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Soul Power



Soul Power is a vérité documentary – compiled entirely from footage shot in 1974 – of the astonishing back-to-Africa 3-day music festival “Zaire ‘74”. It was held in Kinshasa ahead of the biggest boxing event of all time: the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle”. Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, editor of Leon Gast’s Oscar®-winning (Best Documentary) When We Were Kings, and sourced from the same archival pool, Soul Power features a legendary line-up of African and African-diaspora musicians – all of whom are at the very peak of their creative powers.

Alongside Ali’s wit and wisdom – profoundly lyrical in its own right – vibrant street scenes of downtown Kinshasa, and “fly-on-the-wall” footage of the festival’s staging, rehearsals, and jams, the three nights of concerts (lensed by Albert Maysles and a host of other legendary cameramen) offer electrifying performances by James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Sister Sledge, Miriam Makeba, The Spinners, Big Black, The Crusaders, Celia Cruz, and many more.

The concert has achieved mythological significance as the definitive Africa(n)-American musical event of the 20th Century and only now, after years of painstaking restoration – legal wrangling prevented an edit and release at the time of filming – Soul Power joins the pantheon of concert film classics, taking its place alongside others of the late-1960s and early-1970s, including Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Gimme Shelter, Soul to Soul, and Wattstax. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Soul Power for home viewing in the UK for the very first time.

Special Features

• New high-definition transfer of the film
• Exclusive video interview with the director, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
• 30 minutes of deleted behind-the-scenes footage
• Extra concert performances by James Brown, Sister Sledge, the Pointer Sisters, and others
• Optional SDH subtitles for the hard of hearing
• 36-page full-colour booklet featuring archival publicity stills, a director’s statement, and a compilation of reminiscences by the “Zaire ‘74” organisers and performers

peerpee wrote:Official trailer

Premiere at Glastonbury Festival in June!

This looks roughly like it has the potential to be the coolest documentary ever.

I love that MoC branches out into music documentaries and the trailer for this has me intrigued. If the film doesn't come to Edinburgh, I'll blind buy the DVD (due out before year's end, Nick?).

DVD and Blu-ray in November. Theatrical rollout after Glastonbury, in July/Aug/Sep.

You might have a Blu-ray player by then Mr. Finch? The Blu-ray package will have a thicker, better book.

Nick, I can't afford to go Blu and to be honest, I'm not tempted in spite of the offerings by MoC, CC and the BFI. I don't want to double-dip on so many films in my collection yet again and am quite happy with the look of most upscaled SD DVDs (even though I am aware that the plasma screen I have is large enough to fully appreciate the higher resolution of Blu-Ray). Looking forward to seeing the film eventually (and on DVD).

My wife came across this in the Entertainment Weekly (for summer releases) and I was most intrigued by it. Even if I miss it theatrically (which I more than likely will) I'll be picking up this Blu-ray.

Like a lost Wattstax, which happens to be one of my favorite films ever.
So this film was made just using archive footage?

In 1974, the most celebrated American R&B acts of the time came together with the most renowned musical groups in Southern Africa for a 12-hour, three-night long concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire. The pipe dream of musician Hugh Masekela and producer Stewart Levine, this music festival became a reality when they convinced boxing promoter Don King to combine the event with "The Rumble in the Jungle", the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, previously chronicled in the Academy Award winning documentary "When We Were Kings".

"Soul Power" is a verité documentary, entirely composed of footage shot in 1974 at the legendary music festival (dubbed "Zaire '74"). It shows the experiences and performances of such musical luminaries as James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, among a host of others. At the peak of their talents and the height of their careers, these artists were inspired by this return to their African roots, as well as the enthusiasm of the Zairian audience, to give the performances of their lives. The concert has achieved mythological significance as the definitive Africa(n)-American musical event of the 20th Century.

"Soul Power" has been crafted from the extensive footage which remained after the making of "When We Were Kings", which famously documented the epic title fight, but only briefly touched upon the Zaire '74 music festival. This footage has remained vaulted for the past 35 years, unused, unseen, until now. Lensed primarily by celebrated cinematographers Albert Maysles (GIMME SHELTER, GREY GARDENS), Paul Goldsmith (RUST NEVER SLEEPS), Kevin Keating (HARLAN COUNTY USA), and Roderick Young (WATTSTAX), "Soul Power" finally provides today's audience the opportunity to experience this historic musical event in all of its magnificent, filmed glory, restored in HD and with incredible sound quality. An unbridled musical journey for the ages.

MOC has now apparently incurred the wrath of YouTube

Let's hope this is just some sort of misunderstanding, as Nick's YouTube account--now suspended, apparently--was a great resource for MoC trailers.

The trailer is here, on Eureka's YouTube account and the 720p and 1080p Sony trailer is at Apple Trailers now.

Officially really interested in this one after watching the trailer.

I'm not sure who exactly is in the picture in the review for Soul Power, but I'm pretty sure it isn't James Brown. Or anyone else who was at Zaire '74 for that matter.

Eureka have a Twitter account specifically for this film.

Premiere at Glastonbury Festival next month, and then other UK theatrical dates are being announced in July/Aug/Sept. Extremely enthusiastic and amazing reviews across the board. Lots happening! Dedicated microsite.

...spine #7 for the Blu Ray, but 87 for the DVD.

So what are Blu-rays spines 4, 5, and 6?

I recall a similar All-Star Concert film, set in Ghana, I believe: 'Soul To Soul'
I only got to see a part of it, from a tv recording, but it would be interesting to see how they compare.

I suspect the performances may not be up to scratch, due to lower expectations, and the nature of the event

Nick, any idea if the Blu-ray will be region-free?

That's the plan. We haven't started authoring it yet, the director's finishing off the extras.

peerpee wrote: You might have a Blu-ray player by then Mr. Finch? The Blu-ray package will have a thicker, better book.

Thankfully I'm not interested in this film so this doesn't really affect me now but if is a trend you plan on continuing for other films you will have lost yourself a customer.

CorstenoftheFunk wrote: Thankfully I'm not interested in this film so this doesn't really affect me now but if is a trend you plan on continuing for other films you will have lost yourself a customer.

because no book at all is better than a book that is thinner than another book? They are trying to push a superior format, I don't see the need to try to punish them for this.

We decided a few weeks ago on the packaging moving forward. No Blu-ray will have a bigger or better booklet than the DVD version of the same. So don't worry.

Who is producing the extras? Will Sony and MoC have the same bonus materials (sans booklet)?