Rejoice and Shout

I have a few points to add to tlsnyder42-1's thoughtful commentary: First, the film tried to cover too much in too short a time. I think the coverage was fairly well balanced between jubilee/hard gospel/choir, chose the right persons to focus on and has some wonderful clips, but I also felt as if it could have said and shown so much more. A shame to leave out Dorothy Love Coates, Alex Bradford, the Davis Sisters, Roberta Martin, etc. It would be wonderful if someone were willing to turn this into a four part series, similar to Ken Burns' Jazz or that collection of films on the blues.

On the other hand, it could have been edited a little more smartly. While I liked the commentaries, I think the film could have done without Smokey Robinson altogether and would have benefited from some editing of others' comments (it's the Ohio, not the Mississippi, that was the boundary between slavery and freedom--just look where Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas are). While I can't tell you what to cut, I can say it dragged a bit. But those clips of the Hummingbirds and the Silvertones, plus the footage of believers slain in the spirit are revelatory. Worth being included with the other documentaries on the same theme.

So many moments in this documentary reveal the great influence of black musicians in American Christian Music. Besides the obvious Andrae Crouch, who made music in the 1970s come alive, to other well-known singers and groups, the especially delightful aspect of this movie was the Pentecostal experiences that were filmed showing where the power of these musicians came from.

Some of the film-clips were from the early 20th Century, leading to discussions of the COGIC Fellowship, the largest "denomination" of pentecostals in America. The jouyous testimony of Smokey Robinson, open disussion of racism and sterortypical American films, and the skill level of marginalized musicians makes this film significant. Love the Mississippi River metaphor by the excellent narrator, and so many of his comments brought such clarity, and emotion, I could not discern his name from the credits. That young man made this very watchable, he is wearing an orange shirt.

The harmonies, lyrics, and exuberance of the music glorifying a 2,000 year old Jewish sect born in Asia brought me to tears.

I will be watching this again.

I suggest IMDB edit and expand the entry for this great show.