The Night James Brown Saved Boston

Released Apr 5, 2008

1 hr. 0 min.

Documentary

Music

List

Reviews

88%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two days after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, singer James Brown performs at the Boston Garden.

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Audience Member

The story of the James Brown concert in Boston, a few days after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Though this documentary deals with a very interesting subject, it does very little to spatiate from the usual made for TV format.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There's a riot goin' on! Who're you gonna call? Well, if you're a rookie mayor sitting on a powder keg in Boston, you'd be well advised to clear a space on your speed dial for Soul Brother #1. April 5, 1968: a wave of race rioting is sweeping across America as the black population vents its anger over the assassination of Martin Luther King, and James Brown is scheduled to play the Boston Garden this very evening. Fearing a riot of his own, the mayor wants to cancel; his advisors insist a cancellation would be the worst course of action. The answer: bill the event as a memorial to MLK and televise it. Oh, but did anybody inform Mr Brown?!?! The highly charged atmosphere of the Garden show is still palpable, in spite of the archive footage being rather flatly shot. The conflicting accounts of Brown's demands for $60,000 in compensation - for the poor ticket sales resulting from his concert being televised - are very amusing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

The hardest working man in showbiz!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

great footage and story... amazing show - james brown is fantastic...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

This documentary was an interesting look at the effect that James Brown had on preventing race riots from outbreaking in Boston after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. It was interesting to learn the story behind this concert and see how it came together. The footage was great and the people who were interviewed offered interesting insight into the events that transpired. I felt the only thing lacking was the use of archived interviews with James Brown and others. Perhaps this footage doesn't exist but I think it would have made the documentary even better.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A rarley seen slice out of Black American history. I love everything about James Brown. His Attitude, his dancing and more than anything else his singing. After seeing this movie you can really understand the impact that he had on people during the end of the 60's. A educational documentary about the hardest working man in showbusiness that makes you appreciate huim even more. R.I.P. Godfather of soul.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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David Leaf

Director

James Brown

Self

Morgan Neville

Screenwriter

Brad Abramson

Executive Producer

Toby Byron

Executive Producer

Eric Kulberg

Producer

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Synopsis

Two days after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, singer James Brown performs at the Boston Garden.

Director: David Leaf
Executive Producer: Brad Abramson, Toby Byron
Screenwriter: Morgan Neville
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2008, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017

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