AMAZING GRACE: Aretha Franklin Doco DVD

$45.00 Inc GST

Available on backorder

Description

“Amazing Grace” (2018 release; 87 min.) is a documentary about the making of Aretha Franklin’s gospel album “Amazing Grace”. As the movie opens, we are reminded it is “January, 1972”, and that we are at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Rev. James Cleveland, the MC for these proceedings, introduces the Southern California Community Choir, and then Aretha Franklin herself. Aretha was on the cusp of turning 30, and at the peak of her creative powers. She opens at the piano, with “Mary Don’t You Weep”, keeping her eyes closed during much of the song. You listen and watch in wonder and amazement…

This is the long-delayed release of what Warner Brothers had intended as a TV special, with Sydney Pollack directing. Because of major technical gaffes during the filming of these 2 evenings of music, the film makers were unable to sync the audio to the video properly, and eventually the film was abandoned (the album became the best selling gospel album of all time). Decades later, Pollack, and later Alan Elliot, tried again to sync audio and video, and Elliot finally succeeded a few years ago. After Aretha’s passing last year, her family agreed to the release of the completed and properly synced movie. And what a delight it is! The footage from these 2 evenings is nothing short of amazing. Aretha dazzles, and hence this film dazzles. Her 10 min. interpretation of the title track alone is worth watching the film.