A non-stop head-bobbing knee-bouncer.
Comment
07/24/09
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
Top CriticAli motormouth footage left over from When We Were Kings. Actually, this whole film was made from WWWK leftovers, we learn. But we manage to forget that detail whenever the music soars.
07/10/09
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
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...
08/28/09
Leon Gast's documentary When We Were Kings, about the 1974 Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, now has a great companion piece.
07/10/09
The movie is crisp and quick and looks as if it were shot yesterday, but for all that, Soul Power is ultimately disappointing.
07/24/09
A lively and entertaining documentary about a three-day concert of R & B music held in 1974 in Zaire, Africa.
07/09/09
A footnote to a masterpiece.
07/28/09
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
[Soul Power], even with its classic performers and songs, falls short of sparking the thrill it should.
07/09/09
In linking the legendary 1974 Rumble in the Jungle with the music festival that ran alongside it, we get a remarkable glimpse of the day's racial and political issues.
06/25/09
It doesn't disappoint. The line-up reads like a Who's Who of 70s soul and R&B. And the sound quality's shockingly good.
07/10/09
Capturing the site, the sounds, the smells, and the sweat of a major musical happening, Soul Power is irresistible.
07/10/09
James Brown and B.B. King anchor this footnote in boxing history, but the film peaks near the midpoint with Bill Withers' truly soulful performance of "Hope She'll Be Happier."
07/10/09
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.
07/30/09
Top CriticSeems destined to join classic concert films like Woodstock and Gimme Shelter in the musical archives for its ability to capture the feel of the times and really make you feel like you were there.
07/07/09
While Soul Power is bound to be compared to the Oscar-winning Ali/Foreman documentary When We Were Kings, it never scales the same heights.
07/10/09
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
The performances that Soul Power captures are so captivating, so exciting, that it holds its own...I defy anyone to sit still through this infectiously funky doc.
07/07/09
Brilliant archive footage and blistering live performances - an exhilarating concert film.
07/10/09
Latest News for Soul Power
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May 03, 2009:
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