Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Despite being a first feature, Summer of Soul concisely balances performance, interview, and history in its own rhythmic fashion.

Summer of Soul is both a tribute to the artists and, just as importantly, their audience -- which is what makes it not just a great concert film but a great documentary, period.

The incendiary stars of the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 erupt into life in this extraordinary documentary culled from comprehensive footage that's been abandoned and unseen for 50 years.

Summer of Soul features stunning, irresistible footage of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and an entire roll call of 20th-century Black jazz...

Thompson's feature debut intertwines music and politics in one of the best concert movies of all time.

The documentary of the decade.

The only thing more compelling than the performances, are interviews with those who were there, ones carried out both then and now.

An act of unearthing, reclamation and celebration... It's a gift, too.

Culling from 40 hours of footage, Thompson rounded up exuberant performances from such legends as Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone (who memorably played Woodstock), Gladys Knight and the Pips, The 5th Dimension and B.B. King.

A vital record of a long-overlooked moment in American Black history where music and politics intertwined to create something hopeful, profound, defiant and unifying.