Amazing Grace

This reviewer may be one of the biggest Aretha Franklin fans ever. It is unquestionable also that Franklin was the most important Female Artist of the 60's going into the 70''s. So naturally when it was announced that they would finally be releasing the concert film of " Amazing Grace" I was beyond excited. "Amazing Grace" documents the recording of her multi platinum album of the same name. It's not a secret that Aretha Franklin came from Gospel. It was the basis for everything she did. "Amazing Grace" to this day stands as the bestselling gospel album of all time and her bestselling album.

Director Sidney Pollack was hired to document this recording. This film at times seems unfinished or one big revival but that's not why you should buy a a ticket. You're watching sheer talent at hand - raw, unadulterated talent given by God. Aretha in her element joined by the California Community Choir and The Reverend James Cleveland provide the audience a spiritual elevation. This movie isn't about cinematic perfection; it's about touching your soul. Some of my favorite moments are her rendition of "Mary Won't You Weep" and her mash-up of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand, and You've Got Friend" made famous by James Taylor. Only Aretha could turn a secular song and incorporate it into a gospel hymn.

Aretha like most artists of her caliber was a perfectionist and didn't want the movie to be released while she was alive, but I'm glad that her family differed in her view. There is a whole generation that never got to experience this Aretha and now they can.

You will get a chance to see her Father the Reverend C.L Franklin and the tight bond they shared. There are also other celebrities in the building such as Clara Ward, and if you pay close attention, an enthusiastic Mick Jagger is sitting in the back.

This movie is a reverence to a time when black America was no longer defining itself by white standards but firmly standing in its blackness. Aretha was our queen and the church our foundation. She was our refuge our joy our Amazing Grace. All hail the Queen.

Diversity: This movie gets a ten. It doesn't get any blacker than Aretha and gospel music.

Scale: I highly recommend this movie not because Aretha was my favorite singer but because we could use a little spiritual revival during these dark times. A rousing 8 and Amen.

Right from the first few seconds of the new film, Amazing Grace, we are given some astounding and fascinating tidbits of news about how the whole concert came to be and why up until now it has never been seen by viewers except for those who were actually in attendance at the church where it was filmed. Award winning director, Sidney Pollack was hired by Warner Brothers to film a live concert recording of then well known and very popular soul singer, Aretha Franklin as she performs at a California Baptist Church and sings the songs that she grew up with and learned herself having gone to church and having sung these gospel songs since she was a child. Whilst filming, the performance went on for two nights in a row with Aretha on vocals accompanied by the reverend on piano and a host of backup singers doing backup vocals and harmony. We are told several times that during the taping and filming of this concert which was originally meant to be aired on television, that there were so many technical difficulties amongst other problems that the filming crew ran into (some of which we witness whilst watching the film) and the film we see today before us has only been moderately restored and some of the technical glitches such as with editing and pacing remain intact, but this does not hamper, or detract from the film in any way, but instead makes the whole thing more of a historic relic from almost 50 years ago now and what an absolute treat it is for us viewers to see it for the first time after all these years and even with not the best editing, or camera work, the real reason we are all here is to hear Aretha sing these songs and this is fully and completely accomplished with this film and it is a film that truly moved me personally as not all, but enough of these very songs are songs and hymns that I also learned in the church as a child and some that we still sing regularly during morning and evening services on a Sunday. While the opening credits were rolling, I saw the logo for Spike Lee's production company, 40 Acres and a Mule which I later found out helped fund this rerelease and also that Spike himself was one of the producers on the film. Being a Christian, I found the music to be very moving as well as inspiring throughout the course of the film. Whether this would have the same type of effect on viewers who maybe have never been to church, or perhaps don't consider themselves to be Christians, I do not know. The audience in which I saw the film was completely packed and with those of whom I talked with after the film, all seemed to have really enjoyed it. Some of the attention to detail even with the technical difficulties still shines through as often we see the sweat and perspiration on Aretha and the other singers and players throughout the recording. It was currently January in California, but it must have been a stifling heat and perhaps the church back in 1972 didn't have the same type of air conditioning luxuries that we have today. Nevertheless this just goes on to show that Aretha and company are truly singing from the bottom of their hearts and all their hard work definitely does pay off. This particular recording we are told when on to become the best selling gospel album of all time and it most likely still carries that honour with it today. This is the type of film that is refreshing to see in a day and age of wars, political tension, scandals and violence all around us. This is a film the encourages us by the very persuasive style of music and ultimately lets us know that someone who can do something with all the trials and tribulations we face today can see what we as a people are going through and they also have the ability to help us and they will. This is a film that shows how music as a medium is so powerful as is the message it is getting across as well. With the recent passing of both Sidney Pollack and Aretha Franklin, this is a wonderful send off for both icons and a film that will continue to leave it's powerful influence on generations to come. What a wonder that this was finally released and at just the right time too.

To watch this movie is to journey between joy and pain. The joy of being able to hear her voice and see her perform as if it was happening right now. To feel the energy. And then the pain of reality...that she is gone and can not be replaced. I hope that this is just one of many to be made about her life and that future productions include a little more of her off-stage life with some minimal narration and analysis. Still, this rendition is deeply moving and I've been listening to her music ever since watching.

The thing that marks out this spectacularly honest documentary is Aretha Franklin's melancholia.

It's as if she's been transported there by another being. Her God? She is so in the moment. So devoid of ego, unlike her entourage, as to make it a truly 'religious' experience, not just for her but for the viewer too.

The melancholia manifests itself as a lost look. Separated from the action, the film making onluy there for one reason. To sing.

And there is zero theatrics. Zero showmanship. Zero BS.

Just an honest to goodness outpouring of singing as best as she can muster and her best will just have to be good enough. Cos that's all she's got.I've never seen a music documentary so compellingly believable about the motivations of its maker, that motivation appears to be the love of her God and her fellow humankind.

It's quite remarkable.

It took me nearly 50 years to see this footage. At 72, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. When this album was released, fans of Ms. Franklin flocked to buy it so we could hear her return to her roots: Gospel, not performed on a stage but in the setting where it originated, in two performances gathered at Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church. In the liner note was the teasing notation, "filmed by Warner Brothers," and it was maddening (in days long before the Internet) not to be able to find out when and where it would be released as a film.

Decades later we learned that it was impossible--with technology available then--to sync up the sound with the film footage and the project had been permanently shelved. The young director, Sydney Pollack, hadn't realized each reel needed a time clapboard for editors to find their way in assembling the footage to properly slate with the live sound recording. Not only that, but Franklin never wanted the film footage to be released (there was heavy post-editing in the audio's final release). So it was with a thunderbolt when we heard people had been working frame by frame to put the sound back in sync with the images (when you watch the film, just imagine what it would be like for an editor to be handed a 10 minute reel and be told "guess where this fits in"; and Pollack used 5 cameras to catch all that was going on with a reported 20 hours of unmarked footage).

It's a miracle to have this film in any form, and not only that but that the director(s) stayed out of the way of what was happening, no fancy edits, or commentary. Nothing but this woman transcending herself and her audience into spiritual ecstasy.

The album only hints at what we finally get to experience. But any performance, much less an entire concert by Ms. Franklin from this era is a gift. She's at her peak and her naturally shy demeanor that masks one of the greatest voices in history peels away and without histrionics or showmanship, she becomes an instrument of her faith. It's exhausting to watch; and, if you're so inclined, transforming.

While the filmmakers handle all of this beautifully, the participants intrude (as they do on the recording), trying to upstage the central reason for this performance. Both the Reverends James Cleveland and her father, C.L. Franklin nearly maul Ms. Franklin either physically or with obsequious lengthy praise. In fairness they have every right to show their pride, but it lessens them. (The choir director, Alexander Hamilton serves the evening much better with his graceful shaping of the choir that's almost a dance but it doesn't distract from the either the soloist or the choir.)

Aretha Franklin, with unparalleled poise and professionalism endures it all without a flinch. She's there to do a job, seems oblivious to the cameras, while using a vocal instrument with a power not seen before or since.