Muscle Shoals (2013)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 2
Essential for soul fans and entertaining for novices, Muscle Shoals offers a compelling, warts-and-all glimpse at one of the most fascinating stories in modern American music.
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1
Essential for soul fans and entertaining for novices, Muscle Shoals offers a compelling, warts-and-all glimpse at one of the most fascinating stories in modern American music.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.4/5
User Ratings: 297
Movie Info
MUSCLE SHOALS is a documentary about a place filled with magic and music, legend and folklore, where the river is inhabited by a Native American spirit who has lured some of the greatest Rock and Roll and Soul legends of all time, and drawn from them some of the most uplifting, defiant, and important music ever created. In Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music runs through the hills, the river, and the spirit of the people. It is a place where, even before the Civil Rights Movement really took shape,
Watch It Now
Cast
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (31) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (2)
"Muscle Shoals" is filled with great stories, characters and songs -- and, really, what else could you want from a music documentary?
Top CriticDo not leave the film until the last credit rolls by.
The film runs a tad long (just under two hours) and could stand another edit, but Mick, Keith, Bono and Aretha are on a roll, man.
Just as "Sweet Home Alabama" speaks for itself without revealing its meaning, so does this American story of ferment and feuding and amazing pop music.
[A] charming, reverently shot ramble.
It might have functioned even better as an hour-long TV documentary. But with such great music coming, one hit after after another, it's always a joy to watch.
[Camalier's] rambling love letter to a unique American sound is not only full of the beautiful landscapes and small town Americana which inspired it, it has an enveloping, beautiful heart.
Music docs with untold stories about unsung talents are an increasingly scarce commodity. But Muscle Shoals hits pay dirt with this vivid history of two recording studios that became crucial hotbeds of deep Southern soul and funky rock 'n' roll.
It all makes for a pretty glossy package and a treasure trove for music geeks, but there's a human angle to this story that will appeal to just about everyone.
The director wisely doesn't turn this into cavalcade of stars, keeping the focus as much on the man who built this hotbed of creativity and the musicians who played behind the household names.
Has funky magic in it. Ooh, baby, does it ever.
Director Greg Camalier weaves the interviews together as if he were making music, composing a film with storytelling rhythms and emotional chords. Soul aficionados will savour every beat
Music history at its elegiac best
The film mixes an impressive array of interviews with plentiful archival footage.
Ruminations on Native American legends and Helen Keller's water pump would be fine in an Alabama travelogue, but in 'Muscle Shoals?' Couldn't we please get back to "Mustang Sally?"
Featuring interviews with R&B and rock royalty while exploring the uniquely American sound that crossed racial boundaries, Muscle Shoals is oddly paced and tone-deaf to its own message at times, but still important viewing.
..Muscle Shoals and its presentation doesn't reinvent the wheel...the treasure trove of stills and found footage makes for a compelling and effortlessly watchable film that even the casual music fan should find themselves totally engrossed in.
A marvelous doc about the creation of the fabled Muscle Shoals Sound -- as powerful today as it was 50 years ago.
It's about music at its most primal and mystical essence, exploring the way the soul of a place seeps into and informs the sounds that come out of it.
Audience Reviews for Muscle Shoals
Discussion Forum
What's Hot On RT
New Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Naomi Watts is Princess Di
The Hangover 3, The Purge, and More
Trailer for a squirrely heist flick
See what's on TV tonight
Latest News on Muscle Shoals
September 27, 2013:
Critics Consensus: Rush and Don Jon Certified FreshThis week at the movies, we've got racing rivals (Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl);...
September 27, 2013:
Parental Guidance: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Baggage ClaimThis week, Christy breaks down the kid-friendly Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, as well as...
Fresh Links
Featured
Halloween Movies For Wimps
Scary movies too scary for you? Here are some alternatives for October 31st.
10 Best Superhero TV Shows
HitFix combs through TV history to compile a superpowered list.
Ridiculous Movie Mistakes
RollingStone proves even the best movies miss a details here and there.
Deadly Movie Kids
Moviefone lists 11 Movie Kids Who Could Kick Our Asses.
50 States, 50 Movies
For July 4th, TimeOut has compiled 50 state-specific movie choices.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Primetime Preview: Supernatural, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and More 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Hangover Part III, The Purge, and More 11
- Primetime Preview: Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow and More 0
- NYFF: Joaquin Phoenix and James Gray talk The Immigrant 2
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Gravity Stuns with Record $55M Launch 80
- Primetime Preview: Witches of East End, Once Upon a Time and More 4
- Weekly Ketchup: Disney Plans Live Action Cruella de Vil Movie 37
Top Headlines
-
Fox Animated Series, ABC Comedies Tumble in Sunday Ratings
0
-
Bong Joon-ho Reportedly "Furious" About Snowpiercer Cuts
0
-
Record-Setting Number of Films Competing in Foreign-Language Oscar Race
0
-
Woody Allen Cancels Blue Jasmine's India Premiere
1
-
Lionsgate Wants Gary Ross and Jennifer Lawrence's Burial Rites
1
-
ABC Plans Kevin Hart-Inspired Series
0
-
The Shining's Danny Torrance Is All Grown Up
1
