A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 15 nominations
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self - Choir Director
- (archive footage)
- Self - Guitar
- (archive footage)
- Self - Organ
- (archive footage)
- Self - Percussion
- (archive footage)
- Self - Drums
- (archive footage)
- (as Bernard Purdie)
- Self - Bass
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Themselves - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Self - The Southern California Community Choir
- (archive footage)
- Directors
- Alan Elliott(realized by)
- Sydney Pollack(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Sydney Pollack was totally inexperienced in shooting music documentary and shot without clapper boards snapping shut at the beginning of each take to help synchronize sound and picture in post-production. As a result of this mistake, even after months of work by experts, the 20 hours of footage couldn't be synchronized with the audio tracks. The choir director from the Watts recordings was brought in to try to lip-read the reels, but after months of work, only about 150 minutes of footage had been matched with sound, none of it adding up to a complete, useable song. Deadlines passed as the "Amazing Grace" album came out in June 1972, selling millions with no synergy. In August, Warner Bros. officially wrote off and shelved the movie. Pollack never gave up on the project, but constantly had other commitments. In 2007, dying of cancer, Pollack finally handed the documentary project over to producer and music enthusiast Alan Elliott.
- Quotes
Rev. Franklin: I went in the cleaners one day in Detroit to pick up some clothes, and Aretha had appeared on a recent television show. And she told me, "I saw your daughter Aretha last night." I said, "Yes? How did you like it?" She said, "It was all right. But I'll be glad when she comes back to the church." I said, "Listen baby, let me tell you something. If you want to know the truth, she has never left the church."
- Crazy creditsThe film concludes with a 1972-era Warner Bros. ending card, even though WB technically no longer has any ties to the film, to suggest how it would have played out had the project been completed and released when initially intended.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema: Pop Music Movies (2021)
In this documentary by Sydney Pollack, one can see noted people like Mick Jagger seated in the church audience. The interaction of professional studio technicians with actual church goers have an unnerving feel, in the end via Aretha's vocals made them come together. There's a short appearance of Aretha's father, Rev. Franklin who gives a small insight to her childhood.
It's just a wonderful time capsule that has been unearthed for a digital generation to appreciate this musical form. Aretha sings from another plane and sits naturally in this church/recording session like her father says in the film that Aretha Franklin NEVER left the church.
- babyjaguar
- Apr 17, 2019
- How long is Amazing Grace?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Чудова ласка
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,450,456
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $57,353
- Dec 9, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $7,796,112
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1