{"id":6277,"date":"2024-10-19T23:18:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=6277"},"modified":"2024-10-19T23:18:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:18:24","slug":"amazing-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/19\/amazing-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Amazing Grace<\/strong> (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neon\/Documentary\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 87 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated G (nothing offensive)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: April 12, 2019 (Philadelphia, PA)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, Cornell Dupree, Kenny Luper, Poncho Morales, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, The Southern California Community Choir, C.L. Franklin, Clara Ward, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Sydney Pollack.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0The story of how the documentary Amazing Grace<\/strong> made it to the big screen is a story in itself. It was shot in 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, CA where soul singer Aretha Franklin recorded her Grammy-winning gospel album Amazing Grace accompanied by the Reverend James Cleveland. Director Sydney Pollack (Tootsie) shot it over a two-day period with a live congregation. It then sat in a vault at Warner Brothers for 38 years due to \u201ctechnical problems\u201d syncing the footage with sound. It took an additional 10 years to deal with the technical and legal issues before Amazing Grace<\/strong> saw the inside of theaters at last year\u2019s DOC NYC festival in September, approximately one month after Franklin\u2019s death. It took a little while longer to secure a distributor. Now here it is, in all its glory, and it\u2019s truly a wonder.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I know nothing about gospel music. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church where we sang traditional hymns at Sunday services. Going to church was at the top of my list of least favorite things to do. I found it incredibly boring. My first exposure to the black churchgoing experience was probably a TV show, but I\u2019m going to attribute it to The Blues Brothers in 1980. I\u2019m referring, of course, to the scene with James Brown belting out \u201cThat Old Landmark\u201d to a lively congregation. And I mean lively! These folks were out of their pews singing and dancing and leaping and flying through the air. I thought to myself if my church was like that, I\u2019d attend more willingly. There\u2019s no chance of anything remotely like that ever happening in a church filled with old white people from the suburbs who didn\u2019t even look kindly on singing \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d to the tune of \u201cI\u2019d Like to Teach the World to Sing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0ANYWAY, I haven\u2019t been to a church service in years that didn\u2019t involve a wedding, funeral or christening. Call me a heathen if you will, but I have enough difficulty staying awake during some of the movies I\u2019m obligated to see. That doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have faith. I do, my brothers and sisters. I don\u2019t need to sit through a boring sermon to prove it either. Thankfully, Amazing Grace<\/strong> is anything but boring. Listening to \u201cThe Queen of Soul\u201d sing is a treat in and of itself. Watching her sing gospel standards like \u201cHow I Got Over\u201d, \u201cWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus\u201d and, of course, \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d is pure divinity. Seeing how it was all put together by Pollack and his crew, frequently seen on camera, is fascinating.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Ms. Franklin and Rev. Cleveland are backed up by the exceptional Southern California Community Choir conducted energetically by Alexander Hamilton. For two nights, congregants show up dressed in their Sunday best. A handwritten sign on the door informs them they are being filmed for the purposes of this documentary. A few celebrities like Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts show up to join in on the festivities. Gospel legend Clara Ward, one of Franklin\u2019s primary influences, makes an appearance as does her father C.L. Franklin, a Baptist minister who delivers a brief sermon singing his daughter\u2019s praises. In the film\u2019s most touching moment, he lovingly wipes the sweat from Aretha\u2019s face while she sings at the piano.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Amazing Grace<\/strong> is quite a technical achievement as well. The footage may be nearly a half a century old, but it looks as crisp and clean as if it was shot last week. That\u2019s due in no small part to the restoration efforts of Alan Elliott who took the helm following Pollack\u2019s death in 2008. You\u2019ll be happy to know that the sound and footage are in perfect sync. The colors aren\u2019t faded. There aren\u2019t even any scratches or skips on the film. Plus, you can feel the love that went into the making of what is still the best-selling gospel album of all time. It\u2019s palpable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Another big\/small moment is Rev. Cleveland, overcome with emotion, openly weeping on camera as Ms. Franklin sings the titular song. Amazing Grace<\/strong> also brims with energy. Hamilton\u2019s whole body, not just his arms, speaks a language only a choir understands. Cleveland knows how to play to the congregation and camera. People in the audience are taken over by the spirit of the Holy Ghost; one woman has to be restrained. The act of watching the movie is tiring itself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Then there\u2019s Aretha Franklin. What can I say? She is AWESOME! What a voice. She speaks only a few words in the movie. Mostly, she saves her voice for praising the Lord. I think it shows amazing humility on her part to return to her roots, to the environment in which she was raised and the form that fostered her love of music. After winning five Grammys and having 11 consecutive number one songs, this is how she shows her gratitude to the Lord. Well, I believe that Jesus is still smiling over this beautiful tribute to His glory. And I KNOW that you\u2019ll be smiling after you watch Amazing Grace<\/strong>. It made me feel good. That\u2019s the highest praise one can heap on such an inspirational film. Can I get an amen?\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazing Grace (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neon\/Documentary\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 87 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated G (nothing offensive)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: April 12, 2019 (Philadelphia, PA)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, Cornell Dupree, Kenny Luper, Poncho Morales, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, The Southern California Community Choir, C.L. Franklin, Clara Ward, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Sydney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-documentary"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Amazing-Grace-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6277"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6484,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6277\/revisions\/6484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}