Film Review: Amazing Grace

However, it’s important to point out that Aretha doesn’t sing Think, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman or the feminist anthem Respect here because this is all about religious tunes, from Marvin Gaye’s Wholy [sic] Holy and Mary Don’t You Weep, to What A Friend We Have In Jesus and a long, lovely take on the titular standard.

Filmed over two nights at Los Angeles’ New Temple Missionary Baptist Church back in 1972 as the live album was recorded, this was originally directed, in its raw form, by the great Sydney Pollack (1934 – 2008), who can be seen with his crew in various shots (and usually trying to get out of them). Pollack, despite becoming one of the most important modern American directors after this (he helmed They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Three Days Of The Condor, Tootsie, Out Of Africa and many more classics), rather messed up the soundtrack and was therefore actually part of the reason why this was never properly finished and remained in a vault until Alan Elliott started working at putting the 20 hours of footage together back in 2007.

With a blessing from the dying Pollack and the help of a host of producers (including Spike Lee, of course), Elliott was granted access to all the materials, although the end product took years to be properly released, due to Franklin’s own concerns. But why she was unhappy with the film isn’t clear: sure, she often looks strained and sweaty, but she’s singing with huge power and emotion, so no wonder she appears so intense. Maybe she was embarrassed by her range of groovy 70s pantsuits and fur coats?

Introduced by Reverend James Edward Cleveland and with the backing of an often euphoric Southern California Community Choir, Aretha doesn’t speak onstage between songs, but is instead seen chatting during early rehearsals. This was surely due to the audio recording, but her audience (all fabulously done up with big bellbottoms, wide collars and pastel finery) don’t have any qualms about making noise, and are frequently seen dancing themselves into frenzies and mugging happily for the camera. One even seems to go into a trance, which is perfectly understandable.

Trivia points worth mentioning: Franklin at one point sings The Old Landmark, which her co-star James Brown performed in The Blues Brothers before her own show-stopping bit, and Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts are seen (out of focus at first) trying to be incognito at the back of the crowd (interestingly, they were working on their own gospel-infused Exile On Main Street album around this time). And when her father, Baptist Minister Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, delivers a slightly smug speech late on he seems to be more concerned with talking about himself than his daughter, who’s the reason why he’s there.

But no matter, because all these years later no one can deny that she’s a god’s honest legend. How sweet the sound – and can I get me an amen?

Amazing Grace (G) is in cinemas now