Classics in the Browning
Directed by Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack
With Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, The Southern California Community Choir
Not Rated, 87 minutes, DCP
Every Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the Browning Cinema turns the volume up for a concert film that celebrates the power of live performance through the access documentary film provides. This year, we're heading to church for our concert film—specifically Watts' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church. There in 1972, Aretha Franklin recorded her best-selling gospel album Amazing Grace and future Best Director Oscar winner Sydney Pollack filmed the event. He didn't, however, use clapperboards, so the sound could not be synced, and the film went unseen and untouched for decades. After some legal tussles, the film was finally released after Franklin's passing allowing us to experience one of the most vibrant studio recordings ever.