Soul Power (2009)
83%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 2 nominations
Featuring some incredible performances from many 70s soul legends, Soul Power is an exhilarating snap-shot of a bygone era
Soul Power is like a time machine that takes you back to the 70s, where the music was groovy and the fashion was questionable. But hey, who cares about fashion when you have B.B. King, Bill Withers, Miriam Makeba, Celia Cruz, and the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, all in one concert? The documentary captures the essence of the era, with its theatrics, musicianship, and political critique. And let’s not forget Muhammad Ali promoting himself, because why not? It’s a must-watch for anyone who wants to experience the power of soul music and the spirit of the 70s.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, The Steve Tisch Company, Wendy Finerman Productions,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Of Congo
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and brief strong language
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 10, 2009 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 26, 2010
Genre(s)
Documentary/Music
Keyword(s)
starring James Brown, B.B King, Miriam Makeba, the Spinners, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, directed by Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, written by Stewart Levine, documentary, music, PG-13, box office gross $206.8K, reviewed by Joshua Rothkopf, Ann Hornaday, Joe Williams, Leon Gast, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, David Sonenberg, Tom Keogh, Michael Phillips, David Lamble, Kelly Vance, Rob Thomas, Sean O’Connell, Michele Kenner, Ken Hanke, Hugh Masekela, Johnny Pacheco, Maceo Parker, George Plimpton, David Butts, Sony Pictures Classics, “Soul Power,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “The Click Song,” “Payback”
Worldwide gross: $254,582
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $351,861
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,822
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 38,371
US/Canada gross: $207,121
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $286,264
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,470
US/Canada opening weekend: $23,893
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $33,023
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,344
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Hugh Masekela – Self
Johnny Pacheco – Self
Maceo Parker – Self
George Plimpton – Self
David Butts – Self
Director(s)
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte
Writer(s)
Stewart Levine
Producer(s)
Leon Gast, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, David Sonenberg
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (12)
November 16, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Soul Power turns out to be an unusually resonant time capsule, one that weaves together theatrics, musicianship, cosmopolitanism and sharp political critique in a vibrant look-back that’s at once celebratory and wistful.
August 14, 2009
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
It’s impossible not to be moved.
August 13, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
It packs the emotional and historical power of a heady ‘family gathering’ celebration of African and, to use the term then in fashion, Afro-American pride.
July 30, 2009 | Rating: 4/4
Dan DeLuca
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Soul Power is the indispensable companion film to Leon Gast’s thrilling 1996 documentary When We Were Kings.
July 30, 2009 | Rating: 4/4
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Watching the Godfather of Soul on the big outdoor stage, you think back to his appearance in The T.A.M.I. Show a decade earlier. And then you think: I feel good.
July 24, 2009 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
… worth catching for its awesome views of B.B. King (“The Thrill is Gone”) and soul daddy James Brown in the time capsule of 1974 Zaire.
June 18, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Soul Power is a window into a time when anything seemed possible.
August 26, 2011
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express
B.B. King. Bill Withers. Miriam Makeba. Celia Cruz. And James Brown, earning every inch of the title, “Godfather of Soul,” who all by himself probably deforested a few acres around Kinshasa with the volcanic blast of his set.
November 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Does its part to widen this historic concert’s potential audience base.
October 2, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
Sean O’Connell
Charlotte Weekly
Watching Soul Power is like flipping through Polaroids of that era. The color is a little washed out and everyone looks amazingly young.
September 17, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michele Kenner
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It’s hard not to wish that maybe there was a little less of Muhammad Ali promoting himself and a little more of the concert.
September 16, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)…
Plot
In 1974, music producers, Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine worked with the boxing promoter, Don King, to create a music festival in Africa to run concurrently with his championship boxing match he arranged with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, aka “The Rumble in the Jungle,” in Kinshasa, Zaire. However, due to an unforeseen delay due to Foreman injuring himself in training, it was decided that the music festival must still go on as scheduled. This film covers the preparation of that festival with both stage construction and the arrival of the participating musicians. When all is ready, the people of Zaire got to experience a musical event that Africa had never seen before with great African-American and local artists performing with verve and purpose, with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, just the biggest star of this musical extravaganza.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Soul Power features performances from James Brown, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba, and the Spinners, among others.
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