Tina - What's Love Got to Do with It

Honestly this movie deserves more praise and attention! Of all the biopics i have seen in my life, this one stands out as one of the best and most memorable!

I am a huge fan of Tina Turner, but I don't think you have to be to enjoy this movie! The movie is so much more than the music! IIs a great drama with some amazing performances and some dark dramatic scenes that are more disturbing than you may think!

Angela Basset and Laurence fishburne were amazing! They really became the characters they were playing to the point where you almost forget you are watching actors and not the real Ike and Tina!

The music were great and since I never got to experience Tina this movie is the closest i can get and it does a great job at it!

Tina had a huge influence on music, me and all of us! Incredible artist that will never be forgotten! May she rest in peace!

It was gratifying to see rock legend Tina Turner earn the coveted Kennedy Center honor last month, certainly reason enough to revisit this wonderful biopic based on her 1987 self-affirming autobiography, "I, Tina" co-written with Rolling Stone editor Kurt Loder. Directed by the late Brian Gibson in an appropriately feverish manner, the 1993 movie still burns brightly thanks to the electrifying performances of Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. There have been several fine performances in biopics of late - Jamie Foxx in "Ray", Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line" - but I still feel Bassett and Fishburne maintain the high watermark as they seem to inhabit the roles of Ike and Tina completely in this film.

Adapting probably the most melodramatic parts of Tina's book, Gibson and screenwriter Kate Lanier built a dramatic framework about the former Anna Mae Bullock that is somewhat standard-issue and probably biased, but it works on a visceral level as a story of personal triumph punctuated by some of the most gut-wrenching scenes of domestic violence captured on film. Playing one of the most recognizable and enduring celebrities in the rock world, Bassett manages to capture the physical mannerisms, vocal patterns, and onstage energy of the real Tina, even though her voice obviously had to be dubbed. With her almost distracting musculature, she convincingly rips into all her musical performances with unabated fire, but it's really in her dramatic scenes, especially when she becomes an increasingly degraded victim of her husband's demons, that she soars. Fishburne has an extremely tough role, as he has to transcend the inherent villainy of Ike by displaying the bravado and talent that brought the pair the spotlight in the early years. He brilliantly manages to imbue a spirit that is at once frightening and pitiable.

With a relatively sparse filmography, Gibson provides surprisingly sturdy direction here, often using an effective faux-combination of grainy home movies and TV programs to make the movie feel like a "Behind the Scenes" rock documentary. I particularly liked how he edited the inevitable "Proud Mary" - complete with gyrating Ikettes and Tina in her classic cave woman mini - to show the passage of time between the late sixties to the mid-seventies. Unsurprisingly, no one else makes nearly the impression of the two stars, though Jenifer Lewis has a few funny moments as Tina's mother Zelma, and Vanessa Bell Calloway does what she can in her switch from hard-bitten back-up singer to becalming Buddhist. Regardless, see it for two actors - sadly underutilized since this movie was released, the wondrous Bassett in particular - giving all they have into this memorable movie. The DVD has no significant extras other than the original trailer.

How could anyone not like this movie? Unless they were Ike Turner, that is. When we walked out of seeing the movie during its first run in the theater, my husband commented dryly, "Well, that movie didn't paint a very flattering portrait of Ike." and we both laughed at the understatement. If you've read the Tina's book, though, you'll know that the movie goes VERY easy on him-while merely a typical abusive bully in the film, Ike treated her much, much worse in real life. I think if they put even half the abuse and torture he put her through in real life, though, the movie would have been too much of a downer-you got the idea. Fishburne does a good job of making Ike so charming when Tina first meets him that you can see why she falls in love with him, until he turns into a monster. Angela Bassett is just fantastic, she has Tina down perfect, though her upper body is so pumped up in some scenes she looks almost masculine. Tina Turner was (hell, still is at 60) toned and buff, but not a female bodybuilder. Her performance is dynamic and heartbreaking, and I can't watch the scene where she finally gets sick of his abuse and starts fighting back. When she finally hits him back in the scene in the limo, I heard the loudest cheers and applause in the audience that I've heard since I saw Thelma and Louise. I've seen the movie dozens of times and her passion in that scene still gets me emotional every time.

But the real reason I watch the movie over and over (especially when I'm trying to get motivated to work out) are the musical numbers. They include among others "A Fool in Love", "Rock me Baby" a great montage to "Make me Over", but the centerpiece of the film has got to be the perfect recreation, right down to the choreography, of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue's "Proud Mary". It is full of so much energy and rocks so much that your jaw will just hang open in amazement when Tina and the Ikettes start going into their dance moves. I never get tired of watching that scene (almost as good as the real thing). I'm still trying to figure out how they kept their wigs on when they were whipping their upper bodies back and forth, they danced so hard. Oh, and the costumes (especially on the Ikettes and the "Proud Mary" fringe dress) and period detail are not only accurate but To Die For. I can't recommend this movie enough. She should have got the Academy Award, not just the Golden Globe, and the movie should have got the Oscar for best picture of 1993.

"What's Love Got to Do With It" is a fascinating and absorbing portrayal of the first 43 years of Tina Turner's life. It accurately and convincingly depicts the abuse she underwent and her escape and, finally, salvation through Buddhism. Laurence Fishburne is one of this generation great actors and gives a riveting and observant performance as Ike Turner, but cannot come close to the overwhelming, breathtaking, and mighty presence of Angela Bassett as Tina. She deservedly won the Golden Globe as the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical of 1993 and if the film had come out any other year than 1993 (during which Holly Hunter gave a performance of a lifetime in "The Piano"), she would have easily taken home an Oscar.

Music plays a huge part in the film and all of it is good. Though I'm only 12, I truly appreciate Tina's music and am always in awe when she sings "Proud Mary" (one of my favorite scenes in the film.) As Roger Ebert pointed out, one of the most triumphant scenes is where, after Tina and Ike have had a vicious and bloody fight, Tina runs away to the Ramada Inn where they take her in. It is one of the best acted scenes of this decade and I never tire of it when I see the film again.

"What's Love Got to Do With It" is one of the best films of 1993 (one of the greatest movie years in history- "Schindler's List", "The Piano") and one the most passionately and skillfully performed films of the decade.

**** out of **** (A)

Angela Bassett, as Tina Turner asks the musical question "What's Love Got to Do with It" in this 1993 film also starring Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis, and Khandi Alexander. The film tells the story of Tina Turner's childhood as Anna Mae Bullock her move to St. Louis after her grandmother's death to live with her mother, her meeting Ike Turner at a nightclub, her subsequent singing with Ike's band, their marriage and divorce.

By necessity, biopics have to leave out people and incidents, often combining several incidents into one or skipping several steps. In no way does a knowledge of Tina Turner''s life detract from the impact of this film. It's a story of a woman's determination, beating the odds, suffering, perseverance and ultimate success.

Ike's and Tina's marriage was pretty much a horror show. Ike was always controlling, to the detriment of his own career, and as he turned to drugs, his abuse of Tina escalated. The most stunning scene in the film (besides the performances, which are fantastic) occurs when the couple fights in a limo en route to a hotel. Ike becomes physical; Tina has discovered Buddhism and finally gets the courage to fight back. A bloody mess, she runs away from him with only 36 cents in her purse.

Angela Bassett gives a searing, electrifying performance as Turner. Her sinewy body is a great match for Turner's, and she uses it to perfection in replicating Turner's performances (Turner's voice is used on the soundtrack). She shows the star's vulnerability, fear, and internal strength throughout.

Bassett is matched by Laurence Fishburne's terrifying performance as Ike. Fishburne seethes with manipulation and anger, even in scenes where he's being "nice." When Ike loses his temper, you can see how he can't stop and the violence just gets worth. A brilliant performance.

A must see. The latter part of Turner's life is not explored, but while she always remained popular in Europe, it was a long time before she could get a recording contract here after some failed recordings. Today she remains one of the greatest singing stars ever. But there were lots of valleys in between.