Trailer Link

Release Date:

September 12, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A documentary about the soul of American music. The film follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis mentoring and passing on their musical magic to stars and artists of today.”

Poster: A

Review: Finally, a poster design that has some spirit and creativity to it. It’s even thematically relevant, which makes it better than 95% of the posters produced in the last few years.

Trailer: B

Review: From a beautiful, energetic poster design to a balefully generic trailer design. While there’s some joyousness in the trailer, it’s so like every other documentary trailer that it’s almost easily forgotten.

Oscar Prospects:

You can’t always take every invocation of a previous Oscar winner as a reason to set a film aside as a contender. The trailer references 20 Feet to Stardom in an effort to make it sound like a natural successor. That film was about the long underappreciated role of backup singers. This film is more just a celebration of the Memphis music scene, which might appeal to Oscar voters; however, the past suggests music documentaries have a much tougher time making their way through.

Revisions:

(September 7, 2014) Original