Standing in the Shadows of Motown

"The soul behind the sound."

2002 1h 56m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 50🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 3,971

DocumentaryMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

“The soul behind the sound.”

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Cast

Richard 'Pistol' Allen
Self
Jack Ashford
Self
Bob Babbitt
Self
Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin
Self (archive footage)
Eddie 'Bongo' Brown
Self (archive footage)
Bootsy Collins
Self
Johnny Griffith
Self
Ben Harper
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Justman
Writers: Walter Dallas, Ntozake Shange
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

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Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Richard 'Pistol' Allen and Jack Ashford and Bob Babbitt carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The soul behind the sound.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0314725 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Justman directs. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Richard 'Pistol' Allen and Jack Ashford and Bob Babbitt carry the top of the cast.
3Marketing tagline: "The soul behind the sound.".
4IMDB entry: tt0314725 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
5Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.