Review of Soundtrack for a Revolution (2009) by Stephanie M — 26 Apr 2012

The documentary âSoundtrack for a Revolutionâ? seamlessly intertwines the intense history of the civil rights movement with the music component that it highlights. There is an excellent balance of the history of the actual civil rights movement and that of the music that rode alongside the history, but takes the limelight in this film. The images at times can be hard to watch, so the music does a great job of soothing the audience and at the same time making it more powerful.

Introducing archival footage and interviews and testimonies of people, the filmmakersâ(TM) tweak it to make it something new an interesting. They combine those two parts of the documentary with music performances of the songs that united the movement. Not only do the filmmakers make use of traditional music that was common for that time, but they also make use of current recording artists being a voice for the film. The current recording artists provide a gateway for attracting a younger audience. That technique is definitely something that they succeeded in using.

With a subject that is of common knowledge, images that are stuck behind in your head, and music that will keep you singing for hours after the film credits roll, Soundtrack for a Revolution is a documentary worth watching.