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01/26/06
Wattstax (1973)
86
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:18
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.4/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 24 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: Originally released in 1973, WATTSTAX is a musical and cultural artifact that pays tribute to the Watts riots, which ravaged Los Angeles for six days beginning August 11, 1965. The film's main... [More]
Reviews for Wattstax
Top CriticAs Richard Pryor says, it's 'a soulful expression of the black experience'...
07/03/03
It just has the air of something too carefully laid out in advance. It's so busy being glossy and optimistic that it doesn't even allow its performers time to create on screen a measure of the excitement they might have created in person.
06/07/03
Top CriticPure old school.
07/06/03
The director, Mel Stuart, cuts from performance sequences to encounter-group dialogues with Watts residents to clips of Richard Pryor improvising at a local bar, the ferocity of his wit bubbling up from the rage of his persecution.
06/04/03
A recording of a historic moment, Wattstax has considerable value.
06/06/03
A candid, colorful and deeply meaningful sociocultural time capsule.
06/06/03
The restored rerelease is a time capsule of Afros, anger and attitude.
09/05/03
Hardcore fans of the music of the times will get a kick out of seeing their old idols in their former glory, and footage of the city of Watts is fascinating.
07/08/03
A disorienting and ironic moviegoing experience.
06/06/03
Whether or not you call it "blaxploitation," there was something like a riot goin' on in the American cinema of 1973.
08/21/09
Even Richard Pryor's tired old rant gets more screen time than any of the musicians
09/11/04
Wattstax was more than just an elaborate musical gathering of gifted energetic artists out to corral a spirited mood—it was an undeniably ultimate black lyrical experience...this stylish funky forum is infectious.
06/15/03
It's a rich tapestry incorporating documentary footage -- the '65 riots, interviews with Watts residents talking about being black in America -- that puts its musical performances (staged by Melvin Van Peebles) in a broad social context.
01/01/00
This gem of a concert documentary makes you realize how much of America's pop culture has been lost, ignored or left to rot since soul music's golden era three decades ago.
06/06/03
Not only documents the soul-titan concert held at L.A. Coliseum seven years after Watts burned, but illuminates the rue and kinesis of a city in full Black Power flower.
01/01/00
A remarkably penetrating documentary.
06/05/03
Commentary from shockingly outspoken Watts residents on topics ranging from revolution to infidelity are a vital part of the documentary, as are the several Richard Pryor monologues upon which the film is structured.
06/05/03
A time when not only a single record company could put together a day like this, but could then give every dollar made to charity.
06/13/03
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03/10/03
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