The Apollo

The Apollo (2019) a 98 min. documentary by Roger Ross Williams the history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem did not feel complete. It really promoted the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates using his book about teaching son about being Black in America. Using usual talking head shots with spliced transition of archived material, Williams gets to record the early beginning of the theatre owned by the Schifman family then later to Sutton's re-opening the theatre, leading to its current non-profit management governance.

What it does is established the theatre for a significant historic place as a center for Black creative expression. Displaying famous performances by Billie Holiday, James Brown, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin (rarely seen). But stating the obvious that there is no mention of Jackson family, there only one quick image of a tribute banner, honoring Michael Jackson.

The second element, establishing "Amateur Night" as one of the most famous talent show the world has ever known. Williams puts in needed interviews with Harlem residents, politicians and even a past U.S. President. Notable interviews were with Charles Rangel, a Black/Boricua (Puerto Rican) N.Y. Representative and with singers like Gladys Knight!

It also referenced general Black history, from N.Y. riots to Harlem's poverty and recent gentrification. This film used usual documentary styled techniques. Although Jackson family was referenced, this documentary is needed and served as a slice of U.S. diverse cultural landscape.

While this documentary not only entertaining, it gives deep history of the theater. It captivates an error most of us remember and truly miss. The Apollo is an Epic Center for Black Excellence! Getting a glimpse of how it all began and continues to uplift black culure was tear dropping for my husband and I. The only thing missing from a (10) rating, was the omission of some of the Apollo's most treasured entertainers.. KiKi Shepard, Rick Aviles, Sandman Simms and Steve Harvey!! You can't do an Apollo Doc and miss these pilars of 'Showtime At The Apollo'. The producers missed the ball with not acknoleging these folks!!

As I started viewing this documentary on my local cable provider, I was hoping for an evening packed with musical entertainment and other archived material from the Apollo's illustrious 100-plus-years past. Unfortunately, as quickly became apparent, we are treated to a preachy cultural awareness exercise, produced during the hyper-sensitive days of the Trump presidency when America seemed on the verge of a return to the Jim Crow era. At least half of this production is comprised of contemporary poetic readings, inspirational song and dance by newcomers, and interviews with today's battlers in the culture wars that tend to become cliched for those of us who have been exposed to many lectures on BLM topics. After viewing this documentary, I read a press interview with the director where he described the great challenge he faced because of a scarcity of actual film and video footage footage from the Apollo's past, due in part to the rocky financial history of the venue. What we therefore find is that many of the clips of performances by celebrated artists contained in this documentary were actually recorded at other locations. For example, I noticed that a vintage clip of the Temptations performing "My Girl" was lifted from a video of a 1960s Detroit-area teen dance party TV show that I came across on YouTube only a couple of weeks ago. This documentary neglects to mention that a number of top white musicians appeared at the Apollo in its heyday, or that Jimi Hendrix had a ground-breaking early NYC show at the Apollo in 1967 (maybe Jimi was too "rock 'n roll" for the producers of this), or that Bob Marley also starred at the venue at a pivotal point in his career. In line with the "culture wars" theme of this documentary, attention is also devoted to the urban upheavals and rioting of the 1960-70s, and the terrible prejudices black musicians faced when touring across America....topics that are frankly dealt with much more interestingly in other documentaries that address these problems in greater detail. Anyway, I'll give "The Apollo" a 5 out of 10 for the noble effort, despite my temptation to fast-forward through parts of it!

OK I get it. The Apollo is now a black marquee but if you are going to make a documentary about the history of the theatre shouldn't you tell the truth?

I was built in 1912 as a burlesque theatre for whites only! It wasn't until 1934 that it became a black burlesque theatre.

Further early on in this documentary there is a politician who actually says the venue was situated in Harlem where blacks came to escape slavery. Slavery was done for half a century when this theatre as built and Harlem was predominately white until around 1930!

What are they talking about? They are trying to re-write history and its silly. Why.

An excellent recap of the storied Apollo and its history, including the man who changed the world of music and this venue forever: James Brown. His legendary performances are chronicled, as well as those of many other giants of Soul and R&B music.

There are amazing stories and interesting interviews with all the relevant people involved in making the Apollo into the legend it is today and nobody is left out.

If you're into the history of Soul music, you must see this film and you will agree that this thorough documentary perfectly captures the spirit of the legendary Apollo and leaves nothing out!