The sad, beautiful and at times goddamn depressing in its beauty 20 FEET FROM STARDOM is one of those movies that I had numerous recommendations for before I actually got the chance to see it. I stupidly missed it at the New Zealand International Film Festival but managed to get a chance a few months later, and re-watching it for my Rialto Channel blog made me fall in love with it all over again.
The documentary has the multi million dollar music machine as its gaudy set piece, but at its centre are a cast of truly extraordinary, relative unknowns. It is most definitely true that when it comes to the stars of this movie it isn’t about the ‘stars’ at all, as millions of people know their voices, but virtually no one knows their names.
The sad, beautiful and at times goddamn depressing in its beauty 20 FEET FROM STARDOM is one of those movies that I had numerous recommendations for before I actually got the chance to see it. I stupidly missed it at the New Zealand International Film Festival but managed to get a chance a few months later, and re-watching it for my Rialto Channel blog made me fall in love with it all over again.
The documentary has the multi million dollar music machine as its gaudy set piece, but at its centre are a cast of truly extraordinary, relative unknowns. It is most definitely true that when it comes to the stars of this movie it isn’t about the ‘stars’ at all, as millions of people know their voices, but virtually no one knows their names.
The Oscar-winning documentary tells the story of the back-up singers who made classic records so memorable, with award-winning director Morgan Neville shining a spotlight for the first time on the untold true stories of the talented vocalists behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking in equal measure, it has been said that the film is “both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music” and a reflection on the “conflicts, sacrifices and rewards of a career spent harmonising with others”. Throughout the length of the film you are wondering what wrong fork in the road these incredible talents took to have their names relegated to the smallest of liner notes, and what qualities separated them from their peers who went on to become true ‘stars’.
The amazingly gifted artists featured cover a huge spectrum of styles, genres and eras of popular music, but each has their very own fascinating and personal story to share of a life spent in the shadows (or at very least, on a distant podium). Along with some incredibly rare archival footage and some truly kick ass hits as a soundtrack, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM features insightful interviews with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Sting to name just a few. These famous faces are for once the background music if you will, with the unknown backing singers featuring loud and proud as their tales are rolled out.
As well as the Academy Award for Best Documentary, the film also took home Best Documentary Film at the 19th Critics' Choice Awards, and at the 2015 Grammy Awards, it won Best Music Film. These are all major accolades pointing to a fairly flawless effort and in the case of 20 FEET FROM STARDOM it most definitely is. I defy any music lover – or documentary lover for that matter – not to fall as head over heels as I did with this movie, and you will never ignore a backing singer the same way again.