Joaquin Phoenix replays an old Johnny Cash line

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Johnny Cash in 'Walk the Line'.

Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix, who won plaudits for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line", resurrected one of the country star's most notorious concerts last week by playing to inmates of Folsom Prison.

More than 70 inmates, handpicked for their good behaviour, sat and listened to the actor perform a number of Cash's hits, including his best-selling song about the facility, "Folsom Prison Blues".

The correction facility's 4,000 other inmates remained behind bars.

Phoenix's gig was more subdued than Cash's original 1968 concert where he played to an enthusiastic 2,000 strong crowd.

Controversy still dogs the original gig with claims that the record company added the sound of prisoners allegedly whooping with delight as Cash sang the lyrics "I shot a man in Reno, just to hear him die".

Nonetheless, the live show remains one of Cash's best-selling albums and cemented his bad-boy, jailbird image.

Dressed from head to toe in Cash's trademark black, Mr Phoenix humbly apologised for a rusty turn on the guitar, saying he had not played Cash since he finished the movie.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I've messed up like 40 times," he joked.

"I'm all over the place."

The Folsom Prison concert was one of the defining moments of Johnny Cash's 50-year career.

By the mid-1960s, a mixture of alcoholism and drug addiction was taking its toll on Cash and the singer risked fading into obscurity.

His relationship with fellow country songwriter June Carter was also on the rocks.

But his concert at the prison just outside Sacramento, California, quickly revived his career as well as Carter and Cash's love for each other.

Two months later one of the music industry's most famous couples were married and stayed so for another 35 years.

The significance of Folsom was not lost on "Walk the Line's" director James Mangold.

"The concert at Folsom was more than just a masterpiece for John, it was an incredible nexus for a whole lot of things in his life," he told the magazine "Variety".

The latest concert was organised by Prison Fellowship, a Christian charity for prisoners in the US, which was impressed by Johnny Cash's story of redemption.

"The lesson of Johnny Cash is that it's never too late for a man to turn his life around", said Fellowship spokesman Joe Avil.

"And that's a story these men need to hear."

How inspirational the concert was to the inmates in one of California's most notorious prisons is hard to tell. But Phoenix's silver screen rendition of Cash has won praise from critics and audiences alike in the US where he is tipped to win the role of best actor at this year's Oscars.

A win for Phoenix would make it the second year straight an Oscar has gone to an actor playing a recently deceased American singer. Jamie Foxx won Tinsletown's most coveted prize last year for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the film "Ray".

"Walk the Line" opens in New Zealand cinemas on February 9.

- INDEPENDENT