Henry Willis
I have a few points to add to tlsnyder42-1's thoughtful commentary: First, the film tried to cover too much in too short a time. I think the coverage was fairly well balanced between jubilee/hard gospel/choir, chose the right persons to focus on and has some wonderful clips, but I also felt as if it could have said and shown so much more. A shame to leave out Dorothy Love Coates, Alex Bradford, the Davis Sisters, Roberta Martin, etc. It would be wonderful if someone were willing to turn this into a four part series, similar to Ken Burns' Jazz or that collection of films on the blues.On the other hand, it could have been edited a little more smartly. While I liked the commentaries, I think the film could have done without Smokey Robinson altogether and would have benefited from some editing of others' comments (it's the Ohio, not the Mississippi, that was the boundary between slavery and freedom--just look where Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas are). While I can't tell you what to cut, I can say it dragged a bit. But those clips of the Hummingbirds and the Silvertones, plus the footage of believers slain in the spirit are revelatory. Worth being included with the other documentaries on the same theme.
tlsnyder42-1
REJOICE AND SHOUT is a wonderful, joyful documentary surveying the history of black gospel music, with very strong Christian statements of faith in God and Jesus Christ, including a focus on the power of the Holy Spirit. There are only a couple minor sour notes that lessen the movie's power.The documentary starts out with a tremendous, soul-stirring performance of "Amazing Grace" by a young, nameless African American girl from The Selvy Family Singers. It then begins its survey of the history of black gospel music and its biggest stars. It starts, of course, with the Southern plantation owners during slavery bringing the African slaves to Christianity and church. Then, it picks up with the first black gospel record in 1902 by the Dinwiddie Colored Quartet. With interviews by three gospel music historians and singers like Smokey Robinson, the movie then proceeds to give a rundown of the history since then, by focusing mostly on the major leaders and performers in the field. Included are many great musical numbers. Among the highlights are Mahalia Jackson's first amazing TV appearance on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW in the early 1950s, a wonderful turn by Claude Jeter and The Swan Silvertones, a powerful performance by Mavis Staples of The Staples Singers, a solo by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and two lead singers from the Dixie Hummingbirds trading off vocals at a rapid pace.One may quibble that REJOICE AND SHOUT focuses two much attention on the impact of individual gospel music performers, leaders and teachers like Thomas A. Dorsey and the Rev. James Cleveland. This does make the movie seem a bit too long. That said, REJOICE AND SHOUT is a soul stirring, inspiring homage to Almighty God, including Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.There are only several very minor sour notes. First, we would have loved to see another performance by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers. Apparently, however, there's not much footage of them. Second, there's one number where some dancers in flashy halter-tops and short shorts shake their legs in time to the music. Third, at the end, there's a politically correct nod to President Barack Obama and his election, which the movie connects to the ministry of The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., simply because of Obama's racial background. Finally, the movie seems to have some minor bias toward the African roots of modern popular music, including gospel and country music, apparently neglecting the importance of the Scottish, Irish folk music contribution. In this case, being Afro-centric is perhaps just as wrong as being Euro-centric.Despite these very minor points, media-wise viewers, including Christians and Non- Christians, will find REJOICE AND SHOUT to be an impassioned, cheerful and engaging look at black gospel music and the role it plays in American life, yesterday and today.
