Standing in the Shadows of Motown

On one level Paul Justman's documentary about the Funk Brothers--a stable of talented, innovative musicians who served as backup players on all the greatest hits produced by Motown Records during the '60s and '70s--is culturally significant, rescuing from undeserved obscurity a group that was largely responsible for a sound that defined a whole generation of American popular music. But it would be a mistake to think of Standing in the Shadows of Motown as simply a history lesson; rather it's a joyous celebration of creativity and camaraderie, featuring not only thumbnail sketches of the performers, interviews with those who survived, visits to sites where they performed (including the famous Studio A), and historical recreations, but also exhilarating new versions of some of their best-known songs as well. While some might be a bit disappointed by the lack of information about the business side of Berry Gordy's operation (or on Gordy himself), this is a film that finally gives credit where credit is due without getting heavy-handed or mawkish about it. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this two-disc set include audio commentary by director Paul Justman and producer Allan “Dr. Licks” Slutsky, a text trivia track, 13 clips (36 minutes) of performance selections (including Bootsy Collins, Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan and others), 15 deleted scenes (mainly comprised of jams and montages), the 13-minute commemorative featurette “The Ones That Didn't Make It,” the 12-minute featurette “Dinner with the Funk Brothers,” the eight-minute featurette “At Long Last Glory” on the Funk Brothers' newfound recognition, three multi-angle picture-in-picture jam sessions, “The Video That Started it All” (6 min. promo) with commentary by Justman, “The Photo That Started it All” with commentary by Slutsky, a two-minute music video montage, text and interview cast and crew bios, a selected discography slideshow, text “Honorable Mentions” in recognition of some collaborators, DVD-ROM features (including the BMWfilms.com short “The Hire”), and trailers. Bottom line: a jammin' extras package for a jammin' documentary.] (F. Swietek)