Roberta Flack Movies
- 2008
This performance film actually intercuts footage from two very different concerts by soul-pop singer Roberta Flack, of Feel Like Makin' Love and Killing Me Softly fame. One concert finds Flack backed up by a tightly-knit jazz-pop ensemble; the other by an electrifying soul-rock band and a trio of vocalists. Selections include: "Killing Me Softly With His Song," "The Thrill is Gone," "Stormy Monday," "Reverend Lee," and, as a closer, the ballad "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roberta Flack
This program presents an evening with Roberta Flack. The enduring singer's career began in the early '70s, when her soulful song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" rose to the top of the charts. Often teaming up for duets, Flack has had a number of hits, including "Killing Me Softly With His Song," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Where Is the Love?," "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love," and "Set the Night to Music." The versatile artist has collaborated with colleagues across musical genres, from jazz to soul to orchestra. In this program, she performs her signature tunes, as well as her interpretations of jazz, blues, and pop standards. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Enjoy the sounds of Roberta Flack with titles such as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly." ~ All Movie Guide
It's The African Queen meets Richard Pryor in this schmaltzy and salty attempt by Pryor to appeal to the family crowd. Pryor plays Joe Braxton, an inept burglar whose parole officer Donald (Robert Christian) wants to help out. Knowing that Joe is an excellent mechanic, he refers him to Vivian Perry (Cicely Tyson), the director of a school for emotionally disturbed children. The school is about to close for lack of funds, and Vivian wants to flee Philadelphia with eight of her charges and get to a farm in Washington State where the children can grow up in the fresh air and away from the urban environment. Joe is enlisted to drive the bus, which continually breaks down en route, permitting Joe plenty of time to interact with the kids -- taking them fishing, teaching them strip poker, and convincing a Vietnamese girl not to sell her body. The prim and proper Vivian holds up her nose at the vulgar and sloppy Joe, so it is inevitable that at journey's end the two will find true romance. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, (more)
- 1978
- R
Bob Dylan made this concert film that chronicles a 1975/1976 performance of his Rolling Thunder Revue. In between songs he, his wife Sara Dylan, along with Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, and other counterculture figures perform philosophically based improvisational pieces. During the skits, Dylan plays the ambiguous Renaldo, while Ronnie Hawkins and Ronee Blakely play Dylan and his wife. Songs include "Isis, I Want You," "It Ain't Me Babe," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," "Hurricane," "Romance in Durango," "One Too Many Mornings," "One More Cup of Coffee," "Sara," "Patty's Gone to Laredo," "Just Like a Woman," "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowland," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," (Bob Dylan), "Chestnut Mare" (Roger McGuinn), "Diamonds and Rust" (Joan Baez), "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen), "Need a New Sun Rising" (Ronee Blakely), "Salt Pork West Virginia" (Jack Elliott), "Kaddish" (Allen Ginsberg), "Cucurrucucu Paloma" (Tomas Mendez), and "Time of the Preacher" (Willie Nelson). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan, (more)
- 1973
- G
"Brothers and Sisters" is not the name of a singing group; it is more along the lines of an ideal. This feature-length concert film was lensed during the 1972 Black Exposition in Chicago. What we have here, quite simply, is a spectacular display of the finest African-American pop-music talent of the era. Highlight performers include The Jackson 5 (with Michael, of course), Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes and Gladys Knight. Brothers and Sisters in Concert was directed by Stan Lathan, who later helmed such ethnically-oriented subjects as Almos' a Man (1974), The Sky is Gray (1980) and Beat Street (1984). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This concert documentary chronicles the many acts that appeared during Jesse Jackon's Operation PUSH exposition held in 1972 in Chicago. Featured concert performers include Marvin Gaye singing "What's Going On," The Temptations with "Papa Was a Rolling Stone, " and Bill Withers performing "Lean on Me." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Play Misty for Me marked Clint Eastwood's debut as a director, and it gave him the then-unusual opportunity to play a regular contemporary guy in a thriller about sex, obsession, and stalking. Eastwood's Dave Garver is a self-centered California jazz disc jockey struggling with the idea of committing to his on-again, off-again girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills). One night he meets the mini-skirted Evelyn (Jessica Walters) in a bar, and he goes home with her for what he assumes is a one-night stand. Dave discovers, however, that Evelyn has repeatedly called his show requesting that he "play 'Misty' for me," and she is not about to go gently into the night now that she has bedded him. Even though it touches on the early-'70s flashpoints of sexual liberation, studio execs expressed doubts about why anyone would want to see a movie featuring Eastwood as a deejay. Eastwood reportedly answered that he was not sure either, but he thought it was a good suspense story, and he offered his services as director for free. Play Misty for Me wound up making five times more than it cost and is a precursor to such erotic thrillers as Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992). Eastwood mentor Don Siegel appears early on as a bartender. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, (more)
- 1971
No longer professionally linked to his brother Terry Sanders, screenwriter/director Denis Sanders returned to the documentary format in which he'd started his career in the mid-1960s. After enjoying success with the up-close-and-personal Elvis: That's the Way It Is, Sanders decided to focus his attention on the world of gospel music. His 1971 feature-length documentary Soul to Soul follows a group of American gospel luminaries during a tour of Ghana, celebrating the 14th anniversary of that country's independence. Featured performers include Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, Santana, Roberta Flack, Les McCann, The Staple Singers, Willie Bobo and Eddie Harris. Soul to Soul proved to be Denis Sander's last documentary effort; his next film was the love it-or-hate it horror spoof Invasion of the Bee Girls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Each installment of An Evening With presents a performer, band, group, or other public figure in a setting aimed to please fans looking for a representative sampling of what a particular person or group of people does best. In this episode, soul diva Roberta Flack performs nine of the songs that made her a household name during the '70s. Included are the hits "Killing Me Softly" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
