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November 21, 2018 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 7 Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: ‘Amazing Grace’ Follows Live Recording of the Best- selling Gospel Album of All Time PHOTOS COURTESY OF AL’S RECORDS AND TAPES thing.” Behind his pulpit is The Southern Califor- nia Community Choir, directed by Alexander Hamilton. The singers have more enthusiasm than fans at a Beyoncé concert. On the side of the pulpit, Franklin’s band warms up: Gui- tar: Cornell Dupree. Or- gan: Kenny Luper. Per- cussion: Pancho Morales. In Amazing Grace, Aretha is a conduit who channels a spirit from above into the hearts of those who listen. With the premiere and distribution of this film, she can do that for eternity. By Dwight Brown NNPA News Wire Film Critic B ack in the day, if you couldn’t get to church on Sunday to hear the pas- tor’s sermon, you’d put on Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace” album, the best-selling gospel record of all time, and she would give you your spiritual fix. After a long delay, and its share of controversy, this uplift- ing documentary that preserved her live re- cording of that album is finding distribution. It’s as if Franklin is sending a message to us from the great beyond. Thank heaven. With the best of inten- tions, director Sydney Pollack and his crew filmed the Queen of Soul Review cont’d from pg 6 the apprehension and imprisonment in New York City of the evil Gel- lert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). However, while being transported across the proverbial pond to Europe, the dark wizard escapes his captors with the help of his minions. Next thing you know, he’s hatching a diabolical plot to establish a new world order by breed- ing a race of pure-blood witches and wizards to rule over all “muggles,” aka ordinary people. Ultimately, the hope for saving humanity will rest on the shoulders of the picture’s protagonist, Newt Salamander (Eddie Redmayne). This good wizard is a as she performed over two days, January 2nd and 3rd, at the New Tem- ple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los An- geles in 1972. The smooth transition from her live recording to the now historic double album culminated with a Gram- my Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance. The making of the docu- mentary traveled a much rougher road. Apparent- ly, Pollack and his crew had problems syncing the sound. It was a chal- lenge that didn’t get re- solved until producer Alan Elliot bought the rights from Pollack in 2007. Elliott then had two problems to solve. 1.) Fix the technical hitches and make a cohesive docu- mentary. 2.) Overcome Franklin’s resistance; she successfully sued to stop the distribution of the film in 2011 and 2015. After she passed away, her estate gave permis- sion for the film to be re- leased, and it premiered at the DOC NYC Film Festival in New York on Monday November 12, 2018. So, was it worth the wait? The master of ceremo- nies at the recording ses- sion is the legendary Rev- erend James Cleveland, whose rich baritone is somewhere between the soulful tones of Barry White and Teddy Pen- dergrass. Cleveland in- troduces the lady of soul with such reverence that you’d think a queen was walking into his church. And she is. Says the rev- erend with great pride: “She can sing anything. ‘Three Blind Mice.’ Any- “magizooligist,” mean- ing he has an army of supernatural animals at his disposal. Trouble is, Newt has been grounded by the British Ministry of Magic since inadvertent- ly making such an em- barrassing mess in the Big Apple during FB1. Following a successful appeal of the harsh sen- tence, the unassuming hero’s wand and travel rights are restored, set- ting in motion a series of events leading to an inevitable showdown with the megalomani- acal Grindelwald. Still, the deliberately-paced tale takes a number of nostalgic detours prior to the monumental clash of good vs. evil, thanks to Newt’s fervent desire to remain neutral. So, we’re first treated to a string of extraneous subplots, like distract- ing sidebars revolving around reunions with Professor Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Newt’s old flame, Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz). Diehard fans of the franchise are apt to appreciate such time-filling folderol while average audience members might grow in- creasingly impatient for the visually-captivating action sequences. Overall, FB2 proves to be an entertaining ep- isode ending on an en- gaging enough note to keep you curious about the next offering in J.K. Rowling’s incomparable Wizarding World series. Very Good HHH Rated PG-13 for action Running time: 134 min. “ written and formerly sung by Marvin Gaye “Wholy Holy.” Then “How I Got Over” rocks the church to its core. The gospel standard “Precious Memories” is so solemn it could bring tears to anyone’s eyes. Playfully she blends the Carol King song “You’ve Got A Friend” with the very traditional “Pre- cious Lord (Take My The smooth transition from her live recording to the now historic double album culminated with a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance. The making of the documentary traveled a much rougher road Drums: Bernard Pur- die Bass: Chuck Rainey. The audience is a mix of parishioners, music fans and some well-known guests: Clara Ward, Are- tha’s father Reverend C.L. Franklin, along with Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones. Franklin floats into the room with an aura befit- ting Cleopatra. At the pi- ano or standing in front of a mic on the podium, she launches into classic and contemporary gos- pel songs that show her versatility and musician- ship. Her voice is at the peak of its powers. Clear. Piercing. Emotional. Divine. She settles into a modern gospel song Hand),” displaying an equal feel for pop and gospel stylings. Easily the most dramat- ic performance from the two days of singing has got be her intense ren- dition of “Mary Don’t You Weep.” It’s a classic spiritual that dates back to the Civil War when it was sung by slaves as a coded message that said that times will get bet- ter, oppressors will get their due, persevere and resist. In lyrics that the overseers could not fully understand, the chorus goes: “(Soloist) Pharaoh’s army. (Choir) Pharaoh’s army. (Soloist) I know you know that story of how they got drowned in the sea one day, oh Friday, Nov. 23rd Saturday, Nov. 24th Sunday, Nov. 25th Saturday & Sunday Friday plus Saturday OR Sunday All 3 Days yeah. (Choir) Drown in the Red Sea.” Franklin caresses the melody and draws extra meaning out of every word of a song that became popular again during the ‘60s civ- il rights movement. There’s more on view than just a memorable performance by one of America’s most famous vocalists. Also on ex- hibit is a musical form that has been an integral part of the black com- munity since Africans first arrived in America. What audiences witness, through song and on dis- play, is a rich resilient culture that has an unde- niable affinity with mu- sic. Also, the love on view in this house of worship in Watts is not unique. It plays out on Sundays in black churches all over the country. It’s a con- tinuous affirmation of customs. A spiritual call- ing. A communion with neighbors. And a front row seat to the evolution of black gospel music that started in fields and has grown into a very so- phisticated art form with choirs, instruments and amplification. Spirituals have come a long way. Kudos to Alan Elliott for managing and bring- ing to fruition a creative process that has stymied others for years. He does his best, considering some of the original foot- age is out of focus. Editor Jeff Buchanan magical- ly weaves together the performances, anec- See GRACE on page 11 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Sat. OR Sun., 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Sat. & Sun., 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $50 $75 $75 $125 $110 $150
