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Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (2007)

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19 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Superbly done documentary, 17 June 2007

Author: (normangelman@verizon.net) from Washington, D.C.

Although not yet scheduled for general release, "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" is a must-see for anyone who has ever heard Pete Seeger sing or admired him for his work to clean up the Hudson River or loved/hated him for his opposition to the Vietnam War and his efforts to promote integration. More than anyone else, Pete Seeger was responsible for the folk revival of the 1960's, as is attested in interviews with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Arlo Guthrie and other leading figures of the time. The film, much of it archival material from various stages in Pete's career, is filled with song and also provides a rounded portrait of Seeger's life, including the long years when he was blacklisted for his political views and his refusal to yield to the demands of the House Un-American Activities Committee that he take a loyalty oath. Seeger acknowledges that he was a card-carrying Communist until "around 1948," though he insists that his views are and were solidly rooted in American values. The songs which Seeger wrote (like "Turn, Turn, Turn...to Everything there is a Season" and "Where are All the Flowers Gone") or made famous (like "We Shall Overcome") are heard in clips from the time, and there are many scenes with Seeger still vigorous in his mid-80s at the home he built with his own hands decades earlier. His wife, Toshi, his children, his siblings appear in person and there are numerous clips featuring Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the young Joan Baez as well as Pete himself as a member first of the Almanac Singers and later of the Weavers. The "lost years" when Pete was blacklisted and eked out a living by touring college campuses, teaching a generation of musicians to play the banjo and singing to school children are also covered in detail. The hour-and-a-half this documentary is on screen flies by quickly and -- for those old enough to remember -- is a nostalgic walk through the life and career of the man whom many consider to be the premier folksinger of the age.

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Patriot, Gentleman,and an American Original: Pete Seeger, 16 September 2007

Author: Bob from United States

Since childhood, I've been a fan of folk music. Before the Beatles, I was not a rock-n-roller. I was a folkie. So the documentary, "Pete Seeger: The Power of Music," was a must-see film.

This film was every bit as good as I thought it would be. It covers both Seeger's music and the politics that both inspired and was inspired by it.

Being a lefty, I am sympathetic to Seeger's humanistic politics. But the music, oh the music, is so wonderful. The film reminds us why Pete was as important to twentieth-century music as the Tin Pan Alley composers and musicians (the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, et al), the R&B/rockers (Little Richard, Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, et al), and all the folkies he inspired (Bob Dylan; Peter, Paul, and Mary; the Kingston Trio, et al).

If this film comes to your town, go and see it. Something magical is likely to happen when you do. You will suddenly hear people in the audience do something unheard of in a movie theater. You will hear them singing along. And rather than being annoying, the gentle harmonies will embrace you like your favorite warm jammies on a cold winter night.

Enjoy! (9.5 out of 10)

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
This Pete Seeger documentary is excellent in most every way, 7 April 2008

Author: tavm from Baton Rouge, La.

Just watched this on "American Masters" and all I've got to say is: What a great documentary on a great man! What a chronicle of Seeger's journey in music and activism from playing and riding with Woody Guthrie to going overseas to getting married to singing first with the Almanacs and then The Weavers to getting blacklisted for his views on the public stage and network television to getting invited on the Smothers Brothers show and being allowed to sing the anti-war song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" to having annual concerts on saving the Hudson River from pollution to getting various awards late in his life (like the presidential medal from Bill Clinton and the Kennedy Center Honors) to just enjoying life, this is one of the most life-affirming and enjoyable music documentaries I've ever seen. As another one of his songs goes, "To everything turn, turn, turn"...indeed!

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A True Life Affirming Movie, 13 December 2007

Author: Seamus2829 from United States

Even if you consider yourself not the greatest maven of (sic)"folk music", Pete Seeger:The Power Of Song' is a must see. We find the multi layered Mr. Seeger the perfect subject of this, or any other documentary of it's kind. We delve into the young Seeger, and what turned him onto the wide world of American roots music,and how he's become one of the last great folk troubadours (after Woody Guthrie,whom he lived & worked with in the late 1930's). Jim Brown's film features a treasure trove of concert footage, including some rarely seen footage with his most famed group, The Weavers (the only group to have been blacklisted under the H.U.A.C.). The screening I attended had some audience members who had seen Seeger several times, and was familiar with the songs (I heard some of the audience singing along with the songs in the film,and wasn't even inclined to silence them). This is a film that is well worth seeking out by fans of old school folk music, political activists & environmentalists. See this movie!

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Entertaining, thoughtful -- fun. Good Music, too., 24 September 2007

Author: BobCHale from Denver, CO USA

Oberlin College, 1959. Pete Seeger (who?) was giving a concert. Nothing else for me to do. So I went. This was one of the first times I'd gone to a live musical performance, so perhaps that's why I was totally blown away. Probably not, though. No, I don't remember a single one of the songs he sang. What I do remember, though, is the way I felt -- we all felt -- as members of an auditorium-wide family. We listened; we sang along, we played the "Divide the audience into groups and sing rounds" game. Or maybe the men sing one verse and the women sing another. It was fun. It felt good.

I don't think anyone there thought that we were participating in an historical movement. I know I didn't. But we were. The perspective just wasn't there for us at that time.

This movie provides the perspective. As a performer, Seeger's musicianship is impressive. His reedy voice delivers lyrics strongly and convincingly. But there's more. He has said that rather than have the audience sit attentively, quietly and respectfully, listening to him sing, he wants to hear them sing. He helps them sing. He cajoles, tweaks, shames, damn near forces them to sing.

While this documentary is not a sermon, Seeger himself has an agenda and it is shown. He has been called "An Inconvenient Artist." His music is good music. It has been given credit (or blame) for influencing several generations of young people to ask the difficult questions about their government and themselves. Two small "bits" that I especially enjoyed were Arlo Guthrie on dealing with pamphlets and why the FBI was responsible for the renewed interest in Folk Music in the 50's and 60's.

The movie, like Seeger, is entertaining. The time (90 minutes) will pass all too swiftly. It might be difficult to find (Art Houses and such). Take the time to look for it and go see it. I predict that you will be glad you did. Trust me: have I ever lied to you before?

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