Say Amen, Somebody (Bonus Deluxe)
by George T. Nierenberg
List Price:
Our Price: $22.49
You Save: $2.46 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $14.16 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Director: George T. NierenbergBrand: Ryko Distribution
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-01-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Rykodisc
DVD Reviews of Say Amen, Somebody (Bonus Deluxe)
DVD Review: GREAT OLD GOSPEL
Summary: 5 Stars
IF YOU ARE A FAN OF OLD GOSPEL, THIS DVD AND CD ARE FOR YOU. IT IS SUCH AN ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE DOCUMENTARY FULL OF MUSIC AND FUNNY STUFF. I NEVER KNEW ABOUT WILLIE MAE FORD, SALLIE MARTIN AND THE ONEAL TWINS. I HAVE A NEW APPRECIATION FOR GOSPEL MUSIC AFTER WATCHING THIS. I RECOMMEND IT FOR ALL GOSPEL FANS, BUT ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO LIKE OLDER GOSPEL MUSIC.DVD Review: This would inspire dead athiests to rise from the grave
Summary: 5 Stars
Loved this movie since it first came out a few decades ago. Had the video vcr, loaned it out (gone), and was delighted find this crisp version of the movie with great sound on DVD. You can skip right to the songs, too, but do not miss the entire program. These gospel pioneers are no longer with us and the whole field has been more "popped up." These are the real deal singers, revival singers. My elderly mother was thrilled to see this on my new LCD screen, with stereo speakers right in her face. You'll clap you'll cry.
Bonus CD too. You can't go wrong.
DVD Review: What An Inspiration
Summary: 5 Stars
As I've grown old and live far, far away from the place of my youth, I yearn for my Southern roots that keep pullin' on me. This DVD and CD music bonus set help transport me back to a time that I remember with fondness. Although I'm Jewish, I was raised by a Black Baptist woman and grew up with Gospel all around me. What struck me about Gospel was its soulful messages that transcended religious boundaries most of the time. If you listen closely, you won't hear Jesus in every Gospel message. No, you will hear messages about being free and crossin' over Jordan, or messages about the time of the Judgement comin' and being re-united with your family in heaven, messages that have its roots founded in African-American slavery. As an adolescent, I couldn't wait for Sunday mornings to listen to the Black radio station's Gospel Train program and listen to all the tremendous artists that the White world was oblivious to and, unfortunately, were kept from knowing. Even with all those years of sneaking around to listen to my Gospel music, I hadn't heard of Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, but you'll learn why if you buy this DVD set because I'm sad to say, this DVD is the only medium where you will ever hear her tremendous recorded voice! If you want to have the hair stand on end, just wait until you hear Mother Smith belt out "I'll Never Turn Back." But the most tender moment comes when Thomas Dorsey is sitting with Sallie Martin and he realizes that the song, "If You See My Saviour," playing in the background on an old record player, is the very one of his own first recording. To witness Sallie Martin begin singing along with the record and then to have Dorsey join in, well, it's a moment in musical history that, thanks to DVD technology, I'll get to relive time and time again. The real bonus in buying this set, however, is the booklet that fills in all the unanswered questions that the DVD leaves hanging. You will enjoy "Say Amen Somebody" dozens of times if you buy this DVD set.DVD Review: Say Amen, Somebody
Summary: 5 Stars
Regardless of anyone's race or creed, this movie provides rare nourishment for the soul. With its message of love and hope contagious, Director Nierenberg fashions a touchingly human and uplifting portrait of gospel music that translates how this special music has sustained people through adversity. A humbling and glorious film.DVD Review: Gone Too Long
Summary: 5 Stars
As great documentaries have gained a new audience in independent film, it's fun to revisit some of the movies that transformed the genre and infused it with more humanity and feeling. While the Maysles' works were fundamental, it would be tough to omit SAY AMEN, SOMEBODY from the list of greats.
This beautiful, uplifting film focuses largely on the late-life careers of Thomas A Dorsey and the amazing Willie Mae Ford Smith. In an unsentimental and elegaic way, we witness the end of era -- one that shaped American culture, and also gave immeasurable help to people of color from the 1920's through the mid-eighties, when commercial producers replaced the veterans at leading labels.
One of the most amazing qualities of this beautifuly photograhed, edited and recorded film is that its emotional magnetism would convince an atheist to examine the faith of others with more introspection. It is not the scenes of ministers speaking in tongues or parishioners being annointed that matter here as much as the infectious lyrics and rhythm of indelible performances. Couched somewhere between traditional blues and early R&B, gospel haped part of what it means to be American --and this beautifully designed set pays it the homage it deserves.
For a VERY low price, I received a 70-minute CD with 15 of the best performances from the film, and the remastered film on DVD with a photographic gallery and other features. The two dics are packed in a hardcover long-pack with an informative booklet -- all of it well-designed.
I rank this documentary with SALESMAN, HARLAN COUNTY, USA; TOSCA'S KISS, GREY GARDENS, WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE and perhaps five or six other fwonderful ilms. Personally, I wouldn't miss this DVD-and-soundtrack set for the world.
Description of Say Amen, Somebody (Bonus Deluxe)
The first-ever DVD release for this legendary documentary film that explores the lives and music of the pioneers of modern Gospel music. Features Willie Mae Ford Smith Thomas A. Dorsey The Barrett Sisters and The O Neal TwinsFeatures:Includes bonus 15-song audio CDBooklet features essays lyrics and rare photos**Bonus features include: newly-recorded director s commentary photo essay and theatrical trailerSystem Requirements:Run Time: 120 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC:?014431089190 Manufacturer No:?10891There's good news aplenty in this DVD reissue of Say Amen, Somebody, director George T. Nierenberg's 1980 film focusing on some of the giants of modern gospel music and the younger singers whom they inspired. That's "good news" as in the word of God, and what better way to express the power of faith than through this powerful and uplifting music? Liner notes writer Anthony Heilbut describes the film as an exploration of "the golden age of gospel music in its dying hour," and Nierenberg (whose informative and illuminating commentary track, like Heilbut's lengthy notes, is one of the several features that justify the DVD's "bonus deluxe" tag) focuses principally on two senior citizens: Thomas Dorsey, often credited as "the father of gospel music," and Willie Mae Ford Smith, a St. Louis-based singer and an innovator who helped popularize the modern gospel singing style, with its emphasis on exaggerated, open-mouthed vibrato and careful articulation of the lyrics. Dorsey is an engaging raconteur who explains the origins of modern gospel (once a secular songwriter who wrote for Ma Rainey and others, he added rhythm to traditional hymns and spirituals, essentially "bringing the blues into church") and speaks movingly of the trials and tribulations that led to his writing the classic "Precious Lord." For her part, Smith is not only a tireless worker but something of a feminist pioneer who insisted early on that women have just as much right as men to spread the word (her own son's remark that "women ought to stay in their proper place: behind the man" illustrates what an uphill battle that was, and is); this chauvinism, along with the creeping commercialism that makes singers like the O'Neal Twins wonder if they're compromising their evangelical calling, are among the deeper issues Nierenberg's film addresses. But in the long run, of course, it's all about the music, and the DVD package includes 18 complete performances accessible via separate menu, as well as a 15-song CD. All of this will prompt not only a few "amens," but no doubt some "hallelujahs" too. --Sam Graham
Alternative Rock Music CDs
- Genres > Documentary > General
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in Alternative Rock Music CDs
![U2 - Rattle & Hum [Blu-ray] Image](/images/U2-Rattle-Hum-Blu-ray-B000IOM0WO-X.jpg)
U2 - Rattle & Hum [Blu-ray]Paramount; Release date: 2008-06-03; DVD
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
How to Be a Megastar Live! (DVD with CD)Release date: 2008-04-01; DVD
Best price: $13.01
Price in other shops:
Blue Man Group - The Complex Rock Tour LiveBLUE MAN GROUP; Release date: 2003-11-25; DVD
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops:
Stop Making SenseRelease date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $18.33
Price in other shops:
The Future Is UnwrittenRelease date: 2008-07-08; DVD
Best price: $11.04
Price in other shops:
Lou Reed BerlinRelease date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $16.58
Price in other shops:
HeimaSIGUR ROS; Release date: 2007-12-04; DVD
Best price: $14.20
Price in other shops:
Nine Inch Nails - The SlipRelease date: 2008-07-22; Music CD
Best price: $10.44
Price in other shops:
![Live at Red Rocks [Remastered] Image](/images/Live-at-Red-Rocks-Remastered-B0017F65AG-X.jpg)
Live at Red Rocks [Remastered]Release date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $9.56
Price in other shops:
Live at Montreux 1991-1992Release date: 2008-09-30; DVD
Best price: $8.87
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
![Get Ready: Definitive Performances 1965-1972 [DVD] - The Temptations Image](/images/Get-Ready-Definitive-Performances-1965-1972-DVD-The-Temptations-B000GW8RYI-X.jpg)
Get Ready: Definitive Performances 1965-1972 [DVD] - The TemptationsTEMPTATIONS; Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Cabin in the SkyWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-01-10; DVD
Best price: $11.77
Price in other shops:
Mahalia Jackson - The Power and the Glory: The Life and Music of the World's Greatest Gospel SingerRelease date: 2003-01-14; DVD
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Legends of GospelMONTEREY HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-01-31; DVD
Best price: $15.10
Price in other shops:
Thomas A. Dorsey - Precious Lord: The Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. DorseyRelease date: 2008-02-01; Music CD
Best price: $3.07
Price in other shops:
When the Levees Broke - A Requiem In Four Acts (Documentary)LEE,SPIKE; Release date: 2006-12-19; DVD
Best price: $13.98
Price in other shops:
Dreamgirls (Widescreen Edition)PARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2007-05-01; DVD
Best price: $1.98
Price in other shops:
GospelRelease date: 2002-05-28; DVD
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
The Story of Gospel MusicWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-01-18; DVD
Best price: $13.13
Price in other shops:
Say Amen, SomebodyRelease date: 2007-01-30; Music CD
Best price: $9.71
Price in other shops: