Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.

Director:

Paul Justman

Writers:

Walter Dallas (Narration), Ntozake Shange (Narration)

Stars:

Joe Hunter, Jack Ashford, Uriel Jones

8 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard 'Pistol' Allen	...	Himself
Jack Ashford	...	Himself
Bob Babbitt	...	Himself
Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eddie 'Bongo' Brown	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bootsy Collins	...	Himself
Johnny Griffith	...	Himself
Ben Harper	...	Himself
Joe Hunter	...	Himself
James Jamerson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Uriel Jones	...	Himself
Montell Jordan	...	Himself
Chaka Khan	...	Herself
Gerald Levert	...	Himself
Joe Messina	...	Himself

Storyline

In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

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Plot Keywords:

motown | musician | song | reenactment | archive footage | 

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Taglines:

They played on more #1 records than the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined... This is their story.

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Elliott Scott Productions - trailers, photos, etc.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Story of the Funk Brothers

Filming Locations:

Baker's Keyboard Lounge - 20510 Livernois Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$114,442, 17 November 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,600,547, 23 February 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment, Rimshot, Elliott Scott Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Montell Jordan, Chaka Khan: [singing] Baby, there ain't no mountain high enough / Ain't no valley low enough / Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you.

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Crazy Credits

After all of the credits roll, we see a few of the Funk Brothers leaving the Snake Pit and turning off the lights.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

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Soundtracks

Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
by Norman Whitfield (as Norman J. Whitfield) and Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.)
Performed by The Temptations
Used by permission of Jobete Music Co., Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Courtesy of Motown Record Company, L.P.
under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Meet The Funk Brothers!

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a terrific documentary that gives us a wonderful introduction to The Funk Brothers, the musicians behind the hits at Motown. This is their story, therefore little time is devoted to Barry Gordy or the label's stars. The Brothers emerge as engaging personalities in their own right - it's a pleasure to listen to them tell their tales of life in "the Snake Pit" (the studio) at Motown.

Even more a pleasure is listening to them play and hearing new interpretations of some of the great old tunes. Especially, for me, Bootsy Collins on "Cool Jerk" (Bootsy puts the "fun" in "funk") and Joan Osborne on "Heat Wave" (the Brothers really groove on this one) and "What becomes of the Broken Hearted" - a stirring rendition that raises the roof and brings down the house! Great stuff. A few of the other new performances are not quite as strong as this, but overall the music is just great. The old guys have still got it. I really loved hearing little bits of their jazz playing sprinkled throughout the movie - in fact I'd like to have heard more of this, but of course there are time constraints in any film. It was also great to hear some of the arrangements broken down to (or built up from) individual parts. It brings home the fact that these guys are really creative players (try to imagine "My Girl" without the "dum da da da da da" guitar lick, for example).

I already knew a bit about James Jamerson, the genius bass player for Motown, before watching this movie, but meeitng the rest of these great players and hearing their stories was just a pure pleasure straight through. Good to see these guys getting their props - they are The Funk Brothers!