Song Woman I Say It Again and I Say Amen

1982 documentary film

Say Amen, Somebody
Original poster art
Directed by	George Nierenberg
Produced by	George T. Nierenberg Karen Nierenberg
Starring	Thomas A. Dorsey Willie Mae Ford Smith Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters Zella Jackson Price the O'Neal Twins
Cinematography	Edward Lachman, Don Lenzer
Edited by	Paul Barnes
Production visitor	GTN Product
Distributed by	United Artists Classics[1]
Release engagement	October five, 1982 (Oct five, 1982)
Running fourth dimension	100 minutes
State	United states
Budget	$350,000
Box office	$1,108,299

Say Amen, Somebody is a 1982 documentary film directed by George Nierenberg about the history and significance of gospel music as told through the lives and trials of its singers. Included are Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the "Male parent of Gospel Music", and "Female parent" Willie Mae Ford Smith, an associate of Dorsey'due south who trained gospel singers for decades. Ford and three singing acts – Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters, Zella Jackson Price, and the O'Neal Twins, Edgar and Edward, backed by a choir – provide music throughout.

After its debut at the New York Film Festival to a sold out audience, Say Amen, Somebody saw a express release in major cities. It received widespread critical acclaim with reviewers focusing peculiarly on the strong personalities within gospel and the joyful music. Information technology was restored in 2019 and was shown at limited theaters, again receiving positive reviews.

Summary [edit]

Say Amen, Somebody gives an overview of the history of gospel music in the U.S. past following two main figures: Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the "Male parent of Gospel Music," 83 at the fourth dimension of filming, recalls how he came to write his most famous song, "Accept My Hand, Precious Lord" (1932), and the difficulty he faced introducing gospel blues to black churches in the early 1930s. "Female parent" Willie Mae Ford Smith, 77 years old and an associate of Dorsey's, is the film's chief subject. Smith was closely involved with the organisation Dorsey co-founded, the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC), condign the managing director of the Soloists' Agency in 1939. In this position, she trained several very influential 20th century gospel singers though remained relatively unknown herself outside of gospel.

Delois Barrett Campbell, and Zella Jackson Toll are shown against the sacrifices they take made to put gospel music in the fore of their lives and the lives of their families, and the O'Neal Twins, Edward and Edgar, talk over the difficulties in trying to make a living exclusively in gospel music. The picture features informal moments of subjects singing in private places, such as Dorsey in his back yard and Smith at her kitchen table, and two music recitals, one at an NCGCC meeting in Houston (1981), and a tribute concert for Willie Mae Ford Smith in St. Louis that Nierenberg organized.

Development [edit]

As a 28-year-one-time Jewish filmmaker, George Nierenberg had no experience with gospel music earlier taking on the project. He had recently finished No Maps on My Taps (1979), a documentary post-obit three New York Metropolis-based tap dancers. Seeking ideas for a new project, he asked blues guitarist and friend Ry Cooder for suggestions: "These were his exact words – he said, 'Y'all oughta look into gospel music; those cats are really neat.' "^[2]

Nierenberg went looking for performers "whose expression was an extension of themselves", people committed to an art form without, he felt, proper recognition.^[3] He decided on the project when he learned no documentary well-nigh gospel music had ever been fabricated. He believed this, and his inexperience with the topic, allowed him to bring a "fresh signal of view" to the flick, maxim, "One of my goals was to dispel the mystique of the gospel feel, which people have all kinds of misconceptions most... or don't know what to think of."^{[2] [4]}

For groundwork work, Nierenberg interviewed hundreds of figures in gospel music, including James Cleveland, the Hawkins Family – too known as the Edwin Hawkins Singers who released the international number 1 hitting, "Oh Happy Day" in 1969, Rebert Harris of the Soul Stirrers, and Claude Jeter, an original member of the Swan Silvertones.^[v] After learning about Dorsey, Smith, and their contributions to gospel music, Nierenberg settled on them equally the central focus of the movie, later admitting that had he non found them, the motion picture probably would not take been made. They were, in his stance, boggling people whose stories should be told. He met with them, then visited Smith in her St. Louis home and Campbell in hers. With the groundwork enquiry done, Nierenberg felt that one-half of his pre-production work was behind him.^[three] To put all the participants at ease during filming, he spent a year in churches, becoming familiar with choirs and singers, music, and church culture.^{[4] [5] [6]} Cinematographer Edward Lachman recognized the importance of developing relationships with the subjects, as "they knew us as people so they could react freely" in front of the cameras.^{[3] [a]}

The championship of the film references typical moments in black churches when a preacher will say a phrase or scripture, and met without any response – especially if the congregation does non hold – volition prompt them by saying, "Say 'Amen', somebody." Dorsey does this in the film when he remembers that gospel blues, denigrated in black churches before 1932 for being sinful and degrading, is in actuality the "good news" of Christ's salvation, eliciting support and agreement from his audience.^[6]

Production and filming [edit]

Nierenberg does non apply a narrator in the film to explain details to the audition. Instead, stories are told through memories shared on photographic camera, vintage moving-picture show footage and still shots, and more intimate scenes Nierenberg set up between performances. He employs a personalized method of documentary filmmaking, using subjects the way a scripted pic uses characters. Contrary to a purist view of making documentaries where the filmmaker just observes without interfering with the subject, explaining that "information technology's my role to detect the story", Nierenberg prompted scenes to play out between the subjects and during editing did his best not to misrepresent the people and the situations they were in.^[3] All the cinematographers had to do was motion picture. For instance, a scene where Delois Barrett Campbell and her husband are having a discussion in their kitchen near her touring Europe with her sisters was instigated by Nierenberg, who already knew this was a signal of contention between them. Campbell and her sisters formed a gospel trio in 1963. Touring Europe with them had been a dream of Delois' for many years. Her husband, Reverend Frank Campbell, says that he wishes she would exist more involved in his ministry building and not go. She looks at the camera, so asks him if he wanted eggs with his sausage without any further response. Though the exchange was real, when Nierenberg arrived for filming that day, the Campbells had already eaten. He asked Delois to make breakfast again and while she did, he leaned towards Frank'due south ear and prompted him to ask Delois a question. Nierenberg did non know the moment would be and so tense. When Delois looks at the camera, she is really looking at Nierenberg, behind the camera, in consternation. Conversely, the scene in which Smith'due south grandson tells her that he thinks women should not be ministers was a complete surprise to everyone, including Smith, who was ordained in the 1940s.^{[6] [4] [b]}

During filming, Nierenberg recalls a litany of mechanical problems with cameras, lighting, and audio equipment, remembering it as "a disaster".^[6] Much of the time defended to technical aspects of filming was spent setting upwards lighting, which, co-ordinate to J. Greg Evans in American Cinematographer, acts as support for the narrative structure of the film. Whenever possible, natural lighting was used, but when more was needed, what the cinematographers added was as shut to natural low-cal as possible. While this took some time to attain – for instance, setting the lights for the performances at the NCGCC coming together took iii days – information technology helped to enhance the realism in the flick and put the subjects at ease. Evans writes that because of the lighting, the cinematographers were able to capture "some of the most vivid colors always in a documentary".^[3]

Nierenberg furthermore insisted that each of the iii cameras had a audio man and an banana during musical performances to capture ambient sounds and conversations then nil would be missed. While filming the performers, Nierenberg saturday higher up the crew, directing each photographic camera assistant to capture what he wanted. He as well fabricated sure the film had 24-rails audio, so each singer can be heard conspicuously with the supporting shouts and calls from the audience. In addition to organizing the tribute concert for Willie Mae Ford Smith, which he did purposefully to bring all the subjects together to scout them interact every bit they perform, Nierenberg picked each singing act's repertoire. Each musical number was rehearsed with the performers, camera, and sound crews before filming. With and then many lights on the performers, Nierenberg wanted to make sure the shadows of all the crew members would not appear in the final edit and so they would not detract from the performances. Because he organized and so far in advance, filming for Say Amen, Somebody took simply 15 days, something Evans considers "quite remarkable for a film of this nature and magnitude".^{[3] [4] [5]}

Looking back, cinematographer Don Lenzer viewed the filming sessions every bit a unique experience in his career. Going into the project, he was unsure Nierenberg's strategy of setting up scenes would bring results that would be both realistic and interesting to lookout man. He remarked that capturing the performances was as powerful as they are to see on moving picture, bringing virtually an ecstasy of being "in the moment". For Lenzer, the joyous outcomes "defy caption", and he recalled that "everything nigh the filming was extraordinary".^[six]

Dorsey began to show signs of Alzheimer's illness in the belatedly 1970s. His involvement in the film was limited to periods when he was able to participate. His omnipresence at the NCGCC briefing in the flick was his last. He stopped speaking almost entirely two years after filming, and died in 1993. Willie Mae Ford Smith died the next yr.^{[7] [6]}

"Say Amen, Somebody" was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Missouri Arts Council. Information technology debuted at the New York Flick Festival on October v, 1982 to a sold out audience, and opened in limited theaters in major cities on March xi, 1983.^[5]

Restoration [edit]

In 2019, Nierenberg supervised the restoration of the film, an effort funded by the Center for African American Media Arts, the Academy of Pic Arts and Sciences Academy Film Archive, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Civilisation, Milestone Films, and the Robert F. Smith Fund.^[8] Rhea Combs of the Smithsonian commented that Nierenberg understood "the dynamics at play [in gospel music and churches] and he has a sensitivity to the story and the people – truly to the people – and respects them. And I think that that respect is then reflected in the way in which the movie is produced and directed." She also remarked that much of the motion-picture show'due south value lies in "passing the torch" from the older generation of singers to the new.^[2]

Originally, Say Amen, Somebody was filmed in standard 4:3 aspect ratio. When restored, the aspect ratio became xvi:9, making the visuals cleaner and brighter, and easier to see on televisions. The audio was too enhanced to Dolby environs sound five.1.^[9] The restored version of Say Amen, Somebody debuted at Lincoln Center on September vi, 2019.^[10] Nierenberg told National Public Radio that the restoration looked "similar a new film completely", and he is especially proud that "it will carry forwards gospel music and permit people for generations to experience this music."^[2] He furthermore stated that he continues to receive comments from blackness Americans who have seen the film multiple times, and he is taken aback when they express how much it means to them. At the fourth dimension of the film's release, he was unaware of its significance, and had no idea of its "true meaning".^[6]

Music [edit]

Say Amen, Somebody: Original Soundtrack Recording and More than
Soundtrack anthology by Various Artists
Released	March 11, 1983
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	1:18:00
Label	DRG Records
Producer	Hugh Fordin

The soundtrack was initially issued every bit a double LP album containing twenty tracks, v of which were cut from the picture. It was sold at theaters during original showings in 1982 and 1983. A second xv-runway album was released in 1990.^[5]

Title

No.	Title	Performer	Length
1.	"Highway to Heaven"	The O'Neal Twins and the Interfaith Choir	3:48
2.	"Singing In My Soul"	Willie Mae Ford Smith	2:24
3.	"What Style of Homo"	Willie Mae Ford Smith	half dozen:24
4.	"When I've Done My Best"	Thomas A. Dorsey	2:29
5.	"Take My Hand, Precious Lord"	Mahalia Jackson	2:21
six.	"If You Run across My Savior" (Edited out of the motion-picture show)	Thomas A. Dorsey and Sallie Martin	three:44
seven.	"I'thou His Kid"	Zella Jackson Price	3:44
8.	"I'd Trade A Lifetime" (Edited out of the film)	The O'Neal Twins	ii:22
9.	"Nosotros Are Blessed" (Edited out of the movie)	Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters (Rodessa Barrett-Porter and Billie Barrett-Greenbey)	2:31
10.	"Say A Trivial Prayer For Me" (Edited out of the film)	Zella Jackson Price	3:38
xi.	"He Chose Me"	The O'Neal Twins	4:xl
12.	"No Means Tired"	Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters	5:24
13.	"Jesus Dropped the Charges"	The O'Neal Twins and the Interfaith Choir	4:26
14.	"I'll Never Turn Back"	Willie Mae Ford Smith	4:27
fifteen.	"The Storm Is Passing Over"	Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters	four:33
16.	"It's Gonna Pelting"	The O'Neal Twins	4:43
17.	"He Brought United states"	Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters	6:15
eighteen.	"Take My Hand, Precious Lord"	Thomas A. Dorsey	5:ten
19.	"Medley: God Is Beloved / Walkin' and Talkin' With Jesus" (Edited out of the film)	Gospel Unlimited of the Antioch Baptist Church building	5:xix
20.	"Canaan"	Willie Mae Ford Smith	ten:20
Total length:			i:18:00

Reception [edit]

Say Amen, Somebody earned widespread critical acclamation both in 1982 and following its restoration in 2019. Reviewers foremost expressed appreciation for the music, and they noted the repeated themes in the movie: sexism within gospel, the passing of traditions from the older generation to the younger, and the sacrifices musicians must make forsaking commercial success for devotion to God. It has a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from twelve reviews.^[xi] Rolling Stone, People, Fourth dimension, and Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on At the Movies named it one of the all-time films of 1983, and New York placed it at number 31 on their list of the 50 All-time Documentaries of All Time in 2019.^{[12] [thirteen] [fourteen] [fifteen]}

Ebert gave the film four stars out of 4, writing, "Say Amen, Somebody" is the most joyful motion picture I've seen in a very long fourth dimension. It is also one of the best musicals and 1 of the most interesting documentaries", going further to call the film "a masterpiece of inquiry, diligence and management".^[16] Richard Schickel in Time called Say Amen, Somebody "marvelously infectious", writing that he enjoyed the personalities of the subjects: Dorsey's zeal and showmanship despite his age and frailty, and Campbell'south quiet aspirations in contrast to her husband's desire for her to stay home. He states, "The film is shrewd in its selection of these moments. There are just enough of them to footing in a recognizable reality what could have been but a well-shot and -edited compilation of irresistible music. But they are never then many that they interfere with the film's soaring flights of song."^[13]

In the New York Times, Janet Maslin, similar all other critics, praised the music specifically, calling it "blithesome, communal, and deeply moving".^[17] About forty years later, Wesley Morris in the same publication wrote near the pic's restoration, calling information technology "mighty yet somehow modest", explaining, "the lasting power of the movie might be every bit a rare document of gospel skill and strategy".^[xviii]

Likewise, Richard Harrington writing in the Washington Post enjoyed the intimacy of the cinematography. He calls it the "brightest, funniest, most joyful – and certainly the most inspirational film you're likely to come up beyond in a long time... if you can resist it it'southward time to get your pulse checked." He observes that Willie Mae Ford Smith does not sing for appearances; she sings because she believes. Noting that the flick was financed past public funds, Harrington says, "never have tax dollars been meliorate spent" and that information technology has "enough warmth to cook an iceberg".^[nineteen] In the Los Angeles Times, Sheila Benson calls information technology "joyful right downward to your shoestrings" and "absolutely infectious". Regarding Thomas Dorsey'south frailty, George Nierenberg "succeeds in involving us so completely that the question of whether Dorsey can summon the will to brand it to the gospel convention, in which he has participated since 1933, becomes a true bewilderment and Dorsey's appearance has the pregnant for us that it has for the convention members. That is superb filmmaking."^[20] Similarly, Alex Keneas of Newsday chosen information technology "infectiously joyous", just gave it two and a half stars out of iii because it "rambles".^[21] In the Boston Globe, Steve Morse comments that Say Amen, Somebody "is not merely a moving-picture show of historical bear on. It is a film about human courage – the faith to follow ane'due south inspiration no matter what the cost."^[22]

A 2nd circular of reviews came out in 2019. Slant Magazine gave the restoration three and a half stars out of four, calling it a "boisterous, often extraordinary film". Reviewer Chuck Bowen took abroad half a star for his observation that the motion-picture show seems to neglect addressing racism every bit a chief cause of the cathartic power backside gospel music.^[23] Michael Giltz in Volume and Film Globe, writes, "Ken Burns would need sixteen hours to scratch the surface of the complex and riveting history of gospel music. Merely in 100 minutes of Say Amen Somebody, director Nierenberg gives a sense of the music's history, the major figures, the flaws (like the sexism of the churches) and sees a resurgence upwards alee." Giltz praises cinematographers Don Lenzer and Edward Lachman in particular.^[12]

John DeFore of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Say Amen, Somebody is "a joy-filled portrait with a healthy ambition for functioning footage" and "a must for serious gospel fans, it also holds unexpected value for those interested in how attitudes take changed (or oasis't) about women with careers exterior the abode."^[24] And Mark Labowskie of PopMatters says, "Even if you don't literally 'believe', you lot desire to believe in the social possibilities this [pic] represents.^[25]

Say Amen, Somebody has been discussed in academic journals equally well: Deborah Smith Pollard in the Journal of the Society for American Music writes, "Moving visuals such as these are noteworthy, opening up entry points for those who teach African American culture to highlight the multiplicity of ways in which individuals respond to worship services, sacred music programs, or films every bit riveting as Say Amen, Somebody." Reviewing the restoration, Pollard specifically states that the audio "both spoken and sung, is absolutely worth the enrichment because of the informational and emotional ability of what is delivered in every frame.^[ix] In Ethnomusicology, Terrence Grimes praises "the overt humanness captured in the dialogue of the moving picture's subjects", saying that information technology "gives viewers an ardent feeling, force, and joy that is contagious".^[26]

Notes [edit]

1. ^ Smith insisted that Zella Jackson Price and her grandson Keith exist in the film. (See: "The Making of Say Amen, Somebody, Now Gloriously Restored" in Citations.
2. ^ The moving-picture show brought Campbell and her sisters enough renown that they were able to tour Europe twice in 1983: once for a month through Deutschland, France, and Switzerland, and a week in Spain. (Rodgers, Gaby, "A Songful Herald and Her Soulful Gospel", Newsday (March 20, 1983), p. B7.)

Citations [edit]

1. ^ "Say Amen, Somebody (1983)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 10 January 2022.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Movshovitz, Howie, "'Say Amen, Somebody' Restoration Unveils The Wonder Of The Gospel Pioneers National Public Radio, (February 25, 2020). Retrieved Baronial 2020.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Evans, J. Greg, "Say Amen Somebody", American Cinematographer, (March 1984), Vol. 65, No. iii, p. 38.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Sterritt, David. "This Romp Through Gospel Music Is a G-Rated Joy", The Christian Science Monitor, (April 7, 1983).
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Say Amen, Somebody American Moving picture Found website. Retrieved August 2020.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "The Making of Say Amen, Somebody, Now Gloriously Restored" Speakers' panel sponsored past Film at Lincoln Center, video hosted on YouTube (2019). Retrieved August 2020.
7. ^ "Dedication: Thomas Dorsey Dedication Mean solar day", Atlanta Journal and Constitution (June 26, 1994). Section Yard, Page 1.
8. ^ Siler, Brenda C. "'Say Amen, Somebody' Explains Gospel Music", The Washington Informer, (May 29, 2019). Retrieved August 2020.
9. ^ ^{a b} Pollard, Deborah Smith. "Media Reviews", Journal of the Order for American Music, (2020), Book 14, Number two, pp. 244–246.
10. ^ Say Amen Somebody, Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved August 2020.
11. ^ "Say Amen, Somebody" Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved August 2020.
12. ^ ^{a b} Giltz, Michael "Hallelujah! A Legendary Gospel Documentary is Born Again, Book and Film Globe (September 5, 2019). Retrieved August 2020.
13. ^ ^{a b} Schickel, Richard, "Joyful Noises", Time, (May ii, 1983), Vol. 121, Result eighteen.
14. ^ Verecha, Bob (Director), (Dec 1983): "The Best of 1983", At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, (Television set series).
15. ^ Murray, Noel, "The fifty Best Documentaries of All Time", New York, (Apr 17, 2019).
16. ^ Ebert, Roger "Say Amen, Somebody", RogerEbert.com. (March 30, 1983). Retrieved August 2020.
17. ^ Maslin, Janet, "Say Amen, Somebody", The New York Times, (October v, 1982), Section C, p. nine.
18. ^ Morris, Wesley, "'Say Amen, Somebody' Will Brand You Want to Sing Out", The New York Times, (September 5, 2019).
19. ^ Harrington, Richard, "The Film: How Great Their Art", The Washington Postal service, (August 26, 1983), p. B1.
20. ^ Benson, Sheila, "Songers of the Gospel 'Say Amen'", The Los Angeles Times (April 27, 1983), p. G1.
21. ^ Keneas, Alex, "Moving picture Reviews: Gospel and Dejection", Newsday (March 11, 1983), p. B11.
22. ^ Morse, Steve, "Two New Films Are Pure Music", The Boston Globe (April 22, 1983), p. 53.
23. ^ Bowen, Chuck "Review: Say Amen, Somebody Is a Rich Fusion of Concert Md and Character Study" Slant Mag (September 3, 2019). Retrieved Baronial 2020.
24. ^ DeFore, John, "'Say Amen, Somebody': Film Review" , Hollywood Reporter website, (September 5, 2019). Retrieved August 2020.
25. ^ Labowskie, Mark, "Say Amen, Somebody (1982)", PopMatters, (March 11, 2007). Retrieved August 2020.
26. ^ Grimes, Terrence K., "Say Amen, Somebody! by George T. Nierenberg", Ethnomusicology, Vol. 32, No. ii (Bound – Summertime, 1988), pp. 157 – 158.

External links [edit]

• Original trailer (1982)
• Restoration trailer (2019)
• Say Amen, Somebody at IMDb
• GTN Pictures, George Nierenberg's production company

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_Amen,_Somebody

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