Co-writers/directors Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner have delivered the definitive documentary about the musical phenomenon of Motown from its quiet birth by Berry Gordy in 1958 Detroit through its growth in global importance to its relocation to Los Angeles in the 1970s.
But the film is so much more than an overview of some of the most important singers and performers whose careers blossomed under the aegis of Berry Gordy (who narrates the film with Smokey Robinson!): it is a tribute to the impact that 'record company' had on the rise of black performers on the global stage. The script is witty, insightful, sensitive, and eloquent. The film shares films clips of performances by such stars as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Little Richard, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye - and on and on.
The manner in which Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson open the survey of the history of civil rights is distinguished and is one of the most accessible demonstrations of that deeply needed transition in cultural equality that has been created. Very highly recommended on many levels.
But the film is so much more than an overview of some of the most important singers and performers whose careers blossomed under the aegis of Berry Gordy (who narrates the film with Smokey Robinson!): it is a tribute to the impact that 'record company' had on the rise of black performers on the global stage. The script is witty, insightful, sensitive, and eloquent. The film shares films clips of performances by such stars as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Little Richard, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye - and on and on.
The manner in which Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson open the survey of the history of civil rights is distinguished and is one of the most accessible demonstrations of that deeply needed transition in cultural equality that has been created. Very highly recommended on many levels.