The Night James Brown Saved Boston (2008) (TV)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

David Leaf

Writer:

Morgan Neville (writer)

Release Date:

5 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Cast

Michael Ambrosino	...	Himself
Tom Atkins	...	Himself
Charles Bobbit	...	Himself
James Brown	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bobby Byrd	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Byrd	...	Himself (as James 'Early' Byrd)
Mike Douglas	...	Himself (archive footage)
Pee Wee Ellis	...	Himself
Dick Flavin	...	Himself (as Richard Flavin)
David Gates	...	Himself
Robert Hall	...	Himself (as Dr. Robert Hall)
Dennis Haysbert	...	Narrator (voice)
Hubert H. Humphrey	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ellen Jackson	...	Herself
Lyndon B. Johnson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Coretta Scott King	...	Herself (archive footage)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Russell Morash	...	Himself
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harry Reasoner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Al Sharpton	...	Himself
John Starks	...	Himself (as John 'Jab'o' Starks)
Clyde Stubblefield	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Vickers	...	Himself
Rickey Vincent	...	Himself
Fred Wesley	...	Himself
Cornel West	...	Himself (as Dr. Cornel West)
Kevin White	...	Himself
Marva Whitney	...	Herself
Andrew Young	...	Himself (as Dr. Andrew Young)

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

David Leaf Productions

Movie Connections:

Features James Brown: Live at the Boston Garden, 1968 (1968) (TV)

Remembering a Unique Historical Moment

The Night that James Brown Saved Boston had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. It is scheduled to appear on VH1 on April 5, the 40th anniversary of the event that it marks. There is probably been no more difficult year in modern American history than 1968. There may have been no worse moment than the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis on April 4, 1968. As cities around the country were burning, James Brown managed to prevent the chaos from tearing apart the racial divided city of Boston.

The film documents that remarkable concert and the politics around it. Boston Mayor Kevin White and his colleagues almost by accident realized that by televising the James Brown concert they could keep people indoors that night prevent widespread rioting. The film is almost testimony to the power of music in general and the power of James Brown's music in particular. The film is a tribute to the Godfather of Soul and the role he would come to play in working for civil rights.

This is a film that should be seen by students everywhere in an effort to understand one of the more dramatic moments in history of a great American city. James Brown may be gone, but his music and his contributions will live on forever.