This documentary about Shane McGowan, singer/songwriter/frontman of The Progues, is described as ‘raw and unflinching’, and is slated to ‘shed new light’ on the edgy punk-folk rocker. McGowan and his band enjoyed global fame in the 1980s, and Temple’s film combines archive and new material: interviews, footage of family life, concerts, as well the customary talking heads. The director’s other films include The Great Rock and Roll Swindle (1982), The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball, and Absolute Beginners, so much is expected.
Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy – hit-makers extraordinaire Photo: Altitude
Hitsville: The Making of Motown Dir. Benjamin Turner & Gabe Turner, Documentary.
The creation of Tamla Motown Records by the visionary music guru Berry Gordy is one of the most epic success stories of the twentieth century. It has been told many times and in many splendid ways: on film, stage (on Broadway, and for the past three years in London’s West End), and on TV…
This new doc purports to chronicle the ‘astronomical success and enduring cultural impact’ of the label, and was made to celebrate the brand’s 60th anniversary in 2019. It claims to have the full blessing of Gordy, and as far as documentary and objectivity go, this could mean it’s a vanity project. But, Hitsville is ram-jammed with the upbeat, inspirational, transformational music that defined a generation, so that will soon be forgiven and forgotten.
Besides, the whole Motown Family is featured, with interviews and performances from the likes of Martha Reeves, Mary Wilson, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, as well as Gordy and his sideman Smokey Robinson, plus admirers and commentators like Jamie Foxx and Dr. Dre.
R&VFF dreams of screening Hitsville alongside the fantastic Standing in the Shadows of Motown (Dir. Paul Justman, 2002), which told the story of The Funk Brothers, the Motown band behind the chart-topping sounds at the label’s music factory in Detroit, before Gordy Pied-Pipered the brand to LA – leaving the band behind.
R&V is on the good foot as a supported partner in the BFI’s Musicals season, celebrating musical films across the UK. https://www.bfi.org.uk/musicals
Our programme, Bright & Beautiful: A Black Musical Heritage Reviewwill showcase vintage musicals Cabin in the Sky (1943), Carmen Jones (1954), and Dreamgirls (2006). We’ll feature celebrities of yesteryear: Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Dorothy Dandridge, and Harry Belafonte, plus newbies like Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson.
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