Hitsville: The Making of Motown

Co-writers/directors Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner have delivered the definitive documentary about the musical phenomenon of Motown from its quiet birth by Berry Gordy in 1958 Detroit through its growth in global importance to its relocation to Los Angeles in the 1970s.

But the film is so much more than an overview of some of the most important singers and performers whose careers blossomed under the aegis of Berry Gordy (who narrates the film with Smokey Robinson!): it is a tribute to the impact that 'record company' had on the rise of black performers on the global stage. The script is witty, insightful, sensitive, and eloquent. The film shares films clips of performances by such stars as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Little Richard, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye - and on and on.

The manner in which Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson open the survey of the history of civil rights is distinguished and is one of the most accessible demonstrations of that deeply needed transition in cultural equality that has been created. Very highly recommended on many levels.

Very rarely is there a film or documentary that begs for more background and material to be presented, most are in need of serious editing to eliminate needless repetition or boring monologues by so-called subject experts or narrators. (Virtually any Ken Burns doc) However, Motown Records is such an incredible story with has so much material and so many fascinating stories about the talented performers, musicians, writers, arrangers and execs who made Motown Records well deserving of it's "Hitsville USA" slogan. Loved the footage that was shown but 1:52 isn't nearly enough time to the subject give proper credit it deserves.

If you like music you will like this. If you don't like Motown you won't like this. If you don't like music don't bother to watch it.

It was a brilliant documentary that gave me a greater insight to one of the greatest record labels in the world. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson were and are a great double act.

Motown was the greatest assembly of musicians that the world has ever heard. Their music transcended time, cultures, generations and ethnicities. To this day it remains as some of the most popular and captivating music ever recorded. I loved watching the making of the music and especially the clips of the live performances. Little Stevie Wonder, Little Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Temptations. The list goes on and on. Detroit will forever be known as Motown.

This love letter of a doc celebrates the astonishing success of the Detroit-based record label during the '60s, when its artists included The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. British co-directors Benjamin and Gabe Turner conduct interviews with founder Berry Gordy Jr and Smokey Robinson, who explain the assembly-line principles behind the hit factory. If Hitsville feels like a sanitised account, the Motown records featured - which crossed social and racial divides in America - remain gloriously life-affirming.