Acclaimed reclamation of six Harlem park concerts from the summer of 1969 both legendary and forgotten. Put together 50+ years late by Questlove, working from hundreds of hours of warehoused footage, blanket praise for the film only seems justified in the last third when the acts, as if in response to the concurrent first man landing on the moon, a nearly meaningless event to many in the audience, take a decided political turn. Not that what comes before is without interest, especially some Gospel material including a priceless scene where a tired Mahalia Jackson lets someone take a first chorus, only to completely annihilate the over-parted singer on the second. On a sour note, current commentary from surviving performers, audience members & critics show a typical condescending attitude toward MOTOWN. (Like a French intellectual's inbred disdain at merely having to pronounce bourgeoisie.) Questlove’s selections also suspect. Thirty seconds of the great Moms Mabley? Surprisingly, a lot of the acts wouldn’t be off limits on tv variety shows of the day. Maybe on a week Diana Ross hosted THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE. (True story: when Bob Hope got to shoot the very first US tv special from Mainland China after the Richard Nixon visit, Hope’s idea for an appropriate use of The Great Wall had The Fifth Dimension lip-synch ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ up there.) And Questlove’s newly shot interviews? Not much different or deeper than class reunion gush. The final third can’t come soon enough! Starting with a career advancing/coming-of-age set from Stevie Wonder; a shockingly good Sly and the Family Stone; and finally Nina Simone in fierce mode. Inflammatory then and now, and all the more interesting for it. Perhaps a different cut of the material would prove revelatory.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: When the sponsors and film makers back in ‘69 couldn’t interest anyone in the material, they tried pushing it as a Black Woodstock (WOODSTOCK all the rage just then) and still found no takers. WOODSTOCK, released in a 3-hr cut in 1970, had the dramatic advantage of being an on-site catastrophe. No such drama here, just a wildly enthusiastic audience. OR: Another reclamation from the period, the all Gospel Aretha Franklin concert AMAZING GRACE//’18. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/03/amazing-grace-1972-2018.html
1 comment:
This film is a lot of fun but I do think there are a few justifiable quibbles. The claim that it was never seen before is not accurate, as two separate one-hour specials using performances shot at this series of six concerts were aired soon after they took place on CBS and then ABC (though it's not entirely clear if these were just on local NY stations or nationally). And the fact that it was shot on videotape (way before HD quality existed), rather than film, indicated that it was only intended for broadcast in the first place, rather than release as a feature-length film like Woodstock. Also, while very well done and enjoyable to watch, there are not many complete song performances and it would seem a great incentive to sell DVDs to put complete sets of many of the performers on as a bonus. Perhaps there were licensing issues or the like, but when compared to the expanded editions of iconic music documentaries like Woodstock or Monterey Pop which offer hours of outtakes, not bringing the full concerts to the public seems like a real missed opportunity.
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