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

The Night James Brown Saved Boston (2008) (TV) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   69 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

David Leaf

Writer:

Morgan Neville (writer)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Night James Brown Saved Boston on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

5 April 2008 (USA) more

Genre:

Documentary | Music

NewsDesk:

I Got the 
Feelin’: James Brown in the ’60s
 (From PasteMagazine. 7 November 2008, 5:00 AM, PST)

User Comments:

Interesting and entertaining more (2 total)


Cast

  (Credited 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)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA more


Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:

Features "The Mike Douglas Show" (1961) more


FAQ

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Interesting and entertaining, 18 July 2009
Author: deschreiber from Canada

I am a fan of James Brown - his concert in the Streetsville Arena near Toronto on the night of the great blackout was a highlight on my youth - so I found this film informative and delightful. It's a great way for people who never his saw his show as it was back in those days to get an idea of what it might have been like. His "big show" approach, with smooth, scripted emceeing, warmup acts, comedy, everything done with near military precision, paved the way for the big concerts of today. In fact, a lot of shows today look awfully loosey-goosey compared to his. But the film focuses on the social significance of that show in Boston, which kept potential rioters off the streets in order to watch a special broadcast of the James Brown show live on television.

It's said he was working for the higher good. Well, JB often did, but the film makes clear on this night that he was ready to turn his back; he wasn't going to do his part to help calm the city unless he was paid his full going rate. And the shame of the city of Boston is that, according to a member of the JB team, they only paid part of the fee. They should have paid it ten time over, considering the destruction he almost certainly saved the city from.

Not every moment of the film is riveting, but it's well worth watching, leaving you with some interesting thoughts about the importance of music.

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