Love to Love You, Donna Summer

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1:53

Love to Love You, Donna Summer

2023

1h 45m

Documentary

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

70%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Donna Summer creates music that takes her from the avant-garde scene in Germany to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York; features never-before-seen home video footage and interviews with friends, family and colleagues.

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Critics Consensus

An enigmatic documentary about an equally enigmatic singer, Love to Love You, Donna Summer's got you covered from disco to soul.

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

05/31/2023

3/4

It’s more candid and doesn’t gloss over the hard parts of Summer’s life.

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Jamie Ludwig

Chicago Reader

05/24/2023

This is a daughter’s exploration of who her mother was at her core, and why she lived her life and made her choices the way she did.

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Brian Lowry

CNN.com

05/19/2023

By the time it’s over, "Love to Love You" might not have completely put together the pieces of who Summer was, but it has fostered an appreciation for what she produced, particularly during that inordinately fertile span of hits during the late ’70s.

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Matthew Carey

Deadline Hollywood Daily

11/18/2023

Directors Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano don’t aim for a jukebox music experience, content to press play on one hit after another. Rather, they create a portrait of a woman and artist far more complex than has been appreciated.

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James Croot

The Post NZ

08/07/2023

Both a celebration of her successes and a lament for what Summer endured, Love to Love You feels like at once an intimate portrait – and a cathartic release for her children.

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Glenn Dunks

The Film Experience

06/26/2023

There’s a tunnel vision to the story being told here that, through some weird editing and scripting choices, abandons her musical skills for less interesting detours into her private life.

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Avery R

06/11/2024

Donna Summer was amazing and I can’t wait to see this movie! She will forever and always be the Queen of Disco!

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Ashley H

@ashleyhobgood87 09/10/2023

Love to Love, Donna Summer is a disappointing film. It is about the singer, Donna Summer. I thought the documentary was disjointed and not put together well. I would not recommend it.

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James Michael H

08/24/2023

If you love Donna Summer and as I do, skip this documentary. It's structured terribly and fails to capture her magic. She deserved so much more and better.

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Alan W

07/20/2023

Co-directed by one of her daughters and co-produced with Summer's husband, HBO Max's documentary on yet another female icon of our times unsurprisingly doesn't scratch the surface much. The story of Donna Summer's humble beginnings which eventually lead to international fame is duly presented here, as are her struggles with her record company and balancing work with motherhood. There are some insights into her fears and insecurities and the most revealing it gets is mentioning the sexual abuse and domestic violence which befall her with various relationships in her life. But like her difficulty in reconciling her faith with her pulsating and overtly sexy music and her gay following, all these issues were addressed but hardly discussed in any real depth. Despite the unevenness of quality of some of the audio and visual excerpts they've unearthed from her archive, access to these rare and unseen/unheard home video footage and outtakes is this film's biggest selling point. Otherwise, how would we know Summer has such a silly sense of humour and that she was once in a German production of Hair?

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Shelley H

@Nena14 06/14/2023

Like that it included her music at different points in her life and the evolution. It shared information and insights about her story we never knew, while seeming to allow her and her family to maintain a certain amount of privacy - which we actually prefer. Nicely done.

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Lenny C

05/23/2023

LOVE U DONNA SUMMER!! GREAT DOC!! THANK U BROOKLYN SUDANO!!!!

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Roger Ross Williams

Director

Brooklyn Sudano

Director

Donna Summer

Self

David Blackman

Producer

Christopher Clements

Producer

Julie Goldman

Producer

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Love to Love You, Donna Summer: Trailer

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Synopsis

Donna Summer creates music that takes her from the avant-garde scene in Germany to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York; features never-before-seen home video footage and interviews with friends, family and colleagues.

Director: Roger Ross Williams, Brooklyn Sudano
Producer: David Blackman, Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Roger Ross Williams
Production Co: Federal Films, One Story Up Productions, Motto Pictures
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 20, 2023
Runtime: 1h 45m

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