Recensioni degli utenti

At 35, I'm too young too have been around when all this great music first appeared. But I truly feel the Motown music in my soul, always have. I still get goosebumps, to this day, when I hear certain Motown songs.

Therefore, I spent half this film sobbing, for the beauty & genius of the music, the happiness I felt that that Funk Brothers were finally getting their due, and lamenting, as always, that they simply do not make music like this any more, and never will again.

Beautifully filmed, fascinating....if it doesn't move you, or get you moving, you must be comatose.

The mere fact that these 13 people created so much of the best of American music in virtual anonymity is reason enough to watch this movie. But the performances of those great songs...lots of them, make it a really special movie. I think they could have found some better current singers to perform with them in the concert but even Joan Osbourne can sound good with the Funk Brothers playing behind her. Maybe that's the point of the movie. Steve Jordan said it best though when he said that Deputy Dog could have sung to their tracks and made hits. And just for the record, I was kind of proud that at least 2 of the 13 were Caucasian. :-)

This is an insightful documentary, rich with musicians' stories and top-notch performances.

Interestingly, there is no mention the founder of Motown Records and employer of "The Funk Bros". This was no oversight - it had to be by design.

This is a very good & educational documentary..Very well done.

A very uplifting film - had a smile on my face, tapping my foot and bobbing my head all the way through. My only criticism is that some of the songs could have been performed with a touch more energy, but you can't really blame the musicians - they must be tired after 40 years of funk!

I think the positive reviews pretty much covered what I value in this documentary. It's great to see such unappreciated talent finally get its day in the sun, the Funk Brothers are a hilarious and energetic bunch of guys in front of the camera, their stories contain plenty of wisdom and humor, and of course all of the music is pure perfection. The ground-level viewpoint of a session musician working for Berry Gordy is a very valuable addition to Motown history, especially as he did everything in his power to keep them out of it.

It seems that most of the people who had problems with this movie are focused on the live performances, and particularly the choice of singers. While I found the songs worth listening to (and it was nice to finally see the guys playing together after 40 years), I suppose I'd justify the choice of singers in two ways:

(1) This was a low-budget movie, and there wasn't money to bring in the likes of Aretha Franklin, Bono, or Stevie Wonder, so the producers had to take what they could get in the form of Gerald Levert, Joan Osborne, and Bootsy Collins (a fantabulous bass player and undisputed funk icon, but nobody's idea of a great singer).

(2) It was a subtle attempt to prove the movie's thesis. If, indeed, the Funk Brothers were the secret ingredient in the Motown sound, what better way to prove it than to have them backing up some mostly* second-rate singers and STILL make it sound like a million bucks?

* - I exclude Meshell Ndegeocello from that generalization.