Film
Amazing Grace
- Director
- Sydney Pollack
- Certificate
- U
- Running Time
- 88 mins
A new documentary about Aretha Franklin by Sydney Pollack? Hang on a minute – didn’t he croak ten years ago? And didn’t the Queen of Soul croak last year? Yes indeedy, but Pollack shot the film back in 1972, capturing 29-year-old Franklin’s performance with the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.
Technical gremlins and Franklin’s dissatisfaction with the result meant it remained on the shelf for decades. Producer Alan Elliott tried to release the film after Pollack’s death, but was sued at least twice by Franklin herself. Just months after her demise, however, Amazing Grace was in US cinemas. While the singer herself was adamant that it should never been shown, the release has been supported by her niece, Sabrina Owens, who represents the Aretha Franklin Estate. “This film is authentic and is my aunt to her core,” she insists.
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