Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Name: Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Genre: Music, Documentary
Released: September 14, 2007
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 81

2007

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Universal acclaim based on 12 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 15 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 15 Ratings

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Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: September 14, 2007 | PG

Summary: Pete Seeger was the architect of the folk revival, writing some of its best known songs including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” "Turn, Turn, Turn” and "If I Had A Hammer." Largely misunderstood by his critics, including the US government, for his views on peace, unionism, civil rights and ecology, Seeger was targeted by the communistPete Seeger was the architect of the folk revival, writing some of its best known songs including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” "Turn, Turn, Turn” and "If I Had A Hammer." Largely misunderstood by his critics, including the US government, for his views on peace, unionism, civil rights and ecology, Seeger was targeted by the communist witch hunt of the Fifties. He was picketed, protested, blacklisted, and, in spite of his enormous popularity, banned from American television for more than 17 years. With a combination of never-before-seen archival footage and personal films made by Seeger and his wife, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song chronicles the life of this legendary artist and political activist. (Jim Brown Productions)… Expand

Director: Jim Brown

Genre(s): Music, Documentary

Rating: PG

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Joel Selvin

All the requisite talking heads pop up - Dylan, Springsteen, Baez - but it is Seeger himself who towers over the landscape. The filmmakers treat this aged curmudgeon almost too reverently, but it is hard not to be awed by this gentle, resolute soul because of the ideas he steadfastly and faithfully represented. Read full review

100

Roger Ebert

With access to remarkable archival footage, old TV shows, home movies and the family photo album, Brown weaves together the story of the Seegers with testimony by admirers who represent his influence and legacy. Read full review

100

Jay Weissberg

As certain to get auds singing as the man himself, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a terrific, multilayered portrait of a singer whose legacy extends beyond music and into every major social action movement since the 1940s. Always enjoyable, this docu proves that a few rare people actually deserve the hagiography treatment. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

It's a tribute to both the subject and his biographer that this story of one man's experience is also a vital chronicle of the times in which he's lived. Read full review

Bill White

Director Brown has made a career of chronicling the history of American folk music, and Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a worthy companion piece to his 1982 debut, "The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time?" Read full review

Ty Burr

So there's a hole at the center of "Pete Seeger" that the movie fills with loving remembrances, testimonials, and new interview footage of the singer at his hand-built cabin in upstate New York. Read full review

Brian Miller

Shallow, very officially sanctioned, and overly compressed, The Power of Song plays like a PBS infomercial for the inevitable DVD box set, which will surely include even more archival footage. Read full review

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MartyK.

Sep 22, 2007

A rich and captivating look at a national treasure. The parallels between HUAC & Vietnam protest to today's government are stunning.