The Queen of Soul’s “most transcendent” gospel performance will be making its way to theaters. Shot in 1972, the Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace” will receive its long-past-overdue world premiere Monday, November 12, at DOC NYC. It will have awards-qualifying runs in Los Angeles and New York later this year, The New York Times reports, with a wide release in January.
“Amazing Grace” was shot by Sydney Pollack (“Out of Africa”) over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in LA. Considered “one of Hollywood’s holy grails,” the doc depicts Franklin recording the album “Amazing Grace,” one of the best-selling gospel records ever. It features an 11-minute version of the title song, “Mary Don’t You Weep,” and “Never Grow Old,” among others.
Unfortunately the film’s sound recording was bungled and it wasn’t finished in time to launch alongside the “Amazing Grace” album. The negatives ended up in the Warner Bros. vaults until 2007, when music exec and producer Alan Elliott bought them. A 2011 release was planned but ultimately fell through when Franklin sued Elliott for using her likeness without permission. The legendary songstress also blocked screenings at the Telluride Film Festival in 2015 and 2016. Franklin’s “opposition appeared not to have anything to do with the film’s content, which she had said publicly that she ‘loved,'” the NY Times notes. The speculation was that Franklin considered the film a eulogy of sorts, and was just not ready for its release.
Elliott finally received legal clearance earlier this year, after Franklin’s death, from her niece and estate executor, Sabrina Owens.
“Her fans need to see this film, which is so pure and so joyous,” Owens told The Times. “And the world needs to see it. Our country, it’s in such a state right now.”
“We want to honor her legacy,” Elliott stated. “Her artistry and her genius are alive in every frame.”
“Amazing Grace” is aiming for the best documentary category at next year’s Oscars, but Elliott hints that a best picture campaign could be in the works, too. “Aretha would want us going for a best picture,” he said. “And she’d want to win, too.”
Franklin received 18 Grammys, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and countless other awards and accolades throughout her nearly-six-decade career. Her records have sold over 75 million copies worldwide, and she was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She died August 16 of advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
