I have a few points to add to tlsnyder42-1's thoughtful commentary: First, the film tried to cover too much in too short a time. I think the coverage was fairly well balanced between jubilee/hard gospel/choir, chose the right persons to focus on and has some wonderful clips, but I also felt as if it could have said and shown so much more. A shame to leave out Dorothy Love Coates, Alex Bradford, the Davis Sisters, Roberta Martin, etc. It would be wonderful if someone were willing to turn this into a four part series, similar to Ken Burns' Jazz or that collection of films on the blues.
On the other hand, it could have been edited a little more smartly. While I liked the commentaries, I think the film could have done without Smokey Robinson altogether and would have benefited from some editing of others' comments (it's the Ohio, not the Mississippi, that was the boundary between slavery and freedom--just look where Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas are). While I can't tell you what to cut, I can say it dragged a bit. But those clips of the Hummingbirds and the Silvertones, plus the footage of believers slain in the spirit are revelatory. Worth being included with the other documentaries on the same theme.
