Every thing about this movie speaks to those of us who struggle to justify all that we go through as musicians. Just recently events in my life have me asking the same questions that the movie illustrates. I have looked all over the internet and have been unable to find a copy of this movie for sale. You would think that being an Acadamy award winner there would be a big enough market for a film such as this. I think it speaks volumes about what it's like what we go through not only as artist, but also life itself. Thanks in advance for any help I can get in finding this film.

Mark