Soul Power (2009)
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
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 3/4 |
B.B. King. Bill Withers. Miriam Makeba. Celia Cruz. And James Brown, earning every inch of the title, "Godfather of Soul," who all by himself probably deforested a few acres around Kinshasa with the volcanic blast of his set. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Does its part to widen this historic concert's potential audience base. Full Review |
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Watching Soul Power is like flipping through Polaroids of that era. The color is a little washed out and everyone looks amazingly young. Full Review |
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4/5 |
It's hard not to wish that maybe there was a little less of Muhammad Ali promoting himself and a little more of the concert. Full Review |
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87/100 |
...if you are a fan of any of the musicians ... or maybe I should say if you're completely unfamiliar with any of the musicians mentioned - then Soul Power is well worth seeing. Or at least hearing. Full Review |
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 2.5/4 |
For a documentary about a music festival, Soul Power doesn't include nearly enough music. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
The performances are fine, but this feels like a companion piece to 'When We Were Kings' rather than a work that can stand on its own... Full Review |
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2/4 |
Soul Power leaves you wanting more, and not in a good way. Full Review |
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B |
It's best seen as a breezy entertainment and a reminder of how potent some of these performers -- many of whom are dead -- were in their primes. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
It's impossible not to be moved. Full Review |
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B |
Ultimately it's the music that makes this film a cause for celebration -- especially the chance to see 'Soul Brother #1' James Brown and his blistering band perform at their absolute prime. Full Review |
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4/4 |
It packs the emotional and historical power of a heady 'family gathering' celebration of African and, to use the term then in fashion, Afro-American pride. Full Review |
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4/4 |
Soul Power is the indispensable companion film to Leon Gast's thrilling 1996 documentary When We Were Kings. Full Review |
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A footnote to a masterpiece. Full Review |
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4/4 |
Watching the Godfather of Soul on the big outdoor stage, you think back to his appearance in The T.A.M.I. Show a decade earlier. And then you think: I feel good. Full Review |
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3/5 |
The movie is crisp and quick and looks as if it were shot yesterday, but for all that, Soul Power is ultimately disappointing. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
A dazzling chronicle of the African American music expo that was meant to accompany the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight title bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Congo). Full Review |
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3/4 |
A non-stop head-bobbing knee-bouncer. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Soul Power
July 09, 2009:
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This week at the movies, we've got Austrian audacity (Bruno, starring Sacha Baron Cohen) and graduation gratification (I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring Hayden Panettiere and... More...
May 09, 2009:
Images of James Brown, Celia Cruz, B.B. King, Don King, Miriam Makeba from this star studded event 
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May 03, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
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