Fall 2019: Amazing Grace

Originally screened: September 25, 2019

Director: Sydney Pollack (realized by Alan Elliott)

Country: United States

Runtime: 87 minutes

For over 40 years, the film footage for Aretha Franklin’s live recording of her groundbreaking gospel album Amazing Grace was thought lost. Lost, as in hopeless: director Sydney Pollack hadn’t used clapboards, and months of work in, not one song had been synced to complete footage. Now, thanks to digital tools, the film has been assembled, a moving testament to one of the greatest voices of all time, in one of her greatest moments, at home in a genre she reinvented. With James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir, conducted by Alexander Hamilton.

Where to watch today: Amazing Grace is available on home video from Universal Pictures, and is available to stream online via Prime Video.