Soul Power - Movie Review

James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba and other legendary titans of soul music shared the spotlight at the hugely successful mega-concert presented in conjunction with "Rumble In The Jungle," the championship boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, held in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974. In 'Soul Power,' filmmaker Jeffrey Levy-Hinte uses the archival footage of their thrilling performances to bring that amazing festival to the screen for those who were not fortunate enough to be there to see it live.

Filmmaker Jeffrey Levy-Hinte became aware of this unusual cache of extraordinary footage documenting the great performances by great artists when he was hired to edit director Leon Gast's Academy Award-winning When We Were Kings (1997), about the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman Rumble In The Jungle championship boxing match staged by the colorful promoter and showman Don King.

During the editing process, Levy-Hinte intentionally neglected the hours of footage of the "Zaire '74" three day music festival because it was a side bar to the boxing story.

But he never forgot the performances captured in the footage he'd set aside. Eventually, with Leon Gast's encouragement, he returned to the concert footage. His original intention to turn the footage into a set of concert DVDs evolved into the feature-length documentary entitled Soul Power, which is opening theatrically and will then be released on DVD.

Putting the Concert Into Context

The film is mostly music, as it should be, but Levy-Hinte sets the scene and places the events into context by including commentaries and moments of reflection from George Plimpton and others who were there for the events, and Muhammad Ali, who was really -- music festival aside -- the main attraction in Zaire in 1974.

This musical gathering was a moment of triumph for soul music and a brilliant opportunity for American artists to meet and play with their African brothers. It's thrilling to watch all this talent, and to see their mutual respect and understand their major impact on world culture.

This documentary's through line is clearly the result of superb editing, but the film's most dramatic moments and its momentum are made possible by the extraordinary camera work of great cinematographers, including Albert Maysles, Paul Goldsmith, Kevin Keating, Roderick Young and others, who were on the ground to cover the event and who created this remarkable record of it. They provide the revealingly intimate shots that set Soul Power apart from many other concert documentaries. Soul Power's editor, David Smith, takes full advantage of the cinematographers' shooting skills and of the performers' musicality.

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Film Details:

• Title: Soul Power - 2009
• Soul Power
• Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
• US Theatrical Release Date: July 10, 2009 (limited)
• Running Time: 93 mins.
• MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and brief strong language.
• Parental Advisory: Content advisory for parents
• Location: USA
• Language: English and French (with English subtitles)
• Production Country: USA
• Production Company: Antidote Films
• Distribution Company: Sony Pictures Classics