James Brown: Soul Survivor

Oct 29, 2003

★ 7.5

Overview

James Brown's legacy has influenced rap, soul, funk and R&B. But along with his huge talent, there's a dark side to Brown's success that includes stints in prison and unceasing tabloid speculation. This in-depth documentary takes a look at the meteoric highs and deep lows of Brown's career, offering some fascinating insights from the Godfather of Soul himself, as well as interview footage with Chuck D, Little Richard, Wyclef Jean and many others.

Genres

Documentary

Music

James Brown: Soul Survivor Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self

James Brown

Bobby Byrd

Lyn Collins

Fred Wesley

Marva Whitney

Little Richard

Chuck D

Dan Aykroyd

Al Sharpton

Afrika Bambaataa

Wyclef Jean

Clarke Peters

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

7.3

Dirty Dancing

Aug 21, 1987

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

6.6

Little Richard: I Am Everything

Apr 11, 2023

The story of the black, gay origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.

7.4

Ray

Oct 29, 2004

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

8.0

Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution

Dec 16, 2023

From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.

6.7

Dreamgirls

Dec 25, 2006

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

6.2

Viva Las Vegas

Feb 8, 1964

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser.

5.6

Earth Girls Are Easy

Sep 8, 1988

In this musical comedy, Valerie is dealing with her philandering fiancé, Ted, when she finds that a trio of aliens have crashed their spaceship into her swimming pool. Once the furry beings are shaved at her girlfriend's salon, the women discover three handsome men underneath. After absorbing the native culture via television, the spacemen are ready to hit the dating scene in 1980s Los Angeles.

10.0

Prince: 1999 Live In Houston 12-29-82

Nov 29, 2019

Prince and the Revolution perform live at the Summit in Houston, TX on 12/29/1982

5.9

Munna Michael

Jul 20, 2017

An expert dancer Munna who idolizes the king of pop, reluctantly tutors a gangster until their developing bond gets disrupted by their common romantic interest towards the same woman.

5.6

Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends

Jan 1, 1995

An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Rock Legends" "James Brown" "King Records" "Pure Prairie League" "Lemon Pipers" "Syd Nathan" WEBN "Bootsy Collins" "Lonnie Mack" "The Who concert 1979" "Rick Derringer"

6.3

Honey

Dec 5, 2003

Honey Daniels dreams of making a name for herself as a hip-hop choreographer. When she's not busy hitting downtown clubs with her friends, she teaches dance classes at a nearby community center in Harlem, N.Y., as a way to keep kids off the streets. Honey thinks she's hit the jackpot when she meets a hotshot director casts her in one of his music videos. But, when he starts demanding sexual favors from her, Honey makes a decision that will change her life.

7.5

When We Were Kings

Oct 25, 1996

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

0.0

Commander Cody: Live at Rockpalast 1980

Mar 8, 2019

Commander Cody already gained cult status with his band The Lost Planet Airmen by 1980 when he was invited to play the Rockpalast. His music wandered between the genres blues, country rock, boogie, rockabilly and Tex-Mex spiked with his very own wit and humour. The audience witnessed a colourful, high energy concert evening in the WDR Studio A in Cologne. In his known manner, Commander Cody was rocking through the setlist, always with a tongue-in-cheek. That evening he was accompanied by Steve Mackay (saxophone, vocals), Tona Johnson (drums, vocals), Bill Kirchen (guitar, vocals), Doug Killmer (bass, vocals) and Peter Sigel (pedal steel guitar, guitar).

7.2

Top Hat

Aug 29, 1935

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.

7.1

High Fidelity

Mar 17, 2000

After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top five breakups of all time".

7.7

The Blues Brothers

Jun 16, 1980

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

8.2

Notre Dame de Paris

Oct 12, 1999

A musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel "Notre Dame de Paris" which follows the gypsy dancer Esmeralda and the three men who vie for her love: the kind hunchback Quadimodo, the twisted priest Frollo, and the unfaithful soldier Phoebus.

0.0

Blood, Sweat and Sequins

Jan 24, 2013

Blood, Sweat and Sequins follows three women as they face daily preconceptions about who they are and what they do, as they battle it out for the title of Miss Pole Dance Australia. This is a chance to change their lives and challenge the stereotypical views even some loved ones hold.

6.1

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Apr 12, 1985