Charting the life stories of both legendary musician Johnny Cash and singer June Carter, James Mangold’s passionate, warts-and-all chronicle of two extraordinary American artists has proven to be among the most popular music biopics of all time.

The film follows the early years in the career of the legendary Man in Black, Johnny Cash, as the young musician sets out on life's journey emotionally battered by his brother's accidental death and an abusive father, who blames him for the incident. His subsequent rise to fame with such hits as A Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire is countered by his struggle with amphetamines and alcohol - his instability, both financial and emotional, leading to the failure of his first marriage. The few comforts of his unhappy youth come from the radio programs of June Carter, the luminous daughter of country music's first family. And when their paths cross, it's her devotion and support that becomes his salvation - facing down his demons, fighting for the love that would save him time and again, and learning how to walk the razor-thin line between destruction and redemption.

Spearheaded by two superb performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (who picked up an Oscar for her role) and filled with Cash's extraordinary music, this rousing biopic brims full of life and guarantees once it’s over that you’ll want to run out and buy every scrap of Cash's music you can lay your hands on.

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