This has no contextual structure at all. It is essentially the archive footage slapped together.
Comment
07/13/09
Soul Power (2009)
84
%
Tomatometer
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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:Jul 10, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $23,893
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
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Reviews for Soul Power
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
The movie is surprisingly dry and flavorless. It certainly doesn't help that filmmaker Jeffrey Levy-Hinte put this collection of footage together without any narration and with a bare minimum of narrative captions.
09/03/09
Documentary about the three-day music festival preceding the famous Ali-Foreman fight has its moments, but plays too much like what it is: outtakes from the Oscar-winning When We Were Kings.
06/17/09
As the record of a cultural event, Soul Power is a hit-and-miss affair.
07/17/09
Top CriticWhile there's an awful lot to like about this infectious celebration of a remarkable event featuring some superb, larger-than-life performers at the top of their game, the enterprise comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity.
02/13/09
The sporadic appearances by Ali hopelessly unbalance the proceedings, his fiercely outspoken interviews providing the only morsels of substance.
05/03/09
[Soul Power], even with its classic performers and songs, falls short of sparking the thrill it should.
07/09/09
A footnote to a masterpiece.
07/28/09
Conscientiously, if conventionally edited re-hash of the Oscar-winning "We Were Kings."
07/13/09
Offers a vivid glimpse of a fascinating moment in musical history, racial politics and global pop culture.
07/10/09
Top CriticSome fascinating behind-the-scenes footage and some astonishing performances.
07/10/09
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
Soul Power turns out to be an unusually resonant time capsule, one that weaves together theatrics, musicianship, cosmopolitanism and sharp political critique in a vibrant look-back that's at once celebratory and wistful.
08/14/09
Unseen for 35 years, its spectacle is undimmed, and you can pick many highlights.
07/10/09
Passionate fans of the music will relish these archived images while regular moviegoers will be entertained, but not moved by what they see.
07/13/09
documents the bass line running under the absurdly politicized, hyper-kinetic boxing match that found Muhammed Ali facing off against then-titan George Forman
07/09/09
In addition to the expected shots of Ali and Don King in all their megalomania, the intimate portraits of James Brown, Bill Withers, and B.B. King in his triumphant homecoming are as powerful as their performances.
07/16/09
Soul Power is worth seeing -- and hearing -- for the evocation of an era and above all, for the exuberant and infectious performances.
07/09/09
Latest News for Soul Power
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May 09, 2009:
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May 03, 2009:
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