Muscle Shoals 2013

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: [A] charming, reverently shot ramble. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: At once overstuffed with interviews and intellectually underdeveloped, the movie charts the area's music industry and what is lyrically if elusively called the Muscle Shoals sound. Read more

Paul de Barros, Seattle Times: It is hands down one of the best music documentaries ever made. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Greg Camalier's debut feature offers a worthy if sometimes ponderous take on a significant slice of U.S. popular music history. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: Although the intriguingly named first-time director Greg "Freddy" Camalier makes the twice-told tales of the film's second hour watchable, they end up paling in comparison to its essayistic first half. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The movie is more a collection of cool people telling great stories than it is a structured documentary (despite Camalier's attempts in that direction). But in this case, that's enough. Read more

Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: [An] alternately maddening and magnificent documentary. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: What makes the documentary Muscle Shoals so fine besides a kicking soundtrack? Well first, there's its deep sense of place. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Even casual music fans will enjoy behind-the-hits doc. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: Director Greg "Freddy" Camalier skillfully, unhurriedly unfurls a wealth of classic music-biz tales as told by a who's who of R&B, soul and rock 'n' roll royalty and various other players and purveyors. Read more

Jim Harrington, San Jose Mercury News: "Muscle Shoals" is filled with great stories, characters and songs -- and, really, what else could you want from a music documentary? Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The documentary is a little slapdash, but then so is the very idea of what Muscle Shoals means. Is it the town itself? Or the celebrated rhythm section that started at one studio and then formed its own? Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Only the genre's most studious followers will be able to watch Muscle Shoals without being regularly astonished: Even if it sometimes gets lost in its byways, Greg "Freddy" Camalier's documentary tells an extraordinary story. Read more

David Hinckley, New York Daily News: Hall's backstory, riddled with tragedy, gets the proper attention and respect here. But it's the music that won't let you stop watching. Read more

Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer: Like 20 Feet From Stardom, another standout music doc of 2013, Muscle Shoals skillfully shines a light on unheralded musicians whose names usually are not illuminated. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: It might have functioned even better as an hour-long TV documentary. But with such great music coming, one hit after after another, it's always a joy to watch. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Just as "Sweet Home Alabama" speaks for itself without revealing its meaning, so does this American story of ferment and feuding and amazing pop music. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: It's mandatory viewing for fans of the classic rock, soul and rhythm and blues of the 1960s and '70s. Read more

Chris Riemenschneider, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Even fans who don't know Muscle Shoals by name know its music by heart. Now they can also see how much soul went into it. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Director Greg "Freddy" Camalier augments the talking heads with unusually evocative vistas ... Read more

Dave Hoekstra, Chicago Sun-Times: Do not leave the film until the last credit rolls by. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The film runs a tad long (just under two hours) and could stand another edit, but Mick, Keith, Bono and Aretha are on a roll, man. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: Occasionally baggy, always sincere, this is an essential document of a defining era when 'soul' really meant something. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: This geeked-out tribute to the rural Alabama town that birthed an improbable amount of classic R&B and rock doesn't have a theory behind its parade of hits. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: The archival footage is strong, Camalier is generous with musical clips, and the talking heads generate some drama when describing epochal moments like Aretha's first session. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: A mesmerizing documentary ... Read more