Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith.Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith.Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Willie Mae Ford Smith
- Self
- (as Willie May Ford Smith)
Billie Barrett GreenBey
- Self
- (as Billie Greenbey)
Rodessa Barrett Porter
- Self
- (as Rhodessa Porter)
Frank Campbell
- Self
- (as Rev. Frank W. Campbell)
Melvin Smotherson
- Self
- (as Rev. Melvin Smotherson)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilm Critic Roger Ebert listed this as the 8th best film of 1983.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Crix Pick Prez Flix (1993)
Featured review
See This Movie, Somebody!
Say Amen Somebody caught my attention when I found film critic Roger Ebert's 4/4 star review of it. Not only did he give it his highest rating, but he also called it the 8th best movie of 1983.
Christian based movies are my favorite genre of film(The Prince of Egypt and The Apostle are included, Noah and God's Not Dead are NOT), so the acclaim and the subject matter intrigued me.
However, it wasn't available on Amazon and in most places online it's expensive to get on DVD, due to it's rarity. However, the channel TCM(Turner Classic Movies) played it today at Noon Michigan Time as a celebration of Juneteenth. And to TCM, I owe a huge amount of gratitude. This is now my favorite documentary and one of the best religious films I have ever seen.
Say Amen Somebody is a documentary about black Gospel singers(in fact if there were any white people in this film, they were in the background), and the focus is mainly on 2 big names in Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith. We hear much of their beautiful music and hear stories about their lives.
One powerful aspect of SAS is the music. In fact, the movie is at it's best when the Gospel Singers are performing! Dorsey at one point tells us how he was inspired to write Take My Hand, Precious Lord and how often his churches sing that now. (On a related note, Elvis made that song quite popular as well.) Near the end, the congregation sings Jesus Loves Me.
My upbringing with church music is more traditional and modern worship, but Gospel music...not so much. As a result, most of these songs were new to me. I'd have to listen to the music more for it to be stuck in my head, but I did enjoy many of the songs, such as Jesus Dropped The Charges and I'm His Child.
When there isn't any singing, which is less often then you would expect, we hear the life stories of Dorsey and Smith, and a few other Gospel singers. Especially near the end, when Dorsey needs a walker and his health deteriorates, and must decide if he is going to be at a Gospel convention. SAS is proof that documentaries can be as much of an effective drama as a movie with a narrative.
SAS is also well paced, and time flies. It's only 100 minutes long, but it seemed to be only an hour or so. I was so invested that time wasn't an issue in any way.
The film is also very joyous and uplifting. Ebert even began his written review by calling it "The most joyous movie I've seen in a long time." The singing and conclusion is such a delight that I even wanted to stand up with my hands in the air. Non-Christians could possibly see this movie and praise God due to how infectious the mood of the film is.
Say Amen Somebody is therefore a joyous and uplifting documentary that needs more attention. Even if you are not a Christian, I still highly recommend it, because as long as you have emotions, religious belief is not required to thoroughly enjoy and be moved by this movie. I only wish it were more available.
TCM- please play this more(on Easter would be awesome) and Criterion or other distributors, please make it more accessible on DVD. Simply put, see this movie- somebody!
11/24/21 Update: As of last month, it has been available on Amazon through The Milestone Cinematheque. My gratitude goes to them for that! :)
Christian based movies are my favorite genre of film(The Prince of Egypt and The Apostle are included, Noah and God's Not Dead are NOT), so the acclaim and the subject matter intrigued me.
However, it wasn't available on Amazon and in most places online it's expensive to get on DVD, due to it's rarity. However, the channel TCM(Turner Classic Movies) played it today at Noon Michigan Time as a celebration of Juneteenth. And to TCM, I owe a huge amount of gratitude. This is now my favorite documentary and one of the best religious films I have ever seen.
Say Amen Somebody is a documentary about black Gospel singers(in fact if there were any white people in this film, they were in the background), and the focus is mainly on 2 big names in Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith. We hear much of their beautiful music and hear stories about their lives.
One powerful aspect of SAS is the music. In fact, the movie is at it's best when the Gospel Singers are performing! Dorsey at one point tells us how he was inspired to write Take My Hand, Precious Lord and how often his churches sing that now. (On a related note, Elvis made that song quite popular as well.) Near the end, the congregation sings Jesus Loves Me.
My upbringing with church music is more traditional and modern worship, but Gospel music...not so much. As a result, most of these songs were new to me. I'd have to listen to the music more for it to be stuck in my head, but I did enjoy many of the songs, such as Jesus Dropped The Charges and I'm His Child.
When there isn't any singing, which is less often then you would expect, we hear the life stories of Dorsey and Smith, and a few other Gospel singers. Especially near the end, when Dorsey needs a walker and his health deteriorates, and must decide if he is going to be at a Gospel convention. SAS is proof that documentaries can be as much of an effective drama as a movie with a narrative.
SAS is also well paced, and time flies. It's only 100 minutes long, but it seemed to be only an hour or so. I was so invested that time wasn't an issue in any way.
The film is also very joyous and uplifting. Ebert even began his written review by calling it "The most joyous movie I've seen in a long time." The singing and conclusion is such a delight that I even wanted to stand up with my hands in the air. Non-Christians could possibly see this movie and praise God due to how infectious the mood of the film is.
Say Amen Somebody is therefore a joyous and uplifting documentary that needs more attention. Even if you are not a Christian, I still highly recommend it, because as long as you have emotions, religious belief is not required to thoroughly enjoy and be moved by this movie. I only wish it were more available.
TCM- please play this more(on Easter would be awesome) and Criterion or other distributors, please make it more accessible on DVD. Simply put, see this movie- somebody!
11/24/21 Update: As of last month, it has been available on Amazon through The Milestone Cinematheque. My gratitude goes to them for that! :)
helpful•10
- filmbuff-05706
- Jun 19, 2021
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,108,299
- Gross worldwide
- $1,108,299
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