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 for a long time and in most places online it was expensive to get on DVD, due to its 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 one of my favorite documentaries 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 its 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 Gospel music 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- something you would expect MORE of in a music documentary, 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 able to attend 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 are 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.
TCM- please play this more (on Easter would be awesome), and I hope it sells more on Amazon. Simply put, see this movie, somebody!
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 for a long time and in most places online it was expensive to get on DVD, due to its 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 one of my favorite documentaries 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 its 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 Gospel music 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- something you would expect MORE of in a music documentary, 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 able to attend 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 are 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.
TCM- please play this more (on Easter would be awesome), and I hope it sells more on Amazon. Simply put, see this movie, somebody!