Doc Corner: 'Summer of Soul' opens Sheffield DocFest

Sheffield DocFest runs from June 3-14. There are virtual selections available at their website. This is their opening night film.

by Glenn Dunks

“The Black Woodstock” goes the elevator pitch for Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), a high-spirited documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. “The Black Woodstock” was also the last-ditch effort of a title given by Hal Tulchin to a film he had made about the festival as he attempted to sell it to distributors and networks that had repeatedly turned it down even in the wake of the Oscar-winning success of Woodstock. Nobody wanted Tulchin’s film, which is a ridiculous idea in hindsight. Of course, it is hardly a surprising one for all the reasons you would expect.

Tulchin passed away in 2017 at age 90 and so never got to see Summer of Soul, the final product that has been directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (aka Questlove). That is a shame. I suspect he would have loved it...

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50th Anniversary: The 43rd Oscars name "Patton" king, but the king refuses the crown

by Nathaniel R

Fifty years ago today the 43rd Annual Academy Awards were held honoring the films of 1970. It was coronation for Patton which took home 7 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay (pictured above). One of those Oscars (Best Actor) was rejected by the recipient, George C Scott. The acclaimed actor called the annual event a "meat parade"; this wasn't the last time someone would refuse an Oscar but it was the very first time in 43 years of the beloved... um... meat parade. There was no host that year, but a team of 34 celebrities rotating throughout the night (much like we've seen on zoom awards shows this season). The Best Picture nominees were...

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Soundtracking: "Woodstock"

The 1970 Smackdown is coming! To kickoff our look at everything 1970, here's Chris looking the music of that year's landmark Oscar-winning documentary...

We love examining the lasting cultural impact of our subjects here at Soundtracking, but rarely do the soundtracks explored serve as a cultural artifact themselves. Woodstock is an event that became a part of the American story, and essentially by accident. It was more than a concert, but a landmark display in anti-war sentiment and activism through artistry. Michael Wadleigh’s staggering cinematic account shows how music and movement lived symbiotically during the era, empowering a generation and an art form.

One of the significances of the concert film is that it allows the viewer to participate in a musical moment that they didn’t get first-hand. But the very best of the genre (see: Stop Making Sense) imbue their own perspective of the artistry on display and provide something an attendee of the live experience couldn’t have lived. Here Wadleigh creates a split-screen, all-encompassing view of the weekend, one that presents the crowd and the musicians as peers moved by the same feeling.

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