Janis Joplin died, at the age of 27, from a heroin overdose. Creatively, she was at the peak of her powers so this was an enormous shock.
Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil) has produced a documentary, Janis: Little Girl Blue, that explores the life of Joplin through her own words – from a series of letters she wrote to family and friends.
Check out the trailer for Janis: Little Girl Blue after the jump.
On stage and on camera, Joplin frequently projected an image of being high and happy-go-lucky. Berg’s film reveals a more vulnerable character who cycled in and out of addictions and channelled her emotions into her art. Singer Cat Power (a.k.a. Chan Marshall) does an uncanny job of recreating Joplin’s voice in readings from her letters. But the dominant voice is Joplin’s own, in extraordinary performances drawn from both classic and rare footage.