I Called Him Morgan

Music · Documentary · History · 2016

Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.

Movie details

I Called Him Morgan

Name: I Called Him Morgan
Genre: Music, Documentary, History
Released: 2016

2016 Music · Documentary · History 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

Scores change. Arguments endure.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over I Called Him Morgan?

For the defence

The Prestige Tourist

“You like your greatness pre-approved.”

Read their case

For the prosecution

The Popcorn Loyalist

“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”

Read their objection

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Cast & crew

Directed by

Kasper Collin

Written by

Kasper Collin · Jesper Osmund

Lee Morgan

Self (archive material)

Helen Morgan

Self (archive material)

Wayne Shorter

Self

Larry Reni Thomas

Self

Judith Johnson

Self

Jymie Merritt

Self

Bennie Maupin

Self

Court is in session

Put I Called Him Morgan on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.