Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (2007)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Jim Brown

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Interviews, archival footage and home movies are used to illustrate a social history of folk artists Pete Seeger. |

Plot Keywords:

Sloop | Blacklist | Singer | House Unamerican Activities Committee | Union

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Joan Baez	...	Herself
Johnny Cash	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (as President)
Bob Dylan	...	Himself
Ronnie Gilbert	...	Herself
Arlo Guthrie	...	Himself
Lee Hays	...	Himself (archive footage)
Fred Hellerman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Leadbelly	...	Himself (archive footage)
Natalie Maines	...	Herself
Roger McGuinn	...	Himself
George Pataki	...	Himself
Tom Paxton	...	Himself (Interviewee)
Paul Robeson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tao Rodriguez-Seeger	...	Himself
Daniel Seeger	...	Himself
Mika Seeger	...	Herself
Pete Seeger	...	Himself
Tinya Seeger	...	Herself
Toshi Seeger	...	Herself
Dick Smothers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Smothers	...	Himself
Bruce Springsteen	...	Himself
N. Paul Stookey	...	Himself
Mary Travers	...	Herself

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild thematic material.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG

Movie Connections:

Features "The Johnny Cash Show" (1969)

Superbly done documentary

Although not yet scheduled for general release, "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" is a must-see for anyone who has ever heard Pete Seeger sing or admired him for his work to clean up the Hudson River or loved/hated him for his opposition to the Vietnam War and his efforts to promote integration. More than anyone else, Pete Seeger was responsible for the folk revival of the 1960's, as is attested in interviews with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Arlo Guthrie and other leading figures of the time. The film, much of it archival material from various stages in Pete's career, is filled with song and also provides a rounded portrait of Seeger's life, including the long years when he was blacklisted for his political views and his refusal to yield to the demands of the House Un-American Activities Committee that he take a loyalty oath. Seeger acknowledges that he was a card-carrying Communist until "around 1948," though he insists that his views are and were solidly rooted in American values. The songs which Seeger wrote (like "Turn, Turn, Turn...to Everything there is a Season" and "Where are All the Flowers Gone") or made famous (like "We Shall Overcome") are heard in clips from the time, and there are many scenes with Seeger still vigorous in his mid-80s at the home he built with his own hands decades earlier. His wife, Toshi, his children, his siblings appear in person and there are numerous clips featuring Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the young Joan Baez as well as Pete himself as a member first of the Almanac Singers and later of the Weavers. The "lost years" when Pete was blacklisted and eked out a living by touring college campuses, teaching a generation of musicians to play the banjo and singing to school children are also covered in detail. The hour-and-a-half this documentary is on screen flies by quickly and -- for those old enough to remember -- is a nostalgic walk through the life and career of the man whom many consider to be the premier folksinger of the age.