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7.8/10
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Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 14 nominations
Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin
- Self
- (archive footage)
Eddie 'Bongo' Brown
- Self
- (archive footage)
James Jamerson
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Detroit Symphony Orchestra got the last credit in the film. The orchestra provided strings and other instrumentation for Motown recording sessions. According to The Funk Brothers member Dennis Coffey in his book, "Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars", this included sessions recorded with a Stradivarius violin played by the orchestra's violin concertmaster, Gordon Staples.
- Quotes
Uriel Jones: People would always say everything but the musicians. They would say it was the artists, the producers, the way the building was constructed, the wood in the floor, or maybe even food. But I'd like to see them take some barbecue ribs or hamburgers, anything, and throw down in that studio, shut the door and count off '1,2,3,4' and get a hit out of there. The formula was the musicians!
- Crazy creditsAfter all of the credits roll, we see a few of the Funk Brothers leaving the Snake Pit and turning off the lights.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Film Geek (2005)
- SoundtracksReach Out, I'll Be There
by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.)
Performed by Gerald Levert and The Funk Brothers
Gerald Levert appears courtesy of Elektra Records
Used by permission of Jobete Music Co., Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Featured review
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!
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!
helpful•150
- macjazz
- Apr 30, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Story of the Funk Brothers
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,722,119
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $114,442
- Nov 17, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $2,344,256
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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