Some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage and some astonishing performances.
Comment
07/10/09
Soul Power (2009)
84
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Reviews Counted:69
Fresh:58
Rotten:11
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Featuring some incredible performances from many 70s soul legends, Soul Power is an exhilarating snap-shot of a bygone era.
Theatrical Release:10-07-2009
Synopsis: Though the eyes of the world were on "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, their ears should have been on Zaire '74, the mammoth music festival that took place in the shadow of the battle between... [More]
Starring: James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz
Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Reviews for Soul Power
Flavourful behind the scenes footage mingles with infectious concert performances to make this a very welcome record of a unique piece of music history.
07/10/09
Unseen for 35 years, its spectacle is undimmed, and you can pick many highlights.
07/10/09
While Soul Power is bound to be compared to the Oscar-winning Ali/Foreman documentary When We Were Kings, it never scales the same heights.
07/10/09
The concert footage is excellent, with Brown in decent form, even if in truth he was already a decade past his creative peak. Good music movie, thin documentary.
07/10/09
Top CriticThis is musical history that deserves to be placed alongside the best of its era.
07/10/09
Brilliant archive footage and blistering live performances - an exhilarating concert film.
07/10/09
Top CriticBusting with footage left in legal limbo for over three decades, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s documentary is uproarious and uplifting.
07/10/09
Likeable documentary that serves as a fascinating companion piece to When We Were Kings.
07/09/09
Ali motormouth footage left over from When We Were Kings. Actually, this whole film was made from WWWK leftovers, we learn. But we manage to forget that detail whenever the music soars.
07/10/09
Leon Gast's documentary When We Were Kings, about the 1974 Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, now has a great companion piece.
07/10/09
Top CriticAn edifying glimpse at a moment in black history when the world really was looking on.
07/10/09
Top CriticIn linking the legendary 1974 Rumble in the Jungle with the music festival that ran alongside it, we get a remarkable glimpse of the day's racial and political issues.
06/25/09
Capturing the site, the sounds, the smells, and the sweat of a major musical happening, Soul Power is irresistible.
07/10/09
It doesn't disappoint. The line-up reads like a Who's Who of 70s soul and R&B. And the sound quality's shockingly good.
07/10/09
As a concert film it’s unparalleled: a stunningly photographed, soul-stirring celebration.
07/10/09
Top CriticThe documentary gives us a tantalising taste of what appear to have been some incredible performances. Such is the quality of the footage and sound recording that you rather wish the film was longer.
07/10/09
Top CriticThis has no contextual structure at all. It is essentially the archive footage slapped together.
07/13/09
Soul Power leaves you wanting more, and not in a good way.
08/21/09
For a documentary about a music festival, Soul Power doesn't include nearly enough music.
09/04/09
Latest News for Soul Power
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May 03, 2009:
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