Soul power (The Film)

Hi,

I went to the Showroom in Sheffield to see the film "Soul Power". This is a superb documentary of a concert set in Zaire in 1974. This took place before the Ali/Foreman fight, which was also staged in Zaire. The fight, The Rumble in the Jungle" was big news at the time. It was Ali's fight where he retained the world heavyweight championship.

Stewart Levine was a record producer who along with Hugh Masekela, an African Jazz artist and Boxing promoter Don King, wanted to produce a big show in Africa. They wanted the best black artists to perform as part of the festival.

The whole event was filmd as part of the film "When we were kings". Most of the concert footage was edited out as that film focused on Ali and the fight. But the missing bits have been put together to create a record of the whole event.

The film starts will the organisation in the US of the event. It shows press conferences and the flight over to Africa. It shows the logistic nightmare involved in getting the show set up in Zaire.

The film features killer performances from James Brown, BB King, Detroit Spinners, The Crusaders, Celia Cruz and the Fania All-stars, Sister Sledge and Miriam Makeb. Thiere is plenty of quaality African sounds on offer. Also plenty of natty fashions on offer.

There is excellent footage of Ali before the big fight. Some very funny bits. It shows James Brown at the top of his game. He play the "Goldfather" role well. There is plenty of behind the scene action which is good to see.

I very much enjoyed it.

The film is on a limited release but will be on DVD later on this year. (November) It is playing at selected cinermas around the country untill the new year. The two links will give full details about film and where it is showing.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/soulpower/

http://www.soulpowerfilm.co.uk/

SCIDB

 

I did go to see it and it was GREAT. If you missed it try and get the DVD, although it won't be the same.