Edith Bowman’s Ultimate Country Music Films

Overview

As part of Radio 2 Celebrates Country season, Edith Bowman presents her ultimate guide to country music films, through the songs that bring them to life.

Just like the lyrics at the heart of country music, films that pay homage to this genre are compelling, entertaining, heart-breaking and uplifting. They've given us award-winning turns from the likes of Reese Witherspoon in ‘Walk the Line’, Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’ and, on this side of the pond, Jessie Buckley in ‘Wild Rose’ - and are more popular than ever.

Hollywood stars are so keen to take on these roles, that A-listers such as Tom Hiddleston pull out all the stops for their performances - his portrayal of Hank Williams in the biopic ‘I Saw The Light’ is unmissable.

Meanwhile, 1980's Loretta Lynn biopic ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Sissy Spacek, is considered so "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, that it was selected to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry as recently as 2019.

Edith’s journey takes us across the decades, featuring multiple award-winners, career-defining performances...and an exclusive new interview with ‘I Saw The Light’ star Tom Hiddleston - all, of course, accompanied by killer songs from the movie soundtracks.