What a charming documentary! With an inspired opening, a brilliant text and rich footage, it portrays saxophone as a cursed marvelous intrument, since its creation in Belgium. Those who play it produce magic sounds but also suffer more infortunes than other players, as numerous bizarre life stories (addiction, accidents, crimes...) of fantastic jazz (and other styles!) musicians that appear in the film would prove. ?? It may not be true, but it is an amusing documentary script. It also explores a lot how flexible is this intrument, allowing infinite possibilities for the player to innovate and translate his emotions and feelings into music. It is also addressed how saxophone had fierce enemes in politics, religion and business. As the single drawback, two or three testimonies (the minister and the Bulgarian, at least) are not as good as the rest of the movie.

I read the devil's horn when a student turned me on to the book. In an era where truth is coming out more completely in historical accounts , Adolphe Saxs life was astounding in every way. He was brilliant, determined, obsessed and came to a somewhat tragic ending in the end when his patent ran out.

This film was almost unwatchable. You want to pay tribute to an unknown sax player ? Research Aubra Graves. I have nothing against the players featured. They are no where near the best examples of saxophone performance. Even the older homeless man while sad and deserved better life, was not enjoyable at all to listen to. The preacher sax player was AWFUL.

Book was brilliant page turner. Film was a huge disappointment. Wish I could get my money back.