The second half of the movie's title is taken from the 1970 poem and song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", written by the late Gil Scott-Heron. It offered a sharp and satirical critique of the media's lack of coverage of civil rights activism and the reality of change and revolution taking place in the streets and on campuses across America. Both the song and phrase became an anthem of political change during the 1960s.[citation needed]
Clapperboard from original videotape recordings of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival
At the request of festival organizer and host Tony Lawrence, television producer Hal Tulchin recorded about 40 hours of footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival on videotape,[11] excerpts from which were packaged as two one-hour TV specials that were broadcast in 1969, one on CBS in July, and one on ABC in September.[12] The tapes were then placed in a basement,[13] where they sat for the next 50 years.[14] Tulchin attempted to interest broadcasters in the recordings for several years, but had little success, though some of the footage of Nina Simone was eventually used in documentaries about her.[15]
In 2004, Joe Lauro, a film archivist at the Historic Films Archive, discovered the existence of the footage and contacted Hal Tulchin, hoping to work on a film about the festival. He digitized and cataloged the footage[16] and, in 2006, entered into a deal with Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville to make the film,[11] but the project never saw the light of day, as Tulchin discontinued his agreement with Lauro.[16] Producer Robert Fyvolent, who had originally sought to work with Lauro, then acquired film and television rights to the footage from Tulchin.[15][17] Fyvolent began collaborating with producer David Dinerstein in 2016, and together they engaged RadicalMedia and editor Josh Pearson, and added a third producer, Joseph Patel.[18]
Director Ahmir Thompson has expressed surprise that the footage sat for so long, and that he had never heard of the festival before the producers approached him about making the film.[19] Discussing its obscurity, he said: "What would have happened if this was allowed a seat at the table? How much of a difference would that have made in my life? That was the moment that extinguished any doubt I had that I could do this."[20]
Release
The film premiered on January 28, 2021, at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the US Documentary Competition.[21] It was acquired by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu, and was released in the United States at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and the AMCMagic Johnson Harlem 9 multiplex in New York City on June 25, 2021, before expanding nationwide and being released for streaming on Hulu the next weekend.[22] The film was distributed internationally in theaters and on Disney+ Hotstar on July 30, 2021, and on Disney+ and Star+ on November 19, 2021,[23][24] and was made available on the U.S. version of Disney+ on February 8, 2022, in time for Black History Month.[25] It made its broadcast television premiere on ABC on February 20, 2022.[26] On February 8, 2022, 20th Century Studios released a hard copy on Standard Definition DVD. In a bonus feature interview, Thompson mused about expanding the film with the wealth of material he had to cut for time.
On April 22, 2021, it was announced that Thompson would introduce the first trailer for the film during the 93rd Academy Awards, for which he served as music director. The trailer debuted on April 25, 2021.[27]
Reception
Box office
Summer of Soul grossed $2.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $1.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $3.7 million.[1]
In the film's first weekend in wide release, it grossed $650,000 from 752 theaters (for a per-venue average of $865).[28]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 99% (based on 222 reviews), with an average rating of 9.1/10; the website's critics consensus reads: "Deftly interweaving incredible live footage with a series of revealing interviews, Summer of Soul captures the spirit and context of a watershed moment while tying it firmly to the present."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 (based on 38 critics), indicating "universal acclaim".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" average grade.[28]
Rolling Stone praised the film as "the Perfect Movie to Kick Off Sundance 2021" and said it was "an incredible, vital act of restoration—and reclamation".[31]The Guardian gave it five stars, writing that there is "a moment so striking and rich with power at the center of Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson's Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) that, while watching it, I actually forgot to breathe."[32]
In 2024, Looper ranked it number 3 on its list of the "51 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time," writing "The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival was a milestone event that featured countless Black artists performing music from all genres, but for decades, it faded into obscurity. Fortunately, director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson's documentary, Summer of Soul, reaffirms the existence, presence, and joy of this seemingly forgotten moment with restored archival footage of the performances that comprised this event."[34]
On January 21, 2022, Legacy Records released an official soundtrack album.[70] In an interview, Thompson said he considered including songs not in the film, but decided to stick with the music that had already been cleared for release.[71] The digital version of the soundtrack contains 17 songs, while the physical version contains 16, as it does not feature Abbey Lincoln's and Max Roach's performance of "Africa".
Home media
On February 8, 2022, 20th Century Studios released the film on Standard Definition DVD. Bonus features include audio commentary by Thompson, who muses about re-editing a longer version that would include footage he had to cut for time, and two behind-the-scenes featurettes ("Soul Searching" and "Harlem: Then & Now").[72]
^Greene, Bryan (June 2017). "This Green and Pleasant Land". Poverty and Race Research Action Council. Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
^Nordyke, Kimberly; Lewis, Hilary (February 8, 2022). "Oscars: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
