There aren’t too many singers (if any, really) whose voices make you want to instantaneously genuflect, notwithstanding your belief system. One exception to that rule is the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin. In January of 1972, Aretha sang a repertoire of gospel favorites at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, and it was filmed by the late director Sydney Pollack. His footage was never synced up with the audio recordings, and the project was seemingly lost forever — until now.
Franklin’s double-platinum album, Amazing Grace (which is also the eponymous movie’s title, and her best-selling album of all time), remains inspirational nearly 40 years later, and is sure to be a fiery success as one of the Toronto International Film Festival’s official film selections. According to the Los Angeles Times, commercial release plans for "Amazing Grace" are undetermined after the film’s run at TIFF, but we will certainly keep an eye out for this one to hit the mainstream after all these years.
Take your first peek at the trailer below, and keep an eye open for some cameos (wink wink, Mick Jagger, nudge nudge).
