This is a documentary of Soul Brother No 1 by prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney. It follows the soul legend from his difficult childhood in the south to his mustache/jumpsuit decline and its influence in the rise of 80's hip hop. I feared this would be a scrubbed down version of his life. The first half does touch upon his wild side but mostly it attributes it to the world in which he survives. It seems like an easy treatment until the second half painting a fuller picture. While it does not shy away from the violence against women, it doesn't dwell on it either. It also paints him as a man alone unable to trust anyone. He is ruthless with his dealings with money. Essentially, he had no friends, just employees. He grew up in a world of violence and is heavily influenced by it. Although it tells the story, it doesn't really show it. It doesn't enough of his own words and it doesn't hit him as hard as I want. Of course, this has his amazing music. It tackles his politics with which I'm less familiar. I know about Black and Proud but I didn't know about backing Nixon. That's an intriguing part of his bio. This is a well-rounded TV doc of this American music legend.
8 Reviews
Hot Hot Hot
Lejink12 March 2015
Probably produced in parallel with the bio-pic "Get On Up" (a big clue is in Mick Jagger sharing production duties on both), this for me was indeed a dynamite documentary on the life and times of the great soul and funk artist James Brown.
Brown's peak years of success were from around 1962 to 1972 after which he seemed to finally get caught up and overtaken by younger hipsters like Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and others with James starting to look and sound anachronistic and out of time. He still made some great records after '72, but this history stops with him at his peak somewhere in the mid-70's, which while lopping around 30 years off his life, does so to concentrate on his glory years as the hardest working man in show business.
Eschewing star tributes (Mick Jagger apart), which are so often the staple in films like this, instead we get revealing interviews with the members of his band and entourage to deliver a superb inside-view of a musical genius but sometimes difficult man. The musical clips are fantastic, including his see-it-to-believe-it performance on the "T.A.M.I. Show", various knockout appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and best of all, his historic televised performance in Boston in the immediate wake of the Martin Luther King assassination where you see him calmly but convincingly cooling down his over-heating audience.
Brown's complexities and complications aren't completely ignored, but they do seem somewhat sidelined. These include his sometimes tyrannical and miserly treatment of his fantastic band, his attitude to women and especially his controversial political stance in the 70's where he unwisely hitched up with Nixon and in so doing alienated his own black audience, coincidentally about the time his musical star was just starting to fade.
The performance clips are sensational, his singing and dancing both out of this world, with so many great records that he made in that golden decade. Little is told of his family background, where he certainly had his problems, but this obviously partisan movie concentrates on his musical and cultural status of the time to pay a great tribute to an artist as important, in my opinion, as almost any other you care to mention in the 20th century.
Brown's peak years of success were from around 1962 to 1972 after which he seemed to finally get caught up and overtaken by younger hipsters like Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and others with James starting to look and sound anachronistic and out of time. He still made some great records after '72, but this history stops with him at his peak somewhere in the mid-70's, which while lopping around 30 years off his life, does so to concentrate on his glory years as the hardest working man in show business.
Eschewing star tributes (Mick Jagger apart), which are so often the staple in films like this, instead we get revealing interviews with the members of his band and entourage to deliver a superb inside-view of a musical genius but sometimes difficult man. The musical clips are fantastic, including his see-it-to-believe-it performance on the "T.A.M.I. Show", various knockout appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and best of all, his historic televised performance in Boston in the immediate wake of the Martin Luther King assassination where you see him calmly but convincingly cooling down his over-heating audience.
Brown's complexities and complications aren't completely ignored, but they do seem somewhat sidelined. These include his sometimes tyrannical and miserly treatment of his fantastic band, his attitude to women and especially his controversial political stance in the 70's where he unwisely hitched up with Nixon and in so doing alienated his own black audience, coincidentally about the time his musical star was just starting to fade.
The performance clips are sensational, his singing and dancing both out of this world, with so many great records that he made in that golden decade. Little is told of his family background, where he certainly had his problems, but this obviously partisan movie concentrates on his musical and cultural status of the time to pay a great tribute to an artist as important, in my opinion, as almost any other you care to mention in the 20th century.
Brilliant documentary on an entertainment genius
grantss30 September 2015
Brilliant documentary on an entertainment genius.
The story of James Brown, singer, songwriter and showman extraordinaire. From his life growing up in abject poverty, to his rise to fame and his influence on music.
Wonderfully made. Contains some rare footage of James Brown concerts and you can feel the dynamism of his performance and sheer exuberance of the show. Could there ever have been someone with a greater stage presence?
Some quite illuminating interviews from people who he worked with - former band members mostly - and people he influenced. Not your usual empty, fawning interviews but genuine, candid, well thought- out, insightful interviews with people who know what they are talking about.
Not just about the music. Shows his work for the civil rights movement and in the black community. Demonstrates well the high regard to which he was held in those groups.
Fantastic.
The story of James Brown, singer, songwriter and showman extraordinaire. From his life growing up in abject poverty, to his rise to fame and his influence on music.
Wonderfully made. Contains some rare footage of James Brown concerts and you can feel the dynamism of his performance and sheer exuberance of the show. Could there ever have been someone with a greater stage presence?
Some quite illuminating interviews from people who he worked with - former band members mostly - and people he influenced. Not your usual empty, fawning interviews but genuine, candid, well thought- out, insightful interviews with people who know what they are talking about.
Not just about the music. Shows his work for the civil rights movement and in the black community. Demonstrates well the high regard to which he was held in those groups.
Fantastic.
Great documentary at the rise to mid point of his career
jellopuke20 November 2017
Loads of awesome footage and great music that chronicles everything up to his moustache period with some emphasis on his faults, but also heaps of praise on his activism, message, and of course badass dancing and singing. Makes you want to get up and dance yourself! Leaves you wanting to see the (assuming it's being made) eventual part 2 to complete the story of the man's life
Fantastic!!
MikeyB17932 January 2017
A must see for any James Brown fan. And a great introduction to anyone wanting to know more of him.
It well illustrates the drive and originality of this musician. Certainly one of the greats of the 20th century. An innovator whose influence can be directly seen on Prince and Michael Jackson. And as the documentary well shows – an unbelievable tyrant to his band- members.
A lot of interesting interviews and revelations - and WOW performances in this documentary. Fasten your seat belts – the man could move!! Also some very worthwhile special features.
It well illustrates the drive and originality of this musician. Certainly one of the greats of the 20th century. An innovator whose influence can be directly seen on Prince and Michael Jackson. And as the documentary well shows – an unbelievable tyrant to his band- members.
A lot of interesting interviews and revelations - and WOW performances in this documentary. Fasten your seat belts – the man could move!! Also some very worthwhile special features.
Mr. Driven for Perfection
LouAbbott15 October 2017
An outstanding documentary on the "Godfather of Soul (and all the other names he made up for himself)." This is not a film where all the interviewees bend and pucker to JB's backside, and reminisce on how the celebrity is the best thing since the pop-top canned beer can.
"Mr. Dynamite" is about a very driven, egotistical man, an unabashed self-promoter, a perfectionist, a control freak, a deadbeat (sometimes his band was not paid for either both live performances and studio sessions), someone who didn't' appreciate (but took credit for) the influence his musicians had on the music, and was a committer of domestic violence.
But he man instinctively understood how to play to an audience of any race color or creed.
James Brown spent his formative years in poverty. His mother left the family when he was four years old. His father left when he was six. He took refuge with an aunt, who operated a whorehouse. He sang and danced in front of the whorehouse for nickels and dimes, which people passing by would throw on the ground. He was caught stealing and sentenced eight years. The formative years can stay with a person, and he is described later in life as "lonely." He didn't trust anybody. If your mother abandons a child at four, and a father abandoned a child at six, the child might inherently not trust anyone.
The documentary also gives credit to his positive activity in the civil rights movement. On this subject, JB and others failed. What' the latest death rate by shooting in Chicago? But he tried his damned, as he always did. JB championed picking yourself up by your bootstraps ("I don't want nobody to give me nothing/open up the door/I'll get it myself") rather than government handouts.
Despite his personal demons and other mental frailties – The man was a genius. A true original.
"Mr. Dynamite" is about a very driven, egotistical man, an unabashed self-promoter, a perfectionist, a control freak, a deadbeat (sometimes his band was not paid for either both live performances and studio sessions), someone who didn't' appreciate (but took credit for) the influence his musicians had on the music, and was a committer of domestic violence.
But he man instinctively understood how to play to an audience of any race color or creed.
James Brown spent his formative years in poverty. His mother left the family when he was four years old. His father left when he was six. He took refuge with an aunt, who operated a whorehouse. He sang and danced in front of the whorehouse for nickels and dimes, which people passing by would throw on the ground. He was caught stealing and sentenced eight years. The formative years can stay with a person, and he is described later in life as "lonely." He didn't trust anybody. If your mother abandons a child at four, and a father abandoned a child at six, the child might inherently not trust anyone.
The documentary also gives credit to his positive activity in the civil rights movement. On this subject, JB and others failed. What' the latest death rate by shooting in Chicago? But he tried his damned, as he always did. JB championed picking yourself up by your bootstraps ("I don't want nobody to give me nothing/open up the door/I'll get it myself") rather than government handouts.
Despite his personal demons and other mental frailties – The man was a genius. A true original.
They took their time with the sound
jimmytaylor-6704011 January 2020
A so and so documentary
ersbel25 September 2019
Too much side politics to show this is a "halal" product for the equality or something. Misleading data, like the March Against Fear the team leaves the impression that the organizer was dead. And a lot of the weaseling from Al Sharpton. Many aspects, like family or his long tradition of extreme domestic violence are just hinted.
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